News

UPDATED 7th February

CENTRAL The original CENTRAL tube Driver's eye view including the Ongar branch has now been discontinued and all stock is now SOLD OUT.

Our NEW version is called CENTRAL LINE and was filmed in 2011 available in the Underground section.

Our two for one Steam on 35mm offer was such a runaway success, that we had run out of the second DVD (Steam on 35mm 3 & 4). These are now in stock and all back orders have been despatched.

CATALOGUE. If you would like a copy of our latest catalogue please write or call for one or submit a Catalogue Request. Issue 21 is at the printers and will be despatched within the next couple of weeks.

Post production/filming update

Welsh Marches
This is well on the way to completion (quality takes time I am afraid). Richard Bath has kindly agreed to add his dulcit tones to this, our latest Driver's eye view to be released on DVD and Blu-ray* mid-March.

AYRLINE
Our camera crew had been hard at work filming from Stranraer to Glasgow Central in excellent weather last summer. However, with at least three days of filming remaining, we did not have the appropriate weather to complete it last year, hopefully we can continue this summer.

Take a fresh look at our wishlist below to remind you what we are also planning this year.

* Blu-ray is a domestic high definition format. The discs look very similar to familiar DVD discs but contain many times the information. In order to view the resulting 1080 line high definition pictures you will need either a Blu-ray player or Sony PlayStation 3 games console. This in turn will need to be plugged into either an HD-ready TV (for 720 line reproduction) or full HD (for 1080 line reproduction). Blu-ray players also play back existing DVD discs so you will not have to keep 2 machines side by side. There is a small premium to pay for Video 125 Blu-ray discs due to the high cost of replication.

Video125 Forum
Don't forget you can chat with me or fellow enthusiasts on our railway forum. If you haven't joined yet all you have to do is click on membership, there is no fee, no spams and no adverts. I try and log on at least once a day.

Driver's eye view WISH LIST as of 2012 (in alphabetical order)

CAMBRIDGE to NORWICH via ELY and THETFORD
CARDIFF VALLEYS
CIRCLE & HAMMERSMITH (possibly this year depending on delivery of S Stock)
CREWE to HOLYHEAD
DOCKLANDS LIGHT RAILWAY
ESSEX BRANCHES
EXETER to BARNSTAPLE/OKEHAMPTON & GUNNISLAKE (Withered Arm)
EXETER to BASINGSTOKE via Salisbury
GLASGOW CENTRAL to EDINBURGH WAVERLEY
GRANTHAM to SKEGNESS
HOPE VALLEY LINE
NEWCASTLE to CARLISLE
READING to LONDON WATERLOO via Staines
SHEFFIELD to HULL via DONCASTER
SHREWSBURY TO ABERYSTWYTH & DEVILS BRIDGE (Cambrian Road)
TYNE & WEAR METRO
WEYMOUTH to BATH via Castle Cary (seeking permission to film this year)

PLEASE NOTE: Assuming that we are permitted to film all of the routes on the wishlist, we have over four year's worth of filming to carry out Therefore we have decided to close the list to new suggestions until such time as more of the listed routes have actually been filmed.

Postal Address

Please note: our former PO BOX is closed. Please address all mail to:
Video125 Ltd. Glade House Sunninghill Berkshire SL5 9NP

Thank you.
Peter Middleton
Managing Director.

DVD COMPATIBILITY

All Video 125 DVDs and Blu-ray discs are professionally replicated and are stamped out hundreds at a time by the same plants that produce DVDs and Blu-rays for the film industry. We do not use DVD(R)s or individually copied Blu-ray discs.

The DVD specification is complex and open to interpretation. DVD-Video title authoring is also very complex. As with any new technology, there are compatibility problems. The DVD-Video standard has not changed substantially since it was finalised in 1996, but some players don't properly support it. Discs have become more complex as authoring tools improve, so recent discs often uncover engineering flaws in players. Some discs behave strangely or won't play at all in certain players.

Sometimes going into the DVD player's menu (or settings) can fix the problem. For example make sure that the machine's area zone settings are correct. (In other cases, manufacturers can fix the problem with an upgrade to the player). In the worst case, disc producers need to reauthor the title to correct an authoring problem or to work around a player defect. (If you are in the USA or Canada try switching the setting from NTSC to AUTO).

CHECKLIST: If you have problems playing a disc, please try the following:

1. Make sure the disc is clean. A simple thumbprint can cause a disc not to play or to freeze in places.

2. Try a newsgroup-search on the internet at Google to see if your particular DVD player is listed as having had compatibility problems. (Video 125 has had problems in particular with Toshiba DVD players and a few Hitachis).

3. Try playing the disc a few more times. If you don't get the exact same problem every time, then it's not likely to be the disc. It is almost certainly a problem with the player. Try the disc in a different machine. (Visit a friend or a nearby store that sells DVD players.) If the disc plays properly then your player is likely to be the problem. You might contact the manufacturer of your player to see if there is a firmware upgrade, or, if you bought the player recently, you may wish to return it for a different model.

4. If none of the above fix the problem, please return the disc to us for exchange. If, the problem doesn't recur, it indicates that your first copy was probably damaged or defective. If more than one copy of the disc has problems in more than one player, it may be a misauthored disc in which case we need to know about it in order to ascertain the problem.

Please note: 9 out of 10 dvds that are returned to us as "faulty" play perfectly ok on our dvd players here. This means that in most cases there is no point in us testing a new disc before we send it to you because the incoming one performed ok anyway.

Finally, we are sorry if you do experience any difficulties with any of our DVDs, compared with VHS videotapes the rate of returns is vastly diminished. Bear with us and we will try to ensure you end up with a satisfactory solution.