The Serial Squadron Cinema Cliffhanger Archive

GENERAL HELP | CHECK ORDER SHIPPING LOG
PLAYER COMPATIBILITY | CONTENT USAGE


DISK NOT LOADING ISSUES

WHAT TO DO IF A DISK WILL NOT LOAD IN YOUR PLAYER:


1 Try playing the disk in another DVD or Blu-Ray player or game machine such as Playstation 4

2.
Try playing the disk in a computer

3. If the disk is a Hybrid Blu-Ray, play it in a Sony BDV-s390, s-1200, s-3100, or s-5390 player.

If the disk plays in the other player and/or the computer it is not defective. The first player in which you tried to play it and the disk may simply be incompatible and the situation may not be neither's "fault." (See below)

If the disk does not play in either another Blu-Ray/DVD player or computer:

1. Especially if it shows signs of physical damage or some irregularity on the burned side of the disk, it may contain a duplication error and not have burned correctly or been otherwise damaged and therefore will be replaced. Do not return the disk or DVD or Blu-Ray case, and do not send an email to the Squadron. Write to Azura and tell her the date of the order, your name and correct address. Replacement disk requests do not ship right away and will be added to the orders queue. You will receive an email with tracking information when the set is shipped.

2. If the disk is a BD-R, your player may not be compatible with the format. Read
This Link.


You should request a disk replacement when:

1. A disk slipped off the hub during shipment, has a scratch and will not play correctly
If the scratch is the cause of the problem, keep your DVD case and we will replace the disk.

2. You have received a blank disk or one which will not load on any player
We apologize for this error with duplication or the physical media. Keep your DVD case and will send you a replacement disk

3. You have received a disk that shows some other sign of physical damage
Keep your DVD case and we will send you a replacement disk

4. A disk you play hangs up at a certain point and does the same thing when you play it in another player or in a computer
Keep your DVD case and we will send you a replacement disk

5. You ordered a Blu-Ray of a title but received a DVD disk instead or vice versa
In this case we will replace the disk and case

6. You received a disk other than the one ordered.

DO NOT request a replacement if:


1. A disk slipped off the hub during shipment, has a scratch on it and plays fine
Minor scratches on the underside of disks which do not affect playback are usually insignificant in regards to use of the disk. The underside of a disk is not where the video is stored; it's stored underneath the top layer of it. Which is why if you scratch the top of a DVD with a knife it is more likely to damage the information on the disk than if anything happens to the underside of one. If the disk you receive works, it works; play it and enjoy it.

2. A DVD or Blu-Ray case arrives cracked and the case and/or insert are damaged but the disk is OK
This is the fault of the Post Office. They refuse to take responsibility for what we pay for but they damage and we can't change that. We cannot ship DVDs in metal boxes which would be the only thing they couldn't smash if they decide they want to. Order a few extra DVD cases or Blu-Ray cases from Amazon.com, Best Buy or eBay.com so you will have them on hand in case this happens, they are not expensive. If the post office smashed the shipment and ripped up the cover insert, we will not ship a new one alone; if, however, you request a replacement insert to be shipped in a future order by emailing Azura, we will slip a new one in the case of the ordered DVD or Blu-Ray.

3. Your TV loads a Blu-Ray disk menu in widescreen and will not let you change the aspect ratio
This seems as if it might be an issue with a disk, but it's not; it happens due to how your TV interprets data when video is played through it. If your TV loads a Blu-Ray disk menu in widescreen, it is making the decision to do that itself because it thinks most menus and most video on a Blu-Ray will be widescreen and the TV is making the decision for you to stretch the menu across its screen without asking your permission. Well, in the case of Squadron Blu-Rays, the menus may not be widescreen but instead presented in old-fashioned 4:3 ratio and so may be the video files. So the TV is making an "automatic" wrong decision. The way to deal with this situation is to look on your TV remote for a PICTURE, ASPECT or ZOOM button that allows you to manually change the aspect ratio on the player. If your remote doesn't offer the ability to change aspect ratio, to watching 4:3 you need to play the disk on another TV which will offer that option.

4. Your Blu-Ray player refuses to load a BD-R disk menu but instead displays the disk's contents as it would for a data disk
Again, this seems as if it might be a problem with a disk but the truth is, as is the case with a turntable which only offers 33 1/3rpm and 45rpm options and cannot play an old 78 correctly, Blu-Ray players are not guaranteed to play any and all sorts of data they are presented with on a disk. Some can play more kinds of files and stream larger amounts of data more efficiently than others, and some will load types of media other players can't or won't.

