Cost Cutting and Lower Quality DVD Video
Sounds like Enshittification has made its way to DVD re-release box sets. To keep prices low, they are not only put in terrible spindle packaging, shows are getting re-encoded from a dual-layer disc to a single layer. Higher compression means lower quality video and DVDs are already a low 480i resolution.
Alec Watson of Technology Connections, has released a video talking about his experience with DVD re-release box sets. He noticed DVD box sets of shows like Star Trek: Deep Space 9 and Frasier having numerous issues, including glitches and unreadable discs. Then he purchased the original season box set releases to compare them. Some of the re-release shows have a noticeable loss in quality because they are literally ripped from the original dual-layer DVD release and re-encoded to fit on a single-layer disc!
Not all DVD sets had this problem. Columbo was still on dual-layer discs. Shows from Paramount and CBS in the video had the problems. I wonder how many more TV shows have been recompressed. Even more reason to track down original season releases or spend more for the Blu-ray release.
Maybe he got burned on Eaby with bootlegs? I imagine a lot of DVDs found at Wal-Mart and discount stores are like this. They sell the same inexpensive box sets for a ton less than Blu-ray releases. They gotta cut corners somewhere to hit that discount price.
Glad I grabbed those OG Seinfeld DVD seasons at Goodwill instead of the cheap box set online. Thrifting for the win!
Some DVD re-releases got cheapened out in a weird way.
Ways to Check if a DVD is Dual Layer
An easy way is to check the disc label or packaging. Most commercially pressed DVDs indicate this somewhere on the disc or box.
| DVDÂ Type | Label | Capacity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| DVD-5 | Single Layer | ~4.7 GB | Most common single-layer DVD. |
| DVD-9 | Dual Layer (DL) | ~8.5 GB | One side, two data layers — laser refocuses between them. |
| DVD-10 | Double-Sided Single-Layer | ~9.4 GB | You must flip the disc to access the second side; no label side. |
| DVD-18 | Double-Sided Dual-Layer | ~17 GB | Two dual layers, one per side; uncommon and fragile. |
If it says “Dual Layer,” “DL,” or “DVD-9,” it’s a dual-layer disc. You can sometimes find notes about licensed music changes in the fine print too.
You can also use a disc drive on to your computer to see the size of the disc.
Windows
- Open File Explorer
- Right-click the DVD drive -> Properties
macOS
- Open Disk Utility.
- Select the DVD drive and check the total capacity shown at the bottom.