B

Best of Kitty

Vendor:

Kitty / Media Blasters

Problem 1: does not play all or parts of disc Workaround: If you have problems, I would suggest doing "title skips" to find the episode involved. I was not able to find numbers as this disc does not seem to have them encoded such that the player can display them. Discs Affected: ? Players Affected: has problems with Pioneer 414, Sony S3000, Panasonic A110 (works on some, works partially on others), known to work on Apex AD-600A and others, including a refurbished DVL-700. Severity: For those affected, 5, you are missing out on actual show material that you paid for.

Recalled:	no
Last Updated:	2000 Dec 25

Big O II

Vendor:	Bandai
DVD Authoring:	?

Problem 1: Volume 1 has problems playing in some players. Workaround: Try skipping to the track that has video Discs Affected: volume 1 Players Affected: Konka 2000, Pioneer DV333, DVD414, DV440 and some DVD-Rom drives Severity: high if it won't play

Problem 2: Volume 3 is showing problems for some people. Workaround: Discs Affected: Players Affected: PowerDVD, Sony S560D Severity:

Recalled:	no. This could be just a few bad copies, so try exchanging the DVD with the store or with Bandai.
Last Updated:	2004 April 4

Boogiepop Phantom

Vendor:	TRSI
DVD Authoring:	?

Problem 1: Two subtitles are slightly the wrong color. Workaround: ? Discs Affected: volume 1 Players Affected: all? Severity: 2. It was supposed to have been fixed on later pressings but maybe it didn't happen.

Problem 2: Some subtitles show "empty". The black edges are there but they aren't filled in, so you can see through the subs. May be the same problem as #1 above, or related. Workaround: ? Discs Affected: volume 1 Players Affected: all? Severity: 3

Problem 3: Some people have complained of a lot of 5.1 audio dropouts. "Horatio Hellpop" gave many specific examples: There are lots of .5 second to 1 second audio dropouts that occur throughout the entire disc. I'm going to list several time indexes from just the first episode where these dropouts occur, and would like some verification from others if it's happening with their disc as well. The dropouts vary from total silence (total dropout), to dropouts in the surround channels (partial dropout). Here's a short list: 1) Chapter 1 at 00:04 (total dropout) 2) Chapter 1 at 00:33 (total dropout) 3) Chapter 1 at 01:14 (total dropout) 4) Chapter 3 at 04:54 (partial dropout) 5) Chapter 3 at 04:48 (partial dropout) 6) Chapter 3 at 05:53 (partial dropout) 7) Chapter 3 at 06:40 (partial dropout) 8) Chapter 3 at 07:04 (partial dropout) 9) Chapter 3 at 07:47 (partial dropout) 10) Chapter 3 at 07:57 (partial dropout) 11) Chapter 7 at 22:44 (total dropout) 12) Chapter 8 at 23:24 (total dropout) first couple words of the preview are chopped off at this point There are a lot of other partial dropouts between chapters 3 and 7, but I wanted to point out additional total dropouts. All of these are repeatable in exactly the same place each time, and all occur on both my Toshiba SD-3109 standalone player, as well as my computer DVD drive via PowerDVD. Workaround: The Japanese 2.0 track and the English 2.0 track appear to be free from these problems. Discs Affected: volume 1? Players Affected: all? Severity: 3+

Note 1: Director's commentary won't make much sense unless you "play all" as the director keeps talking as if the whole disc is one set. Workaround: ? Discs Affected: ? Players Affected: all? Severity: 1 - not a big issue

Recalled:	no, but
Last Updated:	2003 July 4

Thanks to Shawne Kleckner of TRSI for the heads-up. I feel this alone is a minor problem.

Bubblegum Crisis, volumes 1-3, initial version

Vendor:

AnimEigo, sublicenced to M2K

Problem 1: subtitle timing glitches, in episode 2 they can totally disappear, depending on the player. Workaround: apart from either putting up with it or watching the dub, none Discs Affected: all for the sub glitches Players Affected: all

Problem 2: beeps and hums in the Japanese audio Workaround: Try changing audio connectors, switch between analog and digital connections. If that doesn't work, putting up with it or watching the dub are your only options. Discs Affected: The severity of the audio problem veries by setup, on some setups it isn't very noticable, on others it is very apparent. This hum is present on the tapes and LDs, but the Dolby Digital encoding and decoding process apparently magnified it. Players Affected: all

Recalled:	This set is said to be in the remastering stage. An upgrade option is also being worked on as a fourth disc with more music videos and other extras will be available.
Last Updated:	9/4/2000

M2K Press Release at Anime on DVD. The bug list posted on M2K's site.