Menus may sometimes not load when a
player is not equipped to handle loading large files or menus which access them. If a player with lesser speed or amount of internal memory can't deal with accessing those files or the menu which indexes them, it may choke and just present you with a menu showing the raw files on the disk, which you will still be able to play if you click on them. Sometimes you can start playing a track then hit the MENU button on your remote and, voila, the menu will load. And you can often easily select and play chapters on a disk by pressing the track (number) buttons on your remote. Bottom line: not all Blu-Ray players load or play disks in the same way. Try updating the player's firmware (see above) if you think you may have this sort of issue to see if that enables your player to load and play BD-Rs.

Squadron Blu-Rays are tested on
Sony BDP-S1200 and BDP-S3100 Blu-Ray players and other types of players including the Sony BDP-390 and BDP-5390 will also play the hybrid Blu-Rays. Playstation 4 and menu-loading and playback of BD-Rs will definitely work on them so if you want to be sure of player compatibility with a disk, buy one of them, they are better players than some of the older, more inexpensive or off-brand ones, and will also let you select aspect ratios for video playback & do other cool things like play videos from a USB drive. You can get used players of this type on eBay for about $30.

5. A disk you play in one player hangs up at a certain point but then plays fine in another player
If a disk plays fine in one player and does not in another means the problem is not with the disk but with a player which chokes when it encounters a high-speed data flow, such as in a scene in which there is a lot of visual action in a serial. If the disk works in a second player or computer, the hangup is a player issue.

6. You think that a Blu-Ray disk should present a "perfect" quality image that looks like a store-bought Marvel Avengers Movie DVD, simply because it is a Blu-Ray
At the Squadron we work with all kinds of film prints and transfers and their quality varies according to the source material. We restore digital transfers of films which may be up to 100 years old, and some look great and some include some damage and may not be sourced from 35mm prints, and you need to understand that before ordering. Usually the source of a transfer and sample videos are provided on the site to give you an idea of quality. Please look at those things and do not expect miracles or for us to make your Disney dreams come true. We do the best we can with what we have to work with, which is sometimes very rare material of which there is only one print in existence, and stabilize, repair, restore and clean up transfers as much as we can and often stabilize transfers as well but most content we work with is not studio original prints.

6. You think Oscar and Elmer are lousy comedians
They are, but we can't help that either.


ORDER UPDATES/CORRECTIONS


IF YOUR SHIPMENT ARRIVES PHYSICALLY DAMAGED

Tell USPS you are not happy with their service.

If your cases were damaged but the disks are OK:
Pick up some replacement cases at Amazon.com. They are not expensive. Put the cover and disk in the new case. You will then have extra DVD cases on hand for future purchases damaged by the PO.

If you receive a disk which has slipped off the hub in its case during delivery and gotten scratched and this scratch affects play, or the PO smashed a disk or disks along with the package and you live in the US go to the ORDER UPDATES/CORRECTIONS PORTAL

Do not request a replacement if a disk slipped off the hub during shipment, has a scratch on it and plays fine. Minor scratches on the underside of disks which do not affect playback are usually insignificant in regards to use of the disk. The underside of a disk is not where the video is stored; the data is on the underside of the top layer. Which is why if you scratch the top of a DVD with a knife it is more likely to damage the information on the disk than if anything happens to the underside of it. If the disk you receive works, it works; play it and enjoy it.

If you live outside the US and have a damaged disk are interested in making another order, and do so, email azura@serialsquadron.com and she will add the replacement titles plus one free DVD or Blu-Ray to your new order. If you do not wish to make another order go to the ORDER UPDATES/CORRECTIONS PORTAL and we will ship you another disk and/or an mp4 download of the content.


IF YOU RECEIVED AN INCORRECT TITLE OR FORMAT OF A DISK, OR IF YOUR ORDER IS MISSING AN ITEM:
Go to the ORDER UPDATES/CORRECTIONS PORTAL and request the title that you are missing.




PLAYER/ DISK ISSUES

IF YOUR TV DISPLAYS A BLU-RAY DISK MENU IN WIDESCREEN AND YOU WOULD PREFER TO WATCH THE CONTENT IN 4:3 ASPECT RATIO
Your player is making the decision to do that because it thinks most menus and most video on a Blu-Ray will be widescreen and the TV is making the decision for you to stretch the menu across its screen without asking your permission. Look on your TV remote for a PICTURE, ASPECT or ZOOM button that allows you to manually change the aspect ratio of the screen. This option will usually be found on the TV's remote, not the remote for the DVD or Blu-Ray player, and the setting last uses is often what will remain as default unless you change it. So if your TV was set to widescreen before and you want to see the menu in 4:3, click PICTURE, ASPECT or ZOOM and set things the way you want.


