The quality of dvd

[TheEmperor]

Hello i bought Xena the warriors princess original dvd9 but the quality is very bad i see pixels everywhere i tried the dvd player and playstation 3 but all the same, i got 42' Samsung HDTV so whet should i do ?

pdvd_000.bmp

[edDV]

Return it for a real print.

Do any of your other DVD discs show similar symptoms?

[SCDVD]

You bought a counterfeit disc. Buy a real one if you want a good disc.

[redwudz]

If that screen shot is the quality, then you might look to see if your DVD is a low quality knockoff of the original DVD. Or maybe it is a recording off of the TV broadcast. I would see if it comes from a reputable dealer. Either way, you won't improve it. Sorry, if the quality isn't there, you can't get it back.

You should be able to go to the IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112230/ and see what DVDs were officially released from the original video makers. If yours doesn't compare, you should get a refund.

[TheEmperor]

The problem is only from this dvd the other dvds shows perfect quality.
it is original dvd i bought it from America ... did they cheated me !

[vhelp]

I can say this much.. its definately not a Commercial dvd. Its most likely from an analog capture
card that was hooked up to a VCR that someone recorded 'XENA Worrier' to tape. I could be wrong,
but it looks like it might have originalted from a recorded-to-vhs-tape* and then captured to one's
HDD, and then encoded and authored to dvd, and you prob purchased it off the streets. Thats
what it looks like to me

* The reason I noted that was because, if you look at the 'thumb', it looks sort of fuzzy. That
would seem to indicate that it was a recording from a vhs tape. If it were captured straight
from the analog tv feed, than it would be another thing -- quality would be slightly better than
that image is demonstrating. And, I concluded my own observation of your sample image based
on my on-going image processing study.

In fact, now that I had looked at it some more.. it might have even been recorded by a dvd
recorder that was hooked up to a vcr. It sure does look like it might be from a vhs tape.

If you can post a short (few seconds) of a sample mpeg clip, we could get a better handle of
the sources origin. But, it prob doesn't really matter all that much.

I used to like watchign the tv series, Zena.., but more so for Gabriale (spelling) she was very
pretty, IMHO.

-vhelp 4473

:P *~*!*~*!~* HaPpY HoLiDaYs *~*!*~*!~*

[lordsmurf]

Where was this bought, exactly?

[AlanHK]

Try loading it in DVDDecrypter.

That will report the "Copyright protection system".

I think All American commercial DVDs will have this, probably CSS. But small Asian companies, and all bootlegs, will have "None".

[SCDVD]

Try loading it in DVDDecrypter.

That will report the "Copyright protection system".

I think All American commercial DVDs will have this, probably CSS. But small Asian companies, and all bootlegs, will have "None".

I guess people in places like China are forced to know all about this for their own self protection - that is if they care. Of course if someone pays a buck or so for a pirated piece of crap, they may not care about the quality. That whole rotten mess reminds me of the Ferengi in Star Trek DS9 who always tries to cheat someone any way his scheming mind can think of. Here a picture of one of the leading DVD "distributors" in Hong Kong.

[TheEmperor]

I bought from ebay, a seller from America who has over 3000 positive feedbacks, i bought from season 1 to 6 about 145 usd so did they cheated me.
http://cgi.ebay.com/XENA-the-Warrior-Princess-FULL-SET-SEASONS-1-2-3-4-5-6_W0QQitemZ28...QQcmdZViewItem

[oldandinthe way]

There's a lot of bootleg crap on Ebay. Some with no claims of authenticity, some with false claims of authenticity. The feedback system often fails because of fear of retaliatory negative feedback.

I looked at the picture you posted. If these disks had all the proper menus and extras I wonder how a copy could be this bad.

If it does not have the menus and extras the explanation of a VHS dub seems valid. But frankly I'd wonder about your equipment if it appears complete

[jman98]

TheEmperor - Find a copy of DVDDecrypter (you may have to look on a bit torrent network) and install it. Open one of your DVDs in it in ISO READ mode. See how many layers it reports. Probably this is really a bootleg single layer disc (DVD-5) that features pixelation due to a poor conversion from DVD-9 to DVD-5. If this is a dual layer (DVD-9) disc, then maybe it's just a bad encoding.

