If you accidentally damage or break one of your Disney DVDs, you can get a replacement disc for a nominal charge of $6.95.

Please mail in your damaged DVD (along with DVD case and full packaging), a Check or Money order for $6.95 (made payable to WDHE), along with your Contact Information (Name, Address, and Phone Number) to:

Replacement Program
PO Box 3100
Neenah, WI 54957-3100.
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See also What happens if I scratch the disc?

A DVD encoded with Macrovision will cause a VCR set to record to fail. This is usually visible as a scrambled picture as if the tracking is incorrect, or the picture will alternate between light and dark. Just connecting the video signal from a DVD player to a VCR can activate Macrovision. The only way to bypass Macrovision is to connect the DVD player video cable directly to the TV. If you do not have the proper connections on the back of the TV you can use an RF modulator (available at most electronics or department stores) to make the proper connections.  Back to Top

Scratches on a DVD can cause issues with the playback of a disc. Try to clean off the disc using a slightly dampened soft cloth or a DVD polishing kit if necessary. In most cases, a severely scratched or damaged DVD will need to be replaced. Please see above for information on replacing a damaged DVD.  Back to Top

Since DVDs are read by a laser, they are resistant - to a point - to fingerprints, dust, smudges, and scratches. However, surface contaminants and scratches can cause playback errors, so it's a good idea to take care of your discs. In general, treat them the same way you would treat a CD:

• Handle only at the hub or outer edge; don't touch the shiny surface with greasy fingers.
• Store in a protective case when not in use. Do not bend the disc when taking it out of the case, and be careful not to scratch the disc when placing it in the case or in the player tray. Make certain the disc is properly seated in the player tray before you close it.
• Keep away from radiators/heaters, hot equipment surfaces, direct sunlight (near a window or in a car during hot weather), pets, small children, and other destructive forces. Magnetic fields have no affect on DVDs.

If you notice problems when playing a disc, you may be able to correct them with a simple cleaning:

• With a soft, lint-free cloth, wipe gently in only a radial direction (a straight line between the hub and the rim). Since the data is arranged circularly on the disc, the micro scratches you create when cleaning the disc (or the nasty gouge you make with the dirt you didn't see on your cleaning cloth) will cross more error correction blocks and be less likely to cause irreversible errors.
• Do not use strong cleaners, abrasives, solvents, or acids.
• Do not use canned or compressed air, which can be very cold and may thermally stress the disc.
• For stubborn dirt or gummy adhesive, use water, water with mild soap, or isopropyl alcohol. As a last resort, try peanut oil. Let it sit for about a minute before wiping it off.
• There are commercial products that clean discs and provide some protection from dust, fingerprints, and scratches. Cleaning products labeled for use on CDs work as well as those that say they are for DVDs.

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To fill the screen completely there are two different steps you can try. First, your TV may have a button listed as "Format" or "Aspect". Toggling through the different aspects will expand the image to fill the screen. Second, the majority of DVD players can adjust the aspect of the feature by pressing the "Zoom" button on the remote. Each TV and DVD player is different so please refer to the owner’s manual for each piece of equipment for the exact buttons you will need.  Back to Top

The first setting to check is the aspect display in the DVD player's set up menu. Please reference your DVD player’s manual for more information on how to change this setting. Also, the majority of DVD players can adjust the aspect of the feature by pressing the "zoom" button on the remote.  Back to Top

There are thousands of answers to this question, but here are some basic troubleshooting steps to help you track down problems such as jerky playback, pauses, error messages, and so on.