IF YOU INSERT A DISK INTO A PLAYER AND IT DOES NOT LOAD THE MENU BUT DOES LOAD TRACK ICONS WITH NUMBERS OR TEXT TITLES
Your disk does not need to be replaced. A replacement would work the same way because your player appears not to have a built-in protocol to read the menu.
Try using your remote to select and click on a track. If your player plays the track, and it likely will, it has not got the protocol to play the disk format but does have the ability to play individual tracks. So you can watch the tracks that way. If that works, you can play the disk in that player in the future.
You can also try inserting the disk in another player or computer which may load the menu.


WHAT DO I DO IF MY PLAYER HANGS UP AT ONE SPECIFIC SPOT OR SPOTS IN A DISK, THE SAME WAY EVERY TIME?

If this happens, the player may be having trouble reading the disk format or the disk may have a data error or physical media error.

If your player will play first half of serial then can’t seem to access the rest of the tracks beginning with chapter 7 or 8, you player may not be able to handle the layer break in your Dual-Layer DVD. Try playing the disk in another player or computer.

If it works in the alternate player or drive, your disk does not need to be replaced. Use it in the player that can access the format.
.
If not and the same hangup happens on another player, it is possible the disk may have data error and needs to be replaced. Go to the ORDER UPDATES/CORRECTIONS PORTAL

WHAT DO I DO IF MY PLAYER HANGS UP OR SKIPS AT MULTIPLE POINTS DURING PLAYBACK? Your player may be old or slowing down and unable to keep up to the amount of data being streamed at those points. Try the disk in another player or computer drive.

If it works in the alternate player, your disk does not need to be replaced. Use it in the player that is having trouble keeping up to it.
.
If the same hangups happen at the same points in the disk on another player, the disk media may have a data error. Go to the ORDER UPDATES/CORRECTIONS PORTAL

WHAT DO I DO IF I INSERT A DISK IN A PLAYER AND THE PLAYER DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ABLE TO ACCESS OR LOAD THE DISK?
CHECK THE RECORDED AREA OF THE DISK
Look at the underside of the disk.
Do you see a rim near the edge which shows the area of the disk that has been recorded upon? If not, and the area on the bottom of the disk is all smooth on the with no visible data recording rim, you may have accidentally been sent a disk which may not have duplicated properly and may be blank and need to be replaced. Go to the ORDER UPDATES/CORRECTIONS PORTAL

WIPE THE UNDERSIDE OF THE DISK CLEAN
If you see the disk does show it contains a recorded area, check for smudges or fingerprints on the underside of the disk. Even if you don't see any, wipe it firmly but gently and thoroughly with a soft cloth then try inserting it in your player again. This may correct the problem. If you insert a disk with a recorded area that has been wiped clean and it still doesn't play, it may contain errors OR your player not have the protocol to be access its format. Try playing the disk in another player, a computer drive, or a game machine such as Playstation 4.

If you see the disk has a recorded area, and it loads in the other player, there is nothing wrong with the disk. Your first player does not have the built-in protocol to access the disk's format type. Play the disk in the player or drive that is capable of accessing it.


ACCESSING HYBRID BLU-RAYS
If you see the disk is a Hybrid Blu-Ray, has a recorded area, and your player does not seem to be able to handle the format, and it is a Samsung player, click MENU on the remote, and select PLAY ALL FORMATS and your player may load the menu. Other players may have similar options.

If that sort of thing doesn't work or isn't available on your player, read the information about hybrid Blu-Rays on THIS PAGE and play the disk in a Sony BDV-s390, s-1200, s-3100, or s-5390 player or another model or game machine such as Playstation4 which will access it.

If the disk does not play in one player but does in another and/or a computer it is not defective. If you have a Blu-Ray player that is not listed on that page, try the disk in one of the Sony BDP players that are recommended. If you don't have one, consider picking up one on eBay that will play the format.

You could also order the DVD version of a Hybrid Blu-Ray title instead, which will likely play in the player in which you want it to.

If the disk is a DVD, DL-DVD or standard Blu-Ray, and no player seems to be able to access it. Either there is an arror at the access point of the disk or there is some strange incompatibility between disk or the disk may be bewitched by a gypsy curse and and another copy of it may work. Go to the ORDER UPDATES/CORRECTIONS PORTAL