Just yesterday I received a DVD set from Malaysia of a Hong Kong TV show. The show is 4 episodes per single layer DVD (DVD-5) and it wasn't encoded very well. There is pixelation. I'm sure it's a legitimate release and I'm not sorry I bought it, but some countries don't encode to DVD-5 very well. I have one Thai DVD of a Shaw Brothers movie that is out of print in most of the world (Thailand was the only place I could find it) and it has pixelation in many places, but I'm sure it's a legitimate release and not a bootleg.

[Noahtuck]

I have one Thai DVD of a Shaw Brothers movie that is out of print in most of the world (Thailand was the only place I could find it) and it has pixelation in many places, but I'm sure it's a legitimate release and not a bootleg.

Well... we know, unlike brazil and china, thailand would never allow pirated material to be made and sold 8)

Taking on the Copyright Pirates in Thailand
http://asialaw.tripod.com/articles/takingcopyright.html

Thailand is home to at least 100 known plants for optical media production (and many more underground facilities) with over 200 known manufacturing lines and mastering machines. With this capacity, Thailand can generate over 1 billion discs every year. Clearly, because the Thai domestic market has a legitimate need for only 15-20 million genuine copies in VCD, DVD, and CD-ROM format, the Thai domestic market is flooded with cheap pirated discs. Thailand also rivals China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong as a leading export source of pirated content.

A reported photo of a shopping center in Bangkok that openly sell's and is full of pirated material...

[SCDVD]

I'm sure it's a legitimate release and not a bootleg.

There's a sucker born every day. The original IP owner may be long gone or doesn't care, but that piece of crumb cake is a "self initiated copy" to coin a phrase.

[Noahtuck]

I'm sure it's a legitimate release and not a bootleg.

There's a sucker born every day. The original IP owner may be long gone or doesn't care, but that piece of crumb cake is a "self initiated copy" to coin a phrase.

I don't even think the original IP owner "caring" play's into it....
It reminds me of the guy that posted awhile back saying that "howard the duck" was officially released because it was released in "Brazil"

I was watching a show a couple of weeks ago about some lady here in the U.S., she had transfered all her & her husbands money to Brazil, then she killed him, got on a plane to Brazil and was in Brazil before they found the body in their house and realized what she had done......
They could not extradite her or touch her because Brazil does not recognize U.S. law
Official's had actually went to Brazil, found her and watched her, she was out walking around without a care in the world, living with her family going out shopping, ect. but they could not touch her or bring her back to the U.S., they were just spying on her..

So i'm sure Brazil could care less about copyright infringement
Not to mention Thailand :P

[guns1inger]

Open the disc in DVD Decrypter or DVD Info Pro and look at the media id of the disc. Post a screenshot if necessary. We will soon tell you if it is pressed or burned, and probably just how legit it is(n't).

[AlanHK]

I guess people in places like China are forced to know all about this for their own self protection - that is if they care. Of course if someone pays a buck or so for a pirated piece of crap, they may not care about the quality. That whole rotten mess reminds me of the Ferengi in Star Trek DS9 who always tries to cheat someone any way his scheming mind can think of. Here a picture of one of the leading DVD "distributors" in Hong Kong.

Racist idiot.

And the Ebay seller is in America. Should I post a picture of a redneck troglodyte?

[AlanHK]

I bought from ebay, a seller from America who has over 3000 positive feedbacks, i bought from season 1 to 6 about 145 usd so did they cheated me.
http://cgi.ebay.com/XENA-the-Warrior-Princess-FULL-SET-SEASONS-1-2-3-4-5-6_W0QQitemZ28...QQcmdZViewItem

He says "All items are licensed and new unless stated or described otherwise. If you are not 100% satisfied with your purchase I offer a 30 day money back guarantee."

So take him up on that.