PC:

• Get updated drivers. Driver bugs are the largest cause of playback problems, ranging from freezes to bogus error messages about regions. Go to the support section on the websites of your equipment manufacturers and make sure you have the latest decoder drivers as well as the latest drivers for your graphics adapter and DVD decoder.
• Make sure DMA or SDT is turned on. In Windows, go into the System Properties Device Manager, choose CD-ROM, open the CD/DVD driver properties, choose the Settings tab, and make sure the DMA box (for IDE drives) or the Sync Data Transfer box (for SCSI drives) is checked. Download DVD Speed to check the performance of your drive (if it's below 1x, you have problems).
• If you get an error about unavailable overlay surface, reduce the display resolution or number of colors (right-click desktop, choose Settings tab).
• Try turning off programs that are running in the background. In Windows, close or exit applets in the system tray -- the icons in the lower right corner.
• If you are using a SCSI DVD-ROM drive, make sure that it's the first or last device in the SCSI chain. If it's the last device, make sure it's terminated.
• Reinstall the Windows bus mastering drivers. (Delete them from the device manager and let Windows ask for original disc.)
• Macrovision is the most common reason for bad video from a TV-Out option on the video card. This may be due to the output software for the video card. Updates may be available on the software manufacture's website.

Mac:

• Get updated drivers. Driver bugs are the largest cause of playback problems, ranging from freezes to bogus error messages about regions. Go to the support section on the websites of your equipment manufacturers and make sure you have the latest decoder drivers as well as the latest drivers for your graphics adapter and DVD decoder.
• If you have problems loading a DVD on a Mac, hold down the Command, Option, and I keys when inserting the disc. (This mounts the disc using ISO 9660 instead of UDF.)
• If you get an error about unavailable overlay surface, reduce the display resolution or number of colors (right-click desktop, choose Settings tab).
• Try turning off programs that are running in the background. In Mac OS, turn off AppleTalk, file sharing, and virtual memory.
• Allocate more memory to the Apple DVD Player.
• Macrovision is the most common reason for bad video from a TV-Out option on the video card. This may be due to the output software for the video card. Updates may be available on the software manufacture's website.

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DVD uses optical disc storage technology and is essentially a bigger, faster CD. It can hold cinema-like video, better-than-CD-quality audio, and computer data. DVD aims to encompass home entertainment, computers, and business information with a single digital format, eventually replacing audio CD, videotape, laserdisc, CD-ROM, and video game cartridges.

Some of the features of DVD-Video are:

• Over 2 hours of high-quality digital video.
• Support for widescreen movies on standard or widescreen TVs.
• Up to 8 tracks of digital audio, each with as many as 8 channels.
• Menus and simple interactive features (for games, quizzes, etc.).
• Instant search to title, chapter, music track, and timecode.
• Durable (no wear from playing, only from physical damage).
• Not susceptible to magnetic fields.
• Resistant to heat.
• Compact size (easy to handle, store, and ship; players can be portable).
• Language choice (for selection of video scenes, audio tracks, subtitle tracks, and menus).
• Special effects playback: freeze, stop, slow, fast, and scan.
• Parental lock (for denying playback of discs or scenes with objectionable material).
• Digital audio output (PCM stereo and Dolby Digital).
• Players are compatible with audio CDs.

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DVD has the capability to produce near-studio quality video. It is superior to consumer videotape and generally better than laserdisc.  Back to Top

A DVD contains digital audio, whereas a videotape only has analog audio. A DVD also offers multiple audio tracks, up 6 discrete channels, while VHS is only capable of 2 channels. As a result, the overall audio quality for any DVD product will be much better.  Back to Top

Canada and the U.S. are in Region 1. There are 8 regions:

1. Canada, U.S., and U.S. Territories
2. Japan, Europe, South Africa, and the Middle East (Including Egypt)
3. Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Hong Kong
4. Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean
5. Former Soviet Union, Indian Subcontinent, Africa,
   North Korea, and Mongolia
6. China
7. Not assigned
8. Special International Venues (airplanes, cruise ships, etc.)

DVD players and DVD discs are identified by the region superimposed on a world globe.

DVDs purchased in other regions that do not have a number one on the globe will not play on Region 1 DVD players.  Back to Top

In region 1, the default language track is English on all of our DVDs. Additionally, some of our DVDs have Spanish and/or French Language Tracks or Subtitles.