NOTE: Once the fixed version is in full distribution (available in most stores that sell it), I will discontinue taking bug reports on the initially produced version. I may keep taking bug reports until the original discs purchased are replaced. If you experience a bug not listed here or at M2K's site, please let me know as soon as possible. I advise against buying the original version as the new one is impending, with a reputed 9/15/2000 release date.

Update: If you have the four-disc "Megaset" in which the first three are exhibiting some subtitle flashing, contact M2K for a replacement as you recieved the original set of discs that were mistakenly packaged with the new kit.

Update [4/19/2001]: There are now a few ways to identify the fixed version. The silk screen on most if not all the fixed has a "DVD Reporter" web site ad on it. Also, the inner ring on the metal of most DVDs have numbers printed in them:

Bubblegum Crisis
Disk1 = DRSS 025680
Disk2 = DRSS 024700
Disk3 = DRSS 024710
Disk4 = DRSS 025220
Disc 3 PMS/037A1 known good. This disc also looks different from the others in my set--its hub is clear, rather than having paint all the way to the centre like the others. Only problem is that many times a sub will come up right before the end of the chapter, which causes the sub to turn off on my player. Probably a player bug.

"jnik" reported the sub dropping flaw, this affects players that clear the subtitles on chapter changes.

Bubblegum Crisis 2040

Vendor:

ADV Films

Problem 1: The last episode in volume 2 is said to have consistent crackling / popping sounds in the left channel of the Japanese audio track. The English and Spainish audio tracks are apparently fine. The crackling is said to be about 1/5 th the volume of the normal audio. Time indexes 1:28:40-1:28:55 and 1:27:45 are said to be where it comes up most noticably. Workaround: ? Discs Affected: Volume 2 Players Affected: probably all, this problem was noticed on: Panasonic A100; Sony DVP-S300 and DB-930 reciever with AC3 optical interconnect; Pioneer DVL-909, a Pioneer VSX-D608 reciever and B&W speakers Severity: 1-2. Frankly I didn't notice it. At the time indexes given there is applause or road noise, I didn't hear anything that was too out of order.

Recalled:	No. DLW said he will look into it.
Last Updated:	12/07/2000

Thanks to bebpo, Jim Lazar and punjar for their comments on the AoD Glitch Disc forum.

Buttobi CPU

Vendor:	Critical Mass / A "The Right Stuf, Inc" label
DVD Authoring:	?

Problem 1: During several high-motion scenes, some frames get blocky and heavily artifacted. Note that this often affects one or two frames in such a clip and the ability to see it in full play mode depends on the playback setup and the individual. Sample images: Image #1 Image #2 Image #3 Image #4 Workaround: buy the Region 2 version? Discs Affected: all? Players Affected: Toshiba 1200, Pioneer DVL-700, maybe others, possibly all. Severity: 2-4

Nitpick 1: The entire episodes are only one chapter, with no chapter marks. Workaround: keep track of time indexes and manually enter them if needed. Severity: 1-2

Nitpick 2: The subtitles are a dark red, which can be hard to read. On the plus side the font and borders are to my liking. Workaround: ? Severity: 1-2

Nitpick 3: The menu. It is veeeery sloooooow on many players as it replaces the entire screen image to move the little indicator. Also, the dub outtakes are listed in the individual episode selections, but not as an extra in the main menu, so many people will miss what is possibly the best part of the disc. On these two counts I believe the menu should have been better designed. It's workable for this disc but I hope future discs Workaround: ? Severity: 2-3

Recalled:	no, but it was fixed and rereleased, see below.
Last Updated:	2004 April 4

Thanks to "C H Lee" on the Anime On DVD forum for the screen captures. The DVD has been reauthored and re-released under the Right Stuf label, as opposed to the Critical Mass label that IMO it should be on, but at least it was fixed. There is no exhange program to my knowledge.