"Lord of the Rings" extended edition - two of the movies are MONO!

Thanks for replying.

I'm on my Mac Pro with Lion. As I said, EVERYTHING on my Mac plays in stereo fine, EXCEPT for these two movies. Even the first LOTR movie plays in stereo, just not the second and third ones. So it's not a global settings problem.

When I click on the file and Command-I it, yes, it does say that it is stereo (I'm not at home right now, so can't give the exact details). But they are definitely NOT stereo, so as far as I can tell, that file info is wrong.

I looked at the file info. All three movies say "Channels: Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1"

However, I have since received an email from iTunes admitting that the second and third movies are mono, and that there is no way for me to switch them to be stereo. They have given me a store credit.

I also received an email from Warner Bros saying that they got my query and are investigating. Let's hope they fix it. I am shocked that I am the first person to bring this to their attention. Does no one care about sound?!

Yeah, at least I'm not going crazy. But I heard it instantly on my two computer speakers, not from my home theatre. Anyone watching it on a mobile device with earphones (perish the thought for such epic movies, but I bet it happens) should instantly be able to tell that the audio is mono.

Thanks for sharing that. I too received a small credit from iTunes, but that doesn't solve the problem, does it? iTunes Customer Support eventually admitted that the movies are mono, and said I should contact Warner Bros.

This has been a customer support black hole. All Warner Bros has done is send me new download codes TWICE to download the SAME MONO MOVIES again, with no explanation or indication that they have even read my emails. I even wrote a letter to the president of Warner Bros Digital Distribution, and have had no reply, although a few days after that, I got new download codes from WB. Maybe he lit a fire under them, or maybe it was just coincidence.

Either way, here is what I emailed to WB over a week ago...

"Please, can you just answer the following questions, and if you're not able to do it, can you forward it to your supervisor?

1. Do you concede that the audio on the iTunes files for The Two Towers and The Return of the King extended editions are mono, even though the metadata says they are stereo? HAVE YOU EVEN CHECKED TO SEE IF THIS IS THE CASE?

2. If you have checked, and are 100% certain that they are indeed STEREO, then can you get together with the iTunes engineers to find out why they are ending up mono, as their customer support rep has admitted?

3. If you have checked, and have discovered that they are indeed MONO, then will you be correcting this and provide new stereo files, which is probably a contractual obligation on your part in the first place?"

I have had no reply.

Sorry for the delayed response - I was traveling, away from Internet for two weeks (yes, it's possible!)

drcadillo, you can go here to contact iTunes customer support.

http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/contact/

Demanding a refund is a great way to go. When it starts to cost them money, they will be more likely to get off their butts and fix the problem.

mario-64, thanks for making a stand for decent audio! It is certainly their responsibility, and I am hopeful that now that I am not alone in this, something will be done. I still haven't heard back from Warner Bros. As far as I know, they are still "looking into it."

I just got a reply from Warner Bros. They are saying all their files are stereo, so if that's the case, it is a problem with iTunes, so we're back to square one. Could you folks please follow the instructions below, and see if you still get the same problem? I will also try this weekend. Thanks.

Here's the response from WB...

We have tested the audio on all 3 LOTR Titles and have confirmed that they have 5.1 audio and stereo surround sound. Once you have verified you have the latest version of iTunes, re-download the Digital Copy content from Redemption URL listed on the insert provided with your DVD or Blu-ray product.

(Use Internet Explorer for PCs)

1.Select your media format (If available)

2.iTunes customers will be directed to the iTunes store and prompted for the authorization code

3.For Windows Media files, Click “Download” button correlating to your DVD or Blu-Ray purchase

4.The DigitalCopy.exe will prompt you through the Digital Copy Manger installation and media file downloads

5.After the files download, you can locate them in your “My Videos” folder (default) or whichever location you selected. To play the files, double click the icons in your library or play them from their location on your PC.

If you continue experiencing issues, please contact your media player provider’s support site. For Windows Media Player, please refer to the following Microsoft support site for more information:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/WindowsMedia/player/

For iTunes issues, please refer to the iTunes Apple support site for more information: http://www.apple.com/support/itunes or contact iTunes Store support directly using this webform: http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/store/browser

Thank you for contacting Warner Bros. Customer Support.

-WB Digital Copy Support Team

http://www.wbdigitalcopy.com/support

Here is the email I just sent to Warner Bros. And I got another email from iTunes today, throwing the ball back into Warner Bros' court, as you will see from the following...

Dear WB Customer Support,

Can you please forward this to your supervisor so that real action can be taken?

Thank you for checking and confirming that the files for all three LOTR movies at your end are stereo. Now that you have done that, I redirect you to the request I made in my previous email, which was...

"2. If you have checked, and are 100% certain that they are indeed STEREO, then can you get together with the iTunes engineers to find out why they are ending up mono, as their customer support rep has admitted?"

It is not a problem with me or my iTunes version or my computer. As I have stated before, iTunes Customer Support has already admitted that their files for "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King" are MONO. And I already forwarded you what another customer said, which was...

"Unfortunately I made the mistake of purchasing these movies before finding this thread. Being an audiophile I knew right away something was wrong with the audio in "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King". I too have opened a case with iTunes support and requested THEY escalate this with Warner Bros. It should not be the customer's responsibility to do so. Here's hoping they actually do..."

Another customer has requested a refund from iTunes. I am not making this up. You can read the whole forum discussion here if you want to...

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3804474?answerId=18417136022#18417136022&ac_cid=op123456#18417136

So instead of suggesting to me that I download the same bad files for a FOURTH time, why aren't you on the phone with iTunes to find out why your stereo files are being resold by them as mono files? Isn't that your job? Doesn't it concern you? Why is it being left to powerless customers to try to get you to do your job?

I have recontacted iTunes Customer Support as you suggested, and they have again passed the buck back to Warner Bros. Here is what they said in an email today...

"Please note that Digital Copy content is provided by the DVD production company. The production company is solely responsible for that product, the content therein, any warranties, and any claims that you or any other party may have relating to that Third-Party Product. Apple is not a party to the license between you and the content Provider with respect to that Third-Party Product.

For assistance with your Digital Copy content, please contact the production company from which the content was provided."

I have been very patient and civil, but it amazes me that I have had to email back and forth between Warner Bros and Apple for three months now, with no one taking responsibility for the error.

PLEASE get on the phone with iTunes to figure out where the problem is occurring. And don't just look at the file information, which of course says "stereo." LISTEN to the three movies with your ears. You will hear that iTunes' "Fellowship of the Ring" file has a nice stereo spread, but that their "Two Towers" and "Return of the King" files have all the audio centered, with NO stereo spread.

I and other customers look forward to your getting to the bottom of this problem, and fixing it.

Thank you.