Complete B5 DVD set - missing disc

Hello,

I live in Australia and I have purchased the Complete B5 DVD set (UK region2) through eBay. Season 3 had two disc 4 and no disc 5. Does anyone know how I should go about swapping one of the disc 4s for a disc 5? I have tried emailing the eBay person I bought it from, but no response. I have looked on the Warner Brother's UK site and could not find the Complete B5 DVD set listed.

I would appricate any help.

Regards,
TT.

Hi Tim,
Sorry to hear your bad news. Can you not contact the seller ? They may be able to rectify this mistake. If they don't respond, give them a bad review. That usually stimulates a response. Failing that,bad-mouth them across the 'net!!!

Alternatively, you could try to write /email/ call to Warner Home video UK and ask if they can supply you with a single disk (either at cost or out of courtesy). They've been quite good in the past in replacing single disks for some users of this site and JMSNEWS. Either explain your prediciment and ask them to help you. I know it is a second hand pruchase, but it may be worth a try.
Or, you could tell a white lie, saying you pruchased a set of S3 that had a missing disk. That might be a bit of a better approach to try.

Failing that, use certain illegal methods that I will not mention here to get a DVD rip of the missing disk and burn your own. Not ideal but a good last resort.

Thanks Darth. I have tried the eBay seller, but no response. I have had the DVDs for about a month and I have only just got to the end of season 3 and noticed the duplicate discs. I will send an email to WB and report back to this forum with what they say.

TT.

Terrible Tim said:

Hello,

I live in Australia and I have purchased the Complete B5 DVD set (UK region2) through eBay. Season 3 had two disc 4 and no disc 5. Does anyone know how I should go about swapping one of the disc 4s for a disc 5? I have tried emailing the eBay person I bought it from, but no response. I have looked on the Warner Brother's UK site and could not find the Complete B5 DVD set listed.

I would appricate any help.

Click to expand...

Are there any Customer Service contact numbers, email addresses or websites on the Babylon 5 - The Complete Universe (Region 2, PAL) packaging? I take it you also examined the entire set for loose discs and scratches (especially scratches in the direction of disc rotation)? I had several B5 single season sets that had loose discs with arc-like scratches in them, caused by the hub. IIRC, about six episodes skipped badly, and I got the online retailer to exchange the set (They wouldn't exchange just the damaged discs.). After Season 2, I made sure to buy all my B5 sets locally, where I could check them before I left the store. Found several scratched discs that way, and had those discs exchanged on the spot before I left the store.

Terrible Tim said:

I have tried the eBay seller, but no response. I have had the DVDs for about a month and I have only just got to the end of season 3 and noticed the duplicate discs.

Click to expand...

This is one of the reasons why I never buy complete DVD sets if they span more than one season. My Crusade, Firefly, Keen Eddie, Wonderfalls and The Tick DVD sets are complete series sets, but they were all 15 episodes or less, and therefore much easier to check the set for problems, and get any problems corrected before the return grace period is over. With multi-year complete DVD sets, there's more places where they could screw up (missing or duplicate DVDs, and especially in B5's case, DVDs that came loose and were scratched by the packaging.), and it takes you longer to check everything..

If I ever have to transport my B5 DVDs, I'd never even consider moving them in the original packaging. Go through all the work to get a pristine set and then have them get scratched in moving? No way! Instead I'd transport them in these:

THINpak Double DVD Case
http://www.sleevetown.com/double-dvd-holders.shtml

3 sleeves per B5 Season.

These are the sleeves that my Firefly, Keen Eddie, Wonderfalls, and 4400 DVDs came in, and are vastly better than the B5 original packaging.

The DVD companies have learnt from the problems with the Babylon 5 sets and now pack the individual DVDs so that they all point in the same direction.

I have checked the rest of the DVDs and they "appear" to be alright - I have only watched up to half way through Season 4 now.
I have also email WB UK and I am now waiting for a response,I will keep you guys informed with what they say.

TT.

A_M_Swallow said:

The DVD companies have learnt from the problems with the Babylon 5 sets and now pack the individual DVDs so that they all point in the same direction.

Click to expand...

The "book design" of the Babylon 5 Season Sets (two DVDs in each opening, back-to-back) was not the problem. The problem, was the hub design of the Babylon 5 Season Sets, a friction-fit type without a Press-to-Release button, and the hard plastic material used.

The material used in...

THINpak Double DVD Case
http://www.sleevetown.com/double-dvd-holders.shtml

...like in my Firefly, Wonderfalls, 4400 and Monk DVD sets, is much softer, and less "sctrachy." It's almost like teflon except that it's softer than pure teflon. Theses cases hold the discs well, and if the discs come loose, it's unlikely that they'll scratch the discs badly enough to ruin them.

It was the whole design of the DVD cases.

A_M_Swallow said:

It was the whole design of the DVD cases.

Click to expand...

I have CSI Season 1, which uses a similar book design and hard (scratch inducing) plastic material, BUT the hubs are press-to-release*, and they hold the discs VERY securely. So, I've had no problems with scratched discs in the CSI Season 1 set, and would not hesitate to transport that set in its original packaging.

With the B5 Season Sets, if the discs were in single DVD cases that used the same hub design and same hard plastic material, scratches would still be a problem.


*Not the best of that type, but better than the crappy, passive, friction-fit hub of the B5 sets.

It has been 2 weeks since I emailed WB and no response yet. I will send them another email and hope for the best.....

TT.

....Two weeks, huh? It sounds like it might be time to test the old "squeaky wheel" theory. In other words, bug the heck out them!

I never got a reply to my e-mail, but I did get a reply within a few days when I followed that up by snail mail:

Warner Home Video
135 Wardour Street
London
W1V 4AP

If I don't hear from them in a week, I will try writting a letter. Now paper, pen, envolopes, stamps.....what does a stamp look like again, I forget.