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.

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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). Never clean your disc in a circular direction.
• 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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Scratches on a DVD can cause issues with disc playback. Try to clean 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. To take advantage of our $6.95 replacement program, please follow the instructions below.

US Consumers
Please send the damaged disc(s), a check or money order for $6.95 per disc (made payable to WDSHE) and a completed Disc Replacement Form to:

WDSHE Consumer Relations
Attn: Disc Replacement Program
P.O. Box 3100
Neenah, WI 54957

Canadian Consumers
Please send the damaged disc(s), a check or money order for $6.95 per disc (made payable to WDSHE) and a completed Disc Replacement Form to:

WDSHE Consumer Relations
Attn: Disc Replacement Program
P.O. Box 280
Fort Erie, On L2A 0A6

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DVDs and DVD players are created for specific regions of the globe due to variations in releases and markets. To properly play a DVD, the DVD player must be the same region as the disc being played. A number in a globe icon identifies the region of both the disc and the player. This region number can be found on both the discs’ packaging and the disc itself. On the DVD player, it is usually displayed on the back panel of the player.

The 8 Regions are listed below:

• 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.)

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DVDs include 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.

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In Region 1, the default language track is English on all of our DVDs, and 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 visit the Movie Finder page.

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Digital 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 4:3; in other words, 1.33 times wider than high. New widescreen televisions, specifically those designed for HDTV, have a ratio of 16:9, 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 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 the viewfinder, one for 1.33 and one for 1.85, so they 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)

You can find more information about aspect ratio and widescreen here.

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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.

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First, check the aspect display setting in your DVD player's set up menu. If you have a square television, this setting should be set to 4x3 Letter Box. If you have a widescreen television, this setting should be set to 16x9. Additionally, ensure that you do not have your DVD player or television in a zoom or stretch mode which may distort the picture.

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The majority of our DVDs are widescreen, but many of our older animated titles such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, and Cinderella were created before widescreen was developed and they are shown in their original aspect ratio.

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