Darren wrote: I passed this along in the boards and the spymaster link, but am sending it to you as well. There is a problem with the new FOTR Special Edition DVD not playing in some DVD ROM drives. Here is the info I got from Interactual tech support.
“We apologize for the problems you are experiencing with the Lord Of The Rings Extended Edition DVD. We have had reports of customers experiencing problems with these discs with several specific DVD ROM drive models. If your computer has one of the following drive models installed, then it is likely that the drive will not recognize any of the discs in this DVD set.
“This is not due to a problem in the way that the discs were created, since they are all fully compliant with the DVD Specification and will play on the majority of DVD equipment. The problem is apparently due to a limitation in the programming of the internal firmware of the drive models in question, and replacing the disc will not resolve the issue.
“We have informed New Line Home Video about these problems, and they are contacting the makers of these drives to ensure that a firmware upgrade is made available to customers which correct this problem.
“The drives that have had problems reported are:
* Samsung SD-616, commonly sold in Dell and HP desktop PC’s * LG DRD8160B, commonly sold in Sony, Dell, or Compaq desktop PC’s * LG DRN8080B, commonly sold in Compaq and HP laptop PC’s
“There are currently no fixes available for the problem at this time. When the problem has been resolved and a firmware upgrade has been released, the manufacturer of your computer system should be able to provide the update to you, and assist if needed with applying the fix to your system.
“We apologize again for the inconvenience.”
T: I’m not sure I buy this excuse. If no other DVD has this problem on those drives, and the FOTR one does, then I’d be pointing the finger at the DVDs, not the drives….
