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Mon Mar 10 2025

Are Warner Bros. DVDs deteriorating?

Movie fans with a well-curated DVD collection should check the condition of their Warner Bros. discs in their library.

Film enthusiasts with a well-maintained collection of DVDs should pay attention to their Warner Bros. discs. It has been revealed that hundreds of DVD titles produced by the company between 2006 and 2008 have fallen victim to a problem known as "disc rot." This phenomenon causes the DVDs to experience freezing, failures, or even breakage during playback. Normally, discs that are stored and handled correctly should not deteriorate in such a short period, indicating that there may have been a significant manufacturing flaw.

The good news is that Warner Bros. has acknowledged this issue and is providing replacements, although they do not offer refunds, for the affected discs, but only if the movie is still in print and the company retains the rights to those titles. In a statement, Warner Bros. expressed that it is aware of the problems with certain DVDs from those years and has been working with consumers to replace the defective discs. Additionally, they mentioned that defective discs are replaced with others of the same title, as long as they are available; if not, a product of equivalent value is offered.

The issue affects a wide range of titles, from classic films like Stanley Kubrick's edition of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Superman to popular series like Looney Tunes Collections and Batman: The Animated Series. Although Warner Bros. is attempting to address user dissatisfaction, many DVD libraries may be impacted by missing titles due to this issue. A film critic discussing the matter reported that after checking some of his DVDs, he found a discouraging result, describing them as “expensive coasters.”

On another note, Pamela Hayden, the voice behind iconic characters such as Milhouse and Jimbo Jones on The Simpsons, will retire after 35 years. Her final episode will be Treehouse of Horror Presents: Simpsons Wicked This Way Comes, set to air on November 24. Over the years, Hayden has voiced other minor characters and has expressed that leaving the show is not easy. She acknowledged that it has been an honor to work on such an innovative and fun series, leaving a beloved legacy for her fans.

In the tech realm, the French AI startup, Mistral, has introduced enhancements to its free work assistant, le Chat, bringing it closer to the capabilities of renowned competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic. Among the new features are web search with cited sources and the ability to generate images. Additionally, Casio is joining the trend of smart rings with the launch of the CRW-001-1JR in Japan, a nostalgic accessory that resembles a small conventional watch.