Is this DVD a copy ??

[davehewy]

I bought a DVD from eBay, it looks authentic, it's dual layer, even has a hologram on the cover, BUT it should be region 1, and Nero info reports it as region 0.
Is this likely to be a copy, I thought only original pressed DVD's could be dual layer?
Dave.

[matthewmalay]

What kind of DVD was it?

Ebay is full of pressed bootleg DVDs from Hong Kong or China and therefore they are region 0.

[davehewy]

It was a Disney movie - which I know are hard to come by these days, as most of them have been cancelled.

It did come from the Far East, but I was assured by the seller it was an original, albeit an Asia only release.

The question remains, are there dual layer copies floating around?

[SLK001]

Are you sure that it is dual layer? I bought some DVDs off ebay from Hong Kong that were definitely 100% pirate. They also looked like they were dual layered disks - smokey-gold disk surface, and the packaging also said that they were DL.

Chuck them up in SmartRipper and lo and behold, they were only single layers.

[davehewy]

Well this is reported in Windows as having 8GB + of data on it.

What made you think initially yours were dual layer?

[macleod]

I have a weird situation that is about to happen. I went to the library and my son wanted a Pokemon movie so, reluctantly, I got it. I threw it in the player and it started choking. Nature instinct took over (when one of my home movie conversions chokes) and I flipped it over and lo and behold it was a copy. The cover looked REALLY good, but upon very close inspection, it was a copy.

I put it in my software player and it was a +R disc.

I am thinking about letting the library know that they 1) have a pirater and 2) that someone has kept the original and gave them back a copy.

My wife was saying just to return it to the library and dont tell them, but I am thinking what if the next person does report it. Then I would probably be looked at as the guilty one. It couldnt be me anyway (I have a -R burner), but that would be a heck of a defense

[SLK001]

What made you think initially yours were dual layer?

They had that smokey-gold coloration.

Last year the far east pirates supposedly didn't have the capability to produce dual layer disks (read this somewhere). Sounds like that they have overcome this limitation. Is there CSS encryption on your disks? If so, then it is probably legit (you certainly don't want the CSS people after you for using their super encryption without a license!). If no CSS, then I would say 99.9% possibility that it is a pirate.

[davehewy]

...yeah, but if YOU take it back, they might think you did it, and are just trying to throw them off the trail by reporting it - you can't win mate.

Run a nice hot bath, get a sharp knife, you have no option !

Seriously, I think I would report it, but I don't know what the solution is for this kind of behaviour.

It's illegal to take a copy, but you've got to be pretty selfish and stupid to actually return the copy and keep the original.

So what you gonna do ? !!!

[davehewy]

....not sure about CSS, I'll have a look at that.

How do you actually put region encoding on a disc you burn yourself?

Can you actually do it?

For me that has always been the dead givaway, but I had to wonder because of the dual layer.

[SLK001]

If they reauthored the disk (which they probably did to put in the Chinese subtitles), then it is a simple task to change the region coding.

Another clue that this disk is pirate is the region "0" on the disk - definitely something that Disney is NOT known for (opening the disk for all parts of the world).

[northcat_8]

(I have a -R burner), but that would be a heck of a defense

Now just a logical...thought process...but that would be a defense...unless you had other pirated DVDs laying around to make them think otherwise...

I would report it, he's not a pirate...he's a thief...he stole the original and replaced it with a copy which didn't work mind you....you suppose I could exchange this picture....



For the Mona Lisa?

[Kingnog]

I'd exchange with you any day! Can I put that picture up in my room? (or do i need to pay you some kind of royalty )

[northcat_8]

NOOOOO, you can't have it for free....I will sell it to you for $20.00. Which you can pay on the installment plan...which is 4000 monthly payments of 0.005 cents each. But that is a 333 1/3 year investment...HOWEVER....in June of 2337...you will have an original piece of artwork worth at least $20.00 by then.

[Kingnog]

Or (heehee, im a genius) I could right-click and save the file! AHA!

Oh wait..thats theft...darn...nobody has to know

[matthewmalay]

Last year the far east pirates supposedly didn't have the capability to produce dual layer disks (read this somewhere). Sounds like that they have overcome this limitation.

I got bootlegs from Hong Kong I bought 2 years ago that were dual layer.

[northcat_8]

You can download it, but I have it encoded with SCC encryption, microvision, microsoft password protected, and 2048 bit zemman encryption, so even if you download it...you can't see it...UNLESS, you have a green light lazer DVD-ROM drive that is compatible with the ultra DVD-R squared format.

[Kingnog]

Awww And I was going to resell it for millions...

[Gazorgan]

Most Disney movies are short. It's a Mouse House thing. However, it's not that hard to take a commercial DVD, and re-master it to have it re-pressed to a DVD9. You can get your original work mastered all over the world. I suspect it's an 'after hours' job somewhere, at double or triple the prevailing cost.

I have some HongKong disks, but as to whether they are originals or not I can't tell (they are essoteric chinese films with english subs). They aren't Region 0, and do have CSS, but again that doesn't mean anything other than they weren't made on a duplicator.