How Do I Spot A Bootleg DVD? (1 Viewer)

[Chip_E]

[rant]I really can't wait 'til there's better copy protection for DVDs.[/rant]

It's wayyy too easy to copy DVDs if you have the right software and hardware.

 

[rutger_s]

Here is the cover for the 1977 The Iron Monkey:

The Iron Monkey that played in theaters is the 1993 version.
The Tai Seng & Mega Star versions look like this:

 

[Mark-W]

Another easy way to tell:
if the film is not been released in Region 1
and it is a big title like Star Wars
or Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
And yes, the bootleggers are getting better
about art work. You will also notice (on many)
a bunch of audio features noted on the front.
I always see this one that looks like a speaker
set up in a "D" formation and the words "Dolby Digital EX."
Bootleggers love to dump this kind of crap on the
cover.
Mark

 

[Jeffrey Noel]

As I have been ripped off twice, I have noticed that both of the DVDs I purchased all had words misspelled on them. Such as Serround and other crap like that!

 

[JasenP]

While the covers are looking better, I still notice quite a few with fuzzy images and off-center printing. Images are cut off and generally sloppily thrown together. Also, if the disc has a label rather than a silkscreened image, it's a dead giveaway.

 

[Chuck Esola]

If it's in Chinatown, and it's not a videogame, it's a bootleg

I would have to disagree with this. There are plenty of stores in NYC Chinatown that sell perfectly legit Hong Kong imports, Asian Music and Lai Lai being the best. Sure, you still have to be careful, especially in some of the smaller shops, but most of the discs you'll find are on the level.

 

[Ryan L B]

About the import, Iron Monkey if anybody has it, what does the front of the disk look like.

 

[Horatio Jones]

Easy, I would post a link to it here at HTF. If the thread gets closed it was a bootleg

 

[Sam Davatchi]

Now, now, are you stealing from me? (post 20)

 

[NickSo]

Check the back cover and read the film summary and at the bottom... usually it is written very poorly with spelling errors and grammatical errors. at thebottom, where it should have like a widescreen description or something, it talks about someting entirely different... Most even talk about a totally different movie from the one that is booted...

 

[Chris Sypal]

One of the easiest way of telling is to look for a copyright notice. Most bootlegs I've seen have removed the copyright information.

 

[rutger_s]

One of the easiest way of telling is to look for a copyright notice. Most bootlegs I've seen have removed the copyright information.

On the disc artwork themselves, a copyright notice does appear on many bootleg DVDs with the DCS logo.

And Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade even has the copyright information lifted from the video tape right on the back of the artwork.

 

[Horatio Jones]

sam, i am so sorry i didnt even see it. I suppose it just goes to show that there are other people who think the same way

 

[Ryan L B]

The cover looks like it was cut off at one of the edges and there are no booklet for it. Does anyone have the official import disc. If you do, can you post what the actuall disk looks like. Also, what are the specs of the new dimention disc. Oh yeah, I ended up paying like $23.99 plus $4.00 shipping.

 

[rutger_s]

Ryan,

Are you referring to Iron Monkey?

I already posted cover scans for the Hong Kong import of Iron Monkey(1993) and The Iron Monkey.

Check the first page again.

 

[Ryan L B]

What I actually meant was What does the actual DVD disk look like. Then if yours looks different, then I got screwed.

 

[rutger_s]

Hong Kong DVDs from Universe, Mega Star, and Mei-Ah have no booklets or chapter sheets. Most of their titles top out at nine chapters(I'm not kidding here, you only get nine chapters). These DVD usually have etched artwork on the discs versus silk-screened artwork.

I do not have a working scanner at the moment but I could take a photo of Iron Monkey(1993) and email you them to compare.

 

[Ryan L B]

pm me for my email address

 

[Lars Larsen]

Hey Sam, how do you spot an authentic post?
Anyway, bootlegs are getting better and better. I was in Vietnam recently and there were several mint condition DVDs, right from Lord of the Rings to Vanilla Sky. It was impossible to tell they weren't original releases apart from the fact that I knew they had not been officially released yet. The cover-art was perfect, not even spelling errors or smeared photocopy quality. They were $2 a piece. I didn't buy any though, but I had them demonstrated for me and the picture was great! I don't know about the sound though - they didn't have surround setups.

 

[Bryan_ZZ]

If the person holding the camcorder in the theatre sneezes, it is a bootleg.
Bryan