DVD sets with pixelation (1 Viewer)

[howard1908]

For the past couple years it seems that i havd been getting stuck with dvd sets that have all the symptoms of compession, like pixelation, flucuating bit rates etc, without actually being compressed, I'm not sure what's causing it, it seems to be consistent across all my dvd players and all my TVs. I'm not sure if any one else is experiencing this problem since I have never heard any complants about compression on any of the sets where i have expierencex this problem, but I would like to give some examples in case anybody has had the same problems.

Some of the sets i have bought where this has happened to me are the CBS All in one sets of Perry Mason and The Lucy Show, in the case of those 2 the problem was fixed by returning the all in ones and buying the individual volumes.

Have also had this problem with the shout factory sets of th Phil Silvers Show, Mr. Ed and Maude.

I'm not sure what's causing this, but the sets have one thing in common, they were all purchased on ebay, but I am 100 percent sure they are not boots.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

For the past couple years it seems that i havd been getting stuck with dvd sets that have all the symptoms of compession, like pixelation, flucuating bit rates etc, without actually being compressed, I'm not sure what's causing it, it seems to be consistent across all my dvd players and all my TVs. I'm not sure if any one else is experiencing this problem since I have never heard any complants about compression on any of the sets where i have expierencex this problem, but I would like to give some examples in case anybody has had the same problems.

Some of the sets i have bought where this has happened to me are the CBS All in one sets of Perry Mason and The Lucy Show, in the case of those 2 the problem was fixed by returning the all in ones and buying the individual volumes.

Have also had this problem with the shout factory sets of th Phil Silvers Show, Mr. Ed and Maude.

I'm not sure what's causing this, but the sets have one thing in common, they were all purchased on ebay, but I am 100 percent sure they are not boots.

I'd almost bet they are.

Take those Shout sets, grab a disc, and look around the inner ring. If you only see one little barcode around it, they're bootlegs.

Ebay is full of Shout bootlegs, to the point they wrote an article about it to tell people how many there were out there.

 

[smithbrad]

Another easy way to tell is to check the disk size within a computer drive. If they are 4.2 GB or under, they are boots. Most should be between 6 and 7.6 GBs

 

[howard1908]

I'd almost bet they are.

Take those Shout sets, grab a disc, and look around the inner ring. If you only see one little barcode around it, they're bootlegs.

Ebay is full of Shout bootlegs, to the point they wrote an article about it to tell people how many there were out there.

Sorry to sound like an old fool but how are these bootleggers getting ahold of such sophisticated equipment that they can reproduce the cases and the boxes and other little accesories so perfectly, my maude set even came with the booklet.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

Sorry to sound like an old fool but how are these bootleggers getting ahold of such sophisticated equipment that they can reproduce the cases and the boxes and other little accesories so perfectly, my maude set even came with the booklet.

Couldn't tell you. Hell, I once got a Doctor Who Season 5 set that was a bootleg, and had the extra art cards in it. Where there's a will (and a profit), there's a way.

And here's that article

https://www.shoutfactory.com/blog/counterfeit-bootleg-media-faq/

 

[LeoA]

Do the bootleggers do individual season sets?

I've been rewatching my standalone season 2 set of WKRP, and I'm seeing all these faint vertical stripes. It almost looks like the screen is divided with lots of columns. I've only seen stuff like this in some of the budget Mill Creek sets that put twice as much content onto a disc than pretty much anyone else does.

I'm assuming the bootleg complete series sets are where the money is at for them, so perhaps what I'm seeing is just an artifact from the master tape of some of these episodes rather than heavy compression to fit the contents of a dual layer DVD onto a slightly cheaper single layer disc?

 

[smithbrad]

Do the bootleggers do individual season sets?

I've been rewatching my standalone season 2 set of WKRP, and I'm seeing all these faint vertical stripes. It almost looks like the screen is divided with lots of columns. I've only seen stuff like this in some of the budget Mill Creek sets that put twice as much content onto a disc than pretty much anyone else does.

I'm assuming the bootleg complete series sets are where the money is at for them, so perhaps what I'm seeing is just an artifact from the master tape of some of these episodes rather than heavy compression to fit the contents of a dual layer DVD onto a slightly cheaper single layer disc?

I would say it is more likely on full series sets. There are bootlegs of the entire Dark Shadows series, coffin case and all.

 

[howard1908]

I'd almost bet they are.

Take those Shout sets, grab a disc, and look around the inner ring. If you only see one little barcode around it, they're bootlegs.

Ebay is full of Shout bootlegs, to the point they wrote an article about it to tell people how many there were out there.

I checked a all of the suspected bootleg sets a few of them were in fact single layer, but one of the poor quality sets Mr. Ed has a gold finish when shone to the light and two bar codes, could it still be a bootleg?

 

[The Obsolete Man]

I checked a all of the suspected bootleg sets a few of them were in fact single layer, but one of the poor quality sets Mr. Ed has a gold finish when shone to the light and two bar codes, could it still be a bootleg?

That one sounds real. Might just be a case of too many episodes per disc for that one. IIRC, Ed had some long seasons.

 

[jcroy]

First thing I check is whether there's any encryption on the dvd discs.

Bootleg discs will frequently have no css encryption.

 

[jcroy]

Sorry to sound like an old fool but how are these bootleggers getting ahold of such sophisticated equipment that they can reproduce the cases and the boxes and other little accesories so perfectly, my maude set even came with the booklet.

There's been plenty of dvd disc manufacturing plants which have been closed over the past decade or so. Usually all the old equipment is auctioned off by liquidation companies.

As far as I can figure out, there's no prohibition on who can buy such equipment during a liquidation. So in principle, a hardcore pirate can buy up some of this equipment and set up their own illicit dvd manufacturing operation.

 

[Lecagr]

I've noticed there is pixelation on the Lou Grant DVD's from Shout Factory. It's especially noticeable during moments when the scene fades in and out. Video quality tends to be on the soft side as well, not a sharp looking picture. I don't know what elements Shout Factory used as source material for the episodes, it looks like a videotape source, but I think it's safe to say that no remastering was done at all for this series.

I didn't buy season 5 because there are too many edited/compromised episodes. Seasons 2, 3, and 4 contain a few edited/compromised episodes.

Season 4 of Dennis The Menace is another Shout Factory DVD set where I've noticed some pixelation in the video. I haven't noticed any pixelation effect in seasons 1, 2, and 3- but in season 4 there is some minor pixelation. Strange.