Our aim is to include French and Spanish Language Tracks on our DVDs when possible, though sometimes because of technical, licensing, or other reasons we are unable to do so.

For a list of DVDs that have Spanish and/or French language tracks, please call our toll free number at (800) 723-4763 or visit the Disney Movie Finder.
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Please check the release calendar for new and upcoming DVDs.  Back to Top

The majority of our DVDs are widescreen, but many of our older animated titles were created before widescreen was developed and they are shown in their original aspect ratio.  Back to Top

Yes, click here to view a release calendar of upcoming titles.  Back to Top

For a list of available Disney Titles, please use the Disney Movie Finder or call our toll-free number: (800) 723-4763.  Back to Top

If you experience playback issues with a DVD or video, please call our toll-free number at (800) 723-4763. There may be a player-specific problem we can help you with. Before calling, please try the DVD on a different DVD player to see if the issue can be replicated.
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We have a great number of titles in our vault and everyone has their favorites. Unfortunately, it is not possible to release or have all our titles in the DVD market at once and so we have limited the availability of older titles. We do release older titles on a regular basis — please check the release calendar for new and upcoming DVDs.  Back to Top

Information on currently available titles on DVD can be found at our Web site. You can also look up a specific title's availability in the Disney Movie Finder.
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You may order our available titles at our Web site.  Back to Top

Some movies, especially those over two hours long or encoded at a high-data rate, are spread across two layers on one side of the disc. When the player changes to the second layer, the video and audio may freeze for a moment. The length of the pause depends on the player and on the layout of the disc. The pause is not a defect in the player or the disc.  Back to Top

DVD includes parental management features for blocking playback and for multiple versions of a movie on a single disc. Players (including software players on PCs) can be set to a specific parental level using the onscreen settings. If a disc with a rating above that level is put in the player, it won't play. In some cases, different programs on the disc have different ratings. The level setting can be protected with a password.

A disc can also be designed so that it plays a different version of the movie depending on the parental level that has been set in the player. By taking advantage of the seamless branching feature of DVD, objectionable scenes are automatically skipped over or replaced during playback. This requires that the disc be carefully authored with alternate scenes and branch points that don't cause interruptions or discontinuities in the soundtrack.  Back to Top

Each player is given a code for the region in which it's sold. The player will not play discs that are not allowed in that region. This means that discs bought in one country may not play on players bought in another country.

Regional coding is not an encryption system, it's just one byte of information on the disc that the player checks. Region codes are a permanent part of the disc; they don't "unlock" after a period of time.

There are 8 regions (also called "locales"). Players and discs are identified by the region number superimposed on a world globe. If a disc plays in more than one region it will have more than one number on the globe.

DVD Regions:

1. U.S., Canada, U.S. Territories
2. Japan, Europe, South Africa, and Middle East (including Egypt)
3. Southeast Asia and East Asia (including Hong Kong)
4. Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean
5. Eastern Europe (Former Soviet Union), Indian subcontinent, Africa, North Korea, and Mongolia
6. China
7. Reserved
8. Special international venues (airplanes, cruise ships, etc.)

Technically, there is no such thing as a region 0 disc or a region 0 player. There are, however, all-region discs. There are also all-region players. That is, some players can be modified to play discs regardless of the regional codes on the disc. The main reasons for regional coding are to prevent the theatrical release of a title in one region being jeopardized by imports of DVDs from other regions, and to protect the interests of foreign distributors.  Back to Top

A dual-layer disc has two layers of data, one of them semi-transparent so that the laser can focus through it and read the second layer. Since both layers are read from the same side of the disc, a dual-layer disc can hold almost twice data as much data as a single-layer disc, typically 4 hours of video. Many discs use dual layers. Initially only a few replication plants could make dual-layer discs, but most plants now have the capability.

