TOS BluRay Issues

[Jeyl]

Star Trek: Season 1 on BluRay was what propelled me into the BluRay medium. However, I have been encountering some issues here and there regarding the BluRays.

1. Does the sound cut out for anyone? Sometimes when a shot cuts to a new one, there is no audio for 2-3 seconds. It's not all the time, but when it happens, it's very noticeable.

2. Play issues. I was watching "This Side of Paradise" last night, and just as the scene where Spock says "You couldn't pronounce it" ended, it all of a sudden jumps to an earlier chapter. I watched the sequence a second time, and it happened again!

Anyone familiar with these issues? I use a Samsung player.

 

[LitmusDragon]

Try upgrading your player's software or firmware. The Blu-Ray format has went through numerous changes, and I hear that some disks won't play properly on some players unless you have the latest and greatest.

 

[Jeyl]

Try upgrading your player's software or firmware. The Blu-Ray format has went through numerous changes, and I hear that some disks won't play properly on some players unless you have the latest and greatest.

No software update was found. Did it with internet connection and all. Said the system is all up to date.

 

[Grant]

It's still a new and complicated technology and some players have some problems with certain discs.

If other people with your player have the same problem with the same disc--it should be added to a future firmware update.

 

[Jeyl]

The player is a Samsung blu-ray 3600. Grr, I wish I had my moth balls.

 

[chrisis1033]

Happening to me on ALL the episodes.

I also decided to take the step to Blu Ray with TOS S1 and purchased a Samsung 1590/1600 player. The player is a new release from Samsung and its firmware is up to date. No problems with the other BluRay TV series my wife purchased (True Blood) Of course my pick is the one with the play issues...LOL

Every episode starts great... picture GREAT... FANTASTIC job!! BUT suddenly it will freeze and repeat the last few minutes... play fine of a few more minutes then freeze again, repeat...etc. Every time.

Takes the enjoyment out of it.

I can understand if I was trying to look at special features that the player was not able to handle, but its just simply watching the episodes.

You are not alone!

 

[seigezunt]

okay...maybe I'll wait on this Bluray thing...

 

[Campe]

Same problem. Got a relatively new Samsung player (two weeks old). I'm beginning to wonder if its a Samsung issue. I noticed it particularly on "Where No Man Has Gone Before." I have not watched too many episodes on the set, but I wondered if it had something to do with the "seamless branching" with the Starfleet Access stuff. I held off watching too much until my new HDTV got here. Unfortunately, the first one I received came with two giant cracks in the inner LCD screen. My new set arrives tomorrow. Hopefully this one will be better!

 

[Ovation]

Take the disc to a store and try it on a different brand. Some brands have more issues than others. (people expect it to be as glitch free as DVD but A) early DVD machines had similar issues--not many people were in on DVD at the same point in Blu-ray's life cycle and B) it is a more complex system than DVD)

For anyone thinking of getting a player, the PS3 is still one of the best available options. Because it has an extremely powerful CPU for gaming (a feature I use twice a year, at most), it is still about the fastest and most glitch-free Blu-ray player available (which is why I bought one).

 

[Doug Otte]

Samsung players are notorious for problems. However, having said that, I haven't had any problems on either of my players, one of which is an older Samsung BD-UP5000. The other player is an LG BH200.

The only thing I've noticed (but only once or twice, I haven't noticed it recently) is when the episode branches, e.g. from a scene w/ new effects back to an original scene. In that instance, there's a very brief "jump" after the branch. I noticed the same thing on Close Encounters, so I guess these players have a problem w/ branching.

Doug

 

[Joanna McCoy-Kirk]

Same problem. Got a relatively new Samsung player (two weeks old). I'm beginning to wonder if its a Samsung issue. I noticed it particularly on "Where No Man Has Gone Before." I have not watched too many episodes on the set, but I wondered if it had something to do with the "seamless branching" with the Starfleet Access stuff. I held off watching too much until my new HDTV got here. Unfortunately, the first one I received came with two giant cracks in the inner LCD screen. My new set arrives tomorrow. Hopefully this one will be better!

I have problems during "Where No Man Has Gone Before" with audio dropouts during the PiP interviews. I haven't watched all the episodes yet, so there may be other problems lurking on the discs. My player is a Panansonic DMP-BD30 with up-to-date firmware.

 

[chrisis1033]

I returned the Samsung 1600 and paid about $30 more and picked up the Sony S360. This player came out about a month ago and the TOS S1 DVDs play GREAT. No issues with any of the features and a FANTASTIC picture!!!

I am very very pleased with this TOS Blu-ray. Two thumbs up!

 

[Botany Bay]

Sorry to hear this Jeyl, but thanks for the cautionary words for the rest of us.

Has anyone had issues using the TOS discs on a Sony PS3? I'm thinking of buying one to watch TOS in the new format.

 

[Maestro]

Samsung'ers -- If your firmware is up to date, I'd recommend resetting your player and then trying the discs. If they don't work, call Samsung's tech support and make them look into it.

 

[Mike Farley]

Sorry to hear this Jeyl, but thanks for the cautionary words for the rest of us.

Has anyone had issues using the TOS discs on a Sony PS3? I'm thinking of buying one to watch TOS in the new format.

I haven't had any issues with TOS Season 1 on my PS3. Watched maybe 3/4 of the episodes and they've all played perfectly.

 

[Shatinator]

Hey all little question, forgive my ignorance, but what exactly is the deal with the firmware? Why do you need updates to watch your disc. Also, are your viewing choices stored anywhere? Do you need to be connected to watch.

Thanks.

 

[Mike Farley]

Blu-ray is an evolving format. The studios add features to the newer disks that are not supported by the software that runs the players, so periodically firmware updates are issued that brings the players up to date with the latest disk specs. You need an internet connection to download these updates.

You viewing choices are not recorded anywhere and you do not need an internet connection to watch the disks, only to occasionally download a firmware update. I'd say my PS3 updates every 6 weeks or so...sometimes more often...sometimes less.

 

[Shatinator]

Thanks!

 

[chrisis1033]

firmware updates can also be done by going to the manufacturer's web site and downloading, burn on a cd and update the player. Player does not need to be connected to the internet.

The problem with Samsung is that they are apparently very slow with releasing updates, so in the case of TOS S1 the programming on the BluRay discs is more advanced than the programming in even the newest Samsung players and Samsung has not put out an updated firmware to update the player's program.

 

[Ovation]

Firmware updating is the future of all A/V electronics (and is the present for many of them). Receivers, sat/cable boxes, TVs, disc players--all these categories are already using firmware updates for many models and brands. The upside is firmware can add significant upgrades to feature sets (early PS3 models did not decode all the lossless audio codecs, but thanks to firmware upgrades, they all do so now, for example). The downside is some companies are slow to respond to issues and it leads to frustration (as does relying on the internet for updates). Companies do give the option of asking for updates via CD-ROMs by mail, but few people seem aware of this.

I know I'd rather have free feature updates and fixes, despite the occasional annoyance, than having to upgrade my gear all the time.