Audio Video News

Some Blu-ray rental discs sent through the mail by Netflix are arriving with cracks.

The problem affects "hundreds of subscribers," according to Wired. While the culprit hasn't been definitively identified, there are a couple of possibilities. Blu-ray discs store data closer to the surface and therefore require a special protective coating--could it be that the coating is more vulnerable to damage than the uncoated surface of a regular DVD? Or is rough handling from postal sorting machines enough in itself to damage the discs?

"Far fewer BlockBuster customers are complaining about their Blu-ray discs, which suggests that Netflix has a few issues of its own handling the discs," suggests Wired. Netflix responded saying the breakage is "infinitesimally small," so redesigning the mailer shouldn't be necessary.

This latest news comes on top of a recent price increase for Blu-ray rentals, which cost more than DVD rentals.