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Re: Soft Cell "Keychains & Snowstorms" 9 CD+DVD Boxset

PostPosted: Tue Sep 04, 2018 4:21 pm
by Surly
Amazon US now states a release date of November 9. The description notes "NTSC Region 0" for the DVD.

Re: Soft Cell "Keychains & Snowstorms" 9 CD+DVD Boxset

PostPosted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 9:49 am
by Sean
Has this been released in the UK? I can't tell looking at Amazon.co.uk.

Re: Soft Cell "Keychains & Snowstorms" 9 CD+DVD Boxset

PostPosted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 3:48 pm
by anfunny2003
Yes, it's out. I pre-ordered from Amazon UK but it hadn't charged my card or dispatched at midnight, so I went and cancelled and picked it up in HMV this morning instead. It's been out of stock on Amazon for weeks now, so they must've had stock issues.

It's a really nice set (same style as Marc's recent one of his own) and I already played four of the ten discs! I did...

The Early Years
Rarities, Alternative Versions & Curios
Extended Versions & New Mixes
Non-Stop Euphoric Dubbing

...in that order, as I felt it made more sense. Sounded great to me! Really enjoyed every disc - the new mixes are very good and use only the original elements. Euphoric Dubbing is excellent - a more ambient, downtempo companion to the previous instalment, if you like. Looking forward to checking out the other discs over the weekend.

Re: Soft Cell "Keychains & Snowstorms" 9 CD+DVD Boxset

PostPosted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 3:57 pm
by Sean
Thanks anfunny2003.

Re: Soft Cell "Keychains & Snowstorms" 9 CD+DVD Boxset

PostPosted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 8:35 pm
by Surly
anfunny2003 wrote:Yes, it's out. I pre-ordered from Amazon UK but it hadn't charged my card or dispatched at midnight, so I went and cancelled and picked it up in HMV this morning instead. It's been out of stock on Amazon for weeks now, so they must've had stock issues.

It's a really nice set (same style as Marc's recent one of his own) and I already played four of the ten discs! I did...

The Early Years
Rarities, Alternative Versions & Curios
Extended Versions & New Mixes
Non-Stop Euphoric Dubbing

...in that order, as I felt it made more sense. Sounded great to me! Really enjoyed every disc - the new mixes are very good and use only the original elements. Euphoric Dubbing is excellent - a more ambient, downtempo companion to the previous instalment, if you like. Looking forward to checking out the other discs over the weekend.


Can you confirm if the DVD is NTSC or PAL Region 0?

Re: Soft Cell "Keychains & Snowstorms" 9 CD+DVD Boxset

PostPosted: Sun Sep 09, 2018 1:36 am
by BigManRestless
Never mind the format - the DVD doesn't work. When I try and select BBC Performances the disc grinds and grinds away in the player and nothing happens. A few other people online have been reporting the same thing. Such a shame this is screwed up as the music discs are great.

Re: Soft Cell "Keychains & Snowstorms" 9 CD+DVD Boxset

PostPosted: Sun Sep 09, 2018 9:25 am
by Surly
BigManRestless wrote:Never mind the format - the DVD doesn't work. When I try and select BBC Performances the disc grinds and grinds away in the player and nothing happens. A few other people online have been reporting the same thing. Such a shame this is screwed up as the music discs are great.


Yeah, I saw those reports today as well. Ugh, what a mess. I'll wait this one out until I hear of them fixing this.

Re: Soft Cell "Keychains & Snowstorms" 9 CD+DVD Boxset

PostPosted: Sun Sep 09, 2018 12:42 pm
by Gary Russell
Yeah 8 really nicely done audios discs but the dvd is utterly buggered. The music is most important to me but will certainly look forward to seeing what gets done about the dvd

Re: Soft Cell "Keychains & Snowstorms" 9 CD+DVD Boxset

PostPosted: Mon Sep 10, 2018 11:06 am
by Sean
I haven't gotten mine yet but the main reason I am getting it is for the dvd. That's really a bummer if there are problems with the dvd. Since mine was delayed for some reason, I am hoping a fixed dvd.

Re: Soft Cell "Keychains & Snowstorms" 9 CD+DVD Boxset

PostPosted: Wed Sep 12, 2018 4:19 pm
by CRM
What an expensive joke. Absolutely appalling how poor quality control is with many reissues (particularly expensive ones). I've done the odd bit of proof listening/checking for reissue labels but this kind of thing really should be mandatory anyway and done in a thorough fashion.

Re: Soft Cell "Keychains & Snowstorms" 9 CD+DVD Boxset

PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2018 3:10 am
by crystal
CRM wrote:What an expensive joke. Absolutely appalling how poor quality control is with many reissues (particularly expensive ones). I've done the odd bit of proof listening/checking for reissue labels but this kind of thing really should be mandatory anyway and done in a thorough fashion.

Well said!
Really a shame what is happening again with such a boxset. It seems that labels think if they market something as 'deluxe' people will keep the set sealed + never listen to it anyway... Otherwise there is no excuse for such things.
Especially sad with this sad, was really looking forward to box.

Re: Soft Cell "Keychains & Snowstorms" 9 CD+DVD Boxset

PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2018 10:14 am
by Gary Russell
Here's the info:

****

Universal Music are sorry to inform you that owing to a hand-packing issue, some of the DVD discs featured in the Soft Cell Keychains & Snowstorms Boxset have been damaged causing playing issues, such as freezing and juddering.”

We would like to make you aware that due to this issue we are currently pressing additional copies of the DVD for anyone who has been affected. If you have experienced problems with your DVD and would like a replacement disc, please contact infoumc@umusic.com with proof of purchase (a scan, screen grab or photo of the receipt will do) and your address and it will be sent out to you.

Re: Soft Cell "Keychains & Snowstorms" 9 CD+DVD Boxset

PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2018 1:41 pm
by CRM
There is also this part of Universal's statement, in response to the DVD and booklet issues:

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE RETAILER YOU BOUGHT YOUR BOX SET FROM AS UNIVERSAL ARE DEALING WITH IT DIRECTLY, AND KINDLY PLEASE DO NOT POST ANY FURTHER ISSUES ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

Who the hell do they think they are re the social media comment? A shame as at least they are being efficient in resolving the issues.

Re: Soft Cell "Keychains & Snowstorms" 9 CD+DVD Boxset

PostPosted: Fri Sep 14, 2018 2:08 am
by BigManRestless
CRM wrote:Who the hell do they think they are re the social media comment? A shame as at least they are being efficient in resolving the issues.


People who would rather blame the factory workers than the DVD authors for this. Rather than saying 'We screwed up on quality control" blame the people lower down the production chain. Pretty crappy behaviour. How would 'hand packing' make all the DVDs screw up in exactly the same place for so many people - i.e. the BBC section ?

Kudos for fixing it - but these mistakes would not happen if labels would pay for quality control.

Re: Soft Cell "Keychains & Snowstorms" 9 CD+DVD Boxset

PostPosted: Fri Sep 14, 2018 10:32 am
by CRM
Having done that kind of quality control thing in the past for the odd label, I contacted some reissue labels a few months ago, all of which had some history with audio/video issues, offering my services. They all said that they had it covered. Sure...

As quite a few people have pointed out on this forum, there really isn't a huge amount of profit to be gained from most reissues. This does mean that corners are cut, especially when it comes to mastering and checking the final product. But if such a slack approach means often having to repress part of the product, wouldn't it be better to spend a small amount on having the release thoroughly checked and approved before manufacture?

It would also help if people weren't fobbed off with such a bullshit excuse of "hand packing" - even Stevie Wonder can see that it's a DVD authoring problem.