[SCDVD]

AlanHK, You really make me sad. My reference to a fictitious SciFi character who is a sneak and a cheater had nothing to do with racism. The character that I showed sure doesn't look Asian. My point is simple; I have a real problem with countries who basically don't give a damn about patents and copyrights. Within these countries the abuse is so bad that everyone sees this as "normal" and therefore OK. I don't care where this occurs, my attitude is the same - loathing contempt. It might be Brazil, China, Russia or anywhere else; it doesn't matter, my revulsion for it is the same.

It really disgusts me whenever any issue arises that has a regional connotation and someone reaches for the race card and cries racism as a way to deflect the issue and essentially change the subject. Fortunately more and more people are getting wise to this stunt and react accordingly. Go sling your racism accusations somewhere else!

[AlanHK]

AlanHK, You really make me sad. My reference to a fictitious SciFi character who is a sneak and a cheater had nothing to do with racism. The character that I showed sure doesn't look Asian.

Exactly. So why the **** did you label him as an example of "DVD 'distributors' in Hong Kong"?

And what do you know about Hong Kong DVD distributors anyway? Have you ever been there? Have you ever met one? What are you basing your characterisation on? An RIAA press release? Talk radio? Fox News?

My point is simple; I have a real problem with countries who basically don't give a damn about patents and copyrights. Within these countries the abuse is so bad that everyone sees this as "normal" and therefore OK. I don't care where this occurs, my attitude is the same - loathing contempt. It might be Brazil, China, Russia or anywhere else; it doesn't matter, my revulsion for it is the same.

The guy selling these DVDS is in AMERICA:
http://myworld.ebay.com/xenaversity/
Member since: Feb-24-06
Location: United States


Why did you immediately start talking about "Brazil, China, Russia" when there is no evidence that these countries, or that anyone outside the good old USA, is involved? Why is your revulsion only about "aliens"?

It really disgusts me whenever any issue arises that has a regional connotation and someone reaches for the race card and cries racism as a way to deflect the issue and essentially change the subject. Fortunately more and more people are getting wise to this stunt and react accordingly. Go sling your racism accusations somewhere else!

You are the one who started talking about "cheating", "scheming" people of different races, and used an ugly caricature to vilify them, when there was nothing in the original post about anyone except Americans.

[classfour]

I would complain to the seller. If you check their ebay store, they have the season one as a separate listing. If these are legitimately listed as "NEW AND SEALED", the seller may actually not know they've sold you a bootleg. Anyway, if the others in the set play well, and they are ALL pressed discs (flip them over and check for purple bottoms), at least let the seller redeem themselves. Did your listing say: 30 day money back guarantee. Only unopened DVDs will be accepted for return, unless defective? IF not: This is the route that I take on ebay sellers:

1. Email, advise that horrific feedback will be left, and that you will personally report the seller to Ebay's Security division as fraudulent.

2. If that doesn't work, and you happened to pay with PayPal: report the transaction to PayPal. They will charge you $25 for a formal complaint - which is more than what the disc is worth. If you used a credit card in the transaction: You can report this to your credit card company and request a full refund. They will take their (your) money back from PayPal - which does get PayPal's attention.

My 2 cents

[pepegot1]

Watching those DVDs on a 42" screen is your problem. An old small std tv would provide better results. Bad dvds are, as you now know, terrible on large HDTVs.

[SCDVD]

AlanHK, Thank you for your little exhibition for all to read. I could never describe my point as well as you illustrated it. Red Herrings, blue smoke, hysterical obsfucation don't work. Your creative accusations about what I said and meant are completely wrong. Your pathetic rant and spin isn't fooling anyone.

And yes, I have been to Hong Kong several times and I was amazed how openly counterfeit products were being sold. There is just one word for that - thief. You know better than I do how widespread this is.

For your reading pleasure:

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=business&id=3726623

http://www.amazon.com/Trademark-Counterfeiting-Product-Billion-Economy/dp/1567202500

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3197/is_12_51/ai_n17096096

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002782434_chinapiracy12.html

http://www.wikinvest.com/concept/China's_Piracy_&_Counterfeiting_Problems

[ntscuser]

Sounds like a genuine copy to me?

