So - wtf - is going on ?

[Vipersan]

Well ..I thought I understood technology to some degree ..
but this errr inovation has me a bit confused if not more than a bit angry...
perhaps one of you more informed types can bring me up to speed.

Off my neighbour who knows I love films ...I received a double blu ray pack consisting of Rise of the planet of the apes and the recent dawn of the planet of the apes....for Christmas..
Well I own 2 blu ray players ..
A Samsung ...and a Panasonic..
Neither would play on the older Sammy ...and only 'DawnXXX' would play on the Panny...
So ..Popped the discs one at a time in my htpc ..
Which would't play 'em ...as expected ..but the aim was to see that the discs did indeed hold the movies.
The menu structure was visible for 'Dawn' but 'Rise' appeared totally blank..???
But rather than return them ...I splashed out another £100 and bought a more recent Panny ...one wiv netflix and internet capability..
ie ..some future proofing ..

Sure enough Dawn played perfikly...
But on inserinting 'Rise' the player asked for a blank usb stick to be plugged in ...
Whereupon something was written to the usb ...
and the movie played ??
Being of a curious nature I removed the stick and examined it's contents on the PC ..
A BUP directory had been created ...containing a key ..I think..?
The movie plays with the key inserted (usb stick)...and also with it removed ??
Really not sure whats going on ..perhaps someone has the answer ..?
Perhaps it's time limited ..and eventually I wont be able to play the movie ...but ..
First I'm annoyed I had to wipe a usb stick to do this ..
Second I'm annoted cos I almost had my neighbour run back to Asda with what I thought were faulty dics..

And Finally I'm bloody annoyed cos I've had to part with another £100 just to watch the movie ..and I already own 2 players ...now 3
Grrrrrrrr
Ferkin tech never stands still ...
rgds
VS

 

[timo_w2s]

Sounds very odd and worrying. Doesn't sound good to me from a consumer point of view.

 

[sonnetpete]

There is a comment for the double BluRay pack on Amazon which highlights a similar problem (though not mentioning the USB stick). At first I though it might be the same as 'Hugo', where they crammed both 3D and 2D copies onto the same disc. I've avoided buying 'Hugo' due to the negative comments...(over 50 1* ratings) and it's now reduced to £5...

 

[hairybadger]

A BUP directory had been created ...containing a key ..I think..?
The movie plays with the key inserted (usb stick)...and also with it removed ??

firmware update?

 

[sonic1]

firmware update?

My first thoughts, most players have an ethernet connection to obtain the required updates.

 

[Vipersan]

I think we can discount it being a firmware issue ..having checked it carries the latest firmware already.
This looks more like either a piracy countermeasure ...
The prime purchase in this case is the later movie and but packaged with the first and earlier movie as a discounted extra ..
What surprises me is the lack of information accompanying the product ..ie ...playability requirements.
Anyone with an older player receiving this in their Xmas stocking is going to be frustrated and feel cheated ..as the only way I can see around the problem ..is to go out and buy another up-to-date blu ray player..
Now ..to compond this problem ...I for example have a Denon surround sound amp..
perfectly functional ..and very expensive at the time...BUT
it does not use hdmi inputs ..
it being for audio only..
Thus choices are spdif optical or digital phono...
and I use full 6.1 channel analogue inputs to connect to my blu ray player ...
This then requires that the blue ray player has the required analogue outputs ..
My older panny blu ray player has these ...but the new panny player does not.
Luckily it does have spdif toslink optical ...(not all recent players have optical out - BEWARE)
This is only 5.1 dts etc ...but will suffice ..
In short You buy the movie ...
Then realise you need to upgrade you player to enjoy it ...
then realise you have to replace (upgrade) your surround sound amp to one with hdmi 1.3 inputs to get the full benefit of the multichannel audio ..
You buy a movie ...and are forced to upgrade your entire system to be compliant.
no legacy support.
Frustrating I calls it ...
OOOOO00000 it makes me maaaaddddd

 

[Vipersan]

Just thought I'd add that the new player I bought ...
The Panasonic DMP-BDT360 is quite nice ..
As I said ..got it for £105 delivered ..
Plays legacy DVD ...Blu Ray ..2D and or 3D discs..
Also upscales to 4K ..
Not that I'll use 3D ..I can't see it ..and 4K is too pricey atm ..so no plans to ugrade the TV as yet.
Also is network services compliant ..
Will play media from usb ...or compliant networked servers.
Also has built in BBCiplayer ..
Youtube ..
plus sundry crap such as facebook access ...
and also NetFlix compliant ...should you have an account.

All in all ...a very nice unit for £100 ...but annoys me that I had no choice but to buy it....
cest la vie

 

[PaulR]

This reminds me somewhat of the counter piracy subterfuge used by Sony when they hid some files using a root technique. It didn't half cause them some flak when they were found out.