The layer change can occur anywhere in the video; it doesn't have to be at a chapter point. There's no guarantee that the switch between layers will be seamless. The layer change is invisible on some players, but it can cause the video to freeze for a fraction of a second or up to 4 seconds on other players. The "seamlessness" depends as much on the way the disc is prepared as on the design of the player. The advantage of two layers is that long movies can use higher data rates for better quality than with a single layer.

There are various ways to recognize dual-layer discs: 1) the gold color, 2) a menu on the disc for selecting the widescreen or letterbox version, 3) two serial numbers on one side.

This DVD specification requires that players and drives read dual-layer discs. There are very few units that have problems with dual-layer discs--this is a design flaw and should be corrected for free by the manufacturer. Some discs are designed with a "seamless layer change" that technically goes beyond what the DVD spec allows. This causes problems on a few older players.

All players and drives also play double-sided discs if you flip them over. No manufacturer has announced a model that will play both sides. The added cost is hard to justify since discs can hold over 4 hours of video on one side by using two layers. (Early discs used two sides because dual-layer production was not widely supported. This is no longer a problem.)  Back to Top

Video can be stored on a DVD in 4:3 format (standard TV shape) or 16:9 (widescreen). The width-to-height ratio of standard televisions is 4 to 3; in other words, 1.33 times wider than high. New widescreen televisions, specifically those designed for HDTV, have a ratio of 16 to 9, that is, 1.78 times wider than high.

DVD is specially designed to support widescreen displays. Widescreen 16:9 video, such as from a 16:9 video camera, can be stored on the disc in anamorphic form, meaning the picture is squeezed horizontally to fit the standard 4:3 rectangle, then unsqueezed during playback.

Letterbox (often abbreviated to LBX) means the video is presented in its theatrical aspect ratio, which is wider than standard or widescreen TV. Black bars, called mattes, are used to cover the gaps at the top and bottom. A 1.85 movie that has been letterboxed for 1.33 display has thinner mattes than a 2.4 movie letterboxed to 1.33 (28% of display height vs. 44%), although the former are about the same thickness as those of a 2.4 movie letterboxed to 1.78 (26% of display height). The mattes used to letterbox a 1.85 movie for 1.78 display are so thin (2%) that they're hidden by the overscan of most widescreen TVs. Some movies, especially animated features and European films, have an aspect ratio of 1.66, which can be letterboxed for 1.33 display or sideboxed (or windowboxed) for 1.78 display.

Pan & scan means the thinner TV "window" is panned and zoomed across the wider movie picture, chopping off the sides. However, most movies today are shot soft matte, which means a full 1.33 aspect film frame is used. (The cinematographer has two sets of frame marks in her viewfinder, one for 1.33 and one for 1.85, so she can allow for both formats.) The top and bottom are masked off in the theater, but when the film is transferred to video the full 1.33 frame can be used in the pan & scan process. Pan & scan is primarily used for 1.33 formatting, not for 1.78 formatting, since widescreen fans prefer that letterboxing be used to preserve the theatrical effect.

Once the video is formatted to full-frame or widescreen form, it's encoded and stored on DVD discs. DVD players have four playback modes, one for 4:3 video and three for 16:9 video:

• full frame (4:3 video for 4:3 display)
• auto letterbox (16:9 anamorphic video for 4:3 display)
• auto pan & scan (16:9 anamorphic video for 4:3 display)
• widescreen (16:9 anamorphic video for 16:9 display)

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At this time, we only sell DVDs to customers in the U.S. and Canada.  Back to Top

Please visit our Disney Online International Web site.  Back to Top

You may write us at:

Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Attn.: Consumer Relations
PO Box 3100
Neenah, WI 54957-3100
(800) 723-4763
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Please visit DisneyDirect.com or your local retailer.  Back to Top

Please visit BVHE.com or e-mail BVHE.Rental@disney.com.  Back to Top