From: http://www.dvdauthority.com/reviews.asp?reviewID=3289

A lot has been said about the poor visual effort present here, but if you've ever seen these episodes on television, then you won't think twice about the transfers. The prints look soft and have a lot of grain, but this season was shot on low end materials, so you can't expect much. You won't see debris or other defects, but the grain is thick at times, so be prepared. I found contrast to be good, though some scenes look a little washed out, but most appear solid. I never detected any serious black level problems, but I did want to mention those trouble spots. The colors look bright and bold throughout, especially in the outdoor scenes, where more hues can be seen. I know these episodes look shaky at times, but given the source material, there's not much room for improvement.

Incidentally the first season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer is also a very poor video transfer. It is so bad I refused to sell it as I didn't want it being returned to me as "faulty" when it wasn't.

[dLee]

That whole rotten mess reminds me of the Ferengi in Star Trek DS9 who always tries to cheat someone any way his scheming mind can think of.

If memory serves, this character (and all Ferengi) was / were modeled after a Paramount executive whom the Star Trek producers particularly disliked. I saw a taped interview with said executive and the Ferengi are not too far from the original.

[SCDVD]

The actor's name is Armin Shimerman. Here is some info about him.

http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Armin_Shimerman

[Midzuki]

AlanHK wrote:

Should I post a picture of a redneck troglodyte?

Probably The truth is, many rednecks have never heard or read
the word 'troglodyte'

\\\\\

[dLee]

AlanHK wrote:

Should I post a picture of a redneck troglodyte?

Probably The truth is, many rednecks have never heard or read
the word 'troglodyte'

\\\\\

As a card-carrying troglodyte, I resent your implication that all troglodytes are rednecks!

[SCDVD]

Some good info about counterfeit DVDs on Ebay. Take particular note of where the counterfeit DVDs are coming from - Oh golly gee, what a surprise!

http://reviews.ebay.com/Counterfeit-Disney-DVDs-How-to-identify-and-avoid-them_W0QQugi...00000001614016

http://reviews.ebay.com/How-To-BECOME-A-VIDEO-amp-DVD-BOOTLEG-COPY-DETECTIVE_W0QQugidZ...00000000954388

[lordsmurf]

AlanHK, Hong Kong has been well-known for it's "unofficial" DVDs for a many years as I can remember. Scores of unlicensed anime, illegal transfers and other bootlegs pour out of China and Hong Kong by the millions each year. A large majority of it looks like crap, when it's nothing more than a copied Japanese or American disc.

The only time HK is useful is when it releases material previously unavailable. Two of my favorites examples are "The Smurfs and the Magic Flute" and "Song of the South". Both of those are Laserdisc transfers. Still not great ones, mind you, but better than nothing at all. Tracking down those Laserdiscs is basically impossible.

You can like where you live and all, that's fine. But please don't bury your head in the sand and pretend this isn't happening.

HK discs are consistently rushed through sloppy transcoders, shrunk from the DVD9 sources to DVD5 discs. Even the "DVD9" discs they often sell are compressed versions of longer sets. HK "releases" are very typically full of blocks. The analog-sourced DVDs are unfiltered video, typically with grain or tape/tracking noise.

Here's just a few of the discs that I, or people I know, have bought (we were duped too, not purposeful buys):
Slayers Next - blocks, mosquito
Gundam X - video tape grain, and magnetic tape drop-out noise
The Irresponsible Tylor - blocks
Batman movies - the "DVDs" were VCDs.
X-Files - blocks
Transformers - blocks (Rhino copy)
Transformers Headmasters - interlace imperfections (ghosts, blurs, linear jitters)
Transformers Masterforce - interlace imperfections (ghosts, blurs, linear jitters)
.......... these all existed commercially in USA or Japan, before the HK was available.

Not bad products, necessarily, but definitely not legit from-the-studio type releases. Worth less than paid.

All presses, from Hong Kong. Fake as a $3 bill.