Is This A Legitimate Copy?

[moviebuff2]

Hi everyone:

I bought a DVD set from a reputable eBay super-seller (99.9% positive feedback). The merchandise looks legitimate - the box, the discs, the program notes, etc. However, one of the discs has trouble. The picture freezes at a certain part.

Shortly after I bought the DVD set, I received the same one as gift from my friend. The gift-DVD is flawless - all 3 discs play without any problems.

I suspect the bought-DVD is a bootleg and did the following test.

I used DVDShrink to make a back-up of my gift-DVD. When I played the back-up copy, it froze at the same part of the DVD I bought on eBay.

I find this event pretty peculiar. Perhaps, the DVD manufacturer did something to their DVD so that all copies of their DVD, not made by them, will freeze at the same part? And the DVD set I bought is not legitimate?

What do you think?

[AlanHK]

It's a lot easier to make a perfect digital copy of a DVD than to get all the printing and packaging (holograms, if they have them) correct. Compare those carefully.

Bootleggers generally don't bother for perfection for the packaging, most of their buyers know what they're getting and are happy if the disk just plays.

But if you want to compare the disks, see what things like Nero's Infotool say.

[moviebuff2]

But if you want to compare the disks, see what things like Nero's Infotool say.

Thank you. I will do that. I did not know Nero has this function. My Nero is an OEM that comes with my DVD drive. Will that do or I need a full version?

[cowgoo]

try dvdinfo pro, it will tell you if it is a pressed(real) version or a copy(it will give media info)

[SingSing]

Isn't that easy to just look at the disc's playing surafce. Pressed DVD has a shinning silver surafce. Copy on media has a gray, or light purple, or light greenish surafce.

[AlanHK]

Thank you. I will do that. I did not know Nero has this function. My Nero is an OEM that comes with my DVD drive. Will that do or I need a full version?

So is mine... you should find it on your Start menu in a "Nero toolkit" subfolder.

It's a freebie anyway, you can find it on Nero's site as a stand-alone download.
http://www.nero.com/nero6/eng/Info_Tool.html

[moviebuff2]

Hi everyone:

Thanks for all the quick replies to my message.

AlanHK, I just used Nero. Nothing seems suspicious. Disc info showed exactly the same information.

SingSing, it's the contrary for my case. The gift-DVD discs do not have the shining surface, while the bought-DVD discs do. There is also the printing difference. On the gift-DVD discs, the printed label is just flat like one would see on a plain paper. But on the bought-DVD discs, the printing is much fancier - in stead of flat, the printed label is embossed and looks sharper. I can run my finger over the label and feel the raised parts of it. It seems like the image was carved onto the disc surface.

But perhaps, the pressings took place at different places and consequently were done differently? I bought my DVD set from an eBay seller in Canada. My gift DVD set was bought at a local store in the USA. I don't know!

cowgoo, thanks for the tip. I will give it a try. Nero disc info could not tell me anything, so far.

[hech54]

My kid's Disc One of his 3 Disc Set "The Wiggles" set has about a 10 to 15 secound pause at the layer break.
TERRIBLE authoring or one bad pressing?
Your guess is as good as mine.
Bootleggers don't waste their time with fancy artwork....especially box set etc...there's no money in it.

[moviebuff2]

I forgot to mention the prices. The bought-DVD set costs me $60 plus S&H. The gift-DVD set was bought for $78 plus tax.

Because there was not a huge difference (like sale price of $20 compared to retail price of $80), I did not have any suspicion when I bought the set.

Just an additional detail.

[FulciLives]

There are a lot of Asian made imports floating around that are really bootlegs but appear to look "real" as they are pressed (not burned DVD discs) and have "professional" printed graphics from a real printing press not something done on a consumer grade ink jet printer etc.

However despite looking "real" they are still bootlegs and as such may have video playback issues.

Most of these Asian imports do have modified menu designs (compared to the original DVD release) and have added subtitle options such as Chinese and/or Korean etc.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[moviebuff2]

Hi Fulci:

My DVD set is a British television series: "Brideshead Revisited".

[TheUnknownComic]

I think the reason some rental stores put a sticker on the actual disc is due to some customers attempting to replace the pressed disc with a homemade copy, thus keeping the real one. I can see this happening on eBay, too. they'd be selling a legitimate box with a fake disc, so you couldn't really judge based on the case artwork.

Perhaps there's another possibility. Maybe the eBay copy was an earlier pressing. The manufacturer received complaints and re-authored or something. Thus, your second copy was a new fixed disc. That could even explain the artwork difference. Heck, maybe they found the nice printing on the original disc was actually damaging the content, so they changed the printing process!

[BJ_M]

a lot of bootleg disks are pressed - a couple of huge operations were busted up in canada recently - they had almost exactly the same printing and such as the real - no foil though on the boxes ... i think they outputted about 200,000 disks a month

[moviebuff2]

BJ_M wrote:

a lot of bootleg disks are pressed - a couple of huge operations were busted up in canada recently - they had almost exactly the same printing and such as the real - no foil though on the boxes ... i think they outputted about 200,000 disks a month

What really upsets me is that these bootleg discs are not sold at a substantial discount. Had my discs been sold at $20 v.s. $78, instead of $60 v.s. $78, I would have to share the blame for having ignored the forever true wisdom "if thing is too good to be true, it is". But the discs I bought was priced to make it look as if the seller got some dsicount from the manufacturer and passed it on to the customers! So, on top of stealing from the manufacturers, the seller cheated his customers. A double treachery.


hech54 wrote:

My kid's Disc One of his 3 Disc Set "The Wiggles" set has about a 10 to 15 secound pause at the layer break.

I think the layer break is exactly the problem of the the set I bought on eBay, but not with the set I received as gift. The disc has 4 episodes. The eBay set freezes right at the beginning of the 3rd episode. My gift set just plays flawlessly.

Now, is that because the manufacturer received so many complaints that they improved the pressing? Or, is that because bootleggers do not have equipments like the manufacturer and used something inferior, resulting in frozen picture at the change of the layer?

Who knows?!

I tested my backup with my consumer double-layer DVD burner and my DVD freezes at the change of layer too. Now, I am using a cheapo Emprex so I know what to blame. What might the bootleggers used? An Apex or a Colby?

[BJ_M]

they were sold at a big discount here - about 50-75% discount

[guns1inger]

There is also the chance that an original disc has manufacturing flaws. It is not unheard of - I have had several commercial discs with playback flaws. One was returned three times, and each replacement had the same flaws in the same place. Just a bad batch. It happens.

[classfour]

I have a DVD of Final Destination that has froze at the same spot from day one. I lose 8 seconds by forwarding it. Pressed, double sided, original - just has a bad spot. Didn't return it - cost $3.99 at a local store.

I have had some crappy pressed discs (not many) that just wouldn't play in most players. Real DVDs, legal, just bad work.

I DID have one surprise once: New DVD, store bought - SANS DISC I wish I'd kept the receipt on that one LOL.