How to Tell if Your Dvd is Fake/Bootleg or Is This Dvd Real?

disneyhunter · Post by **disneyhunter** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 2:31 pm

volcano070127 wrote:Yea I know that also because I own the herbie fully loaded dvd!

Gotcha... I'm wondering if there's a site of some kind that shows you pictures of the actual DVD case so we all can do a cross check when we buy movies off eBay or whatnot.

Post by **Luke** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 2:32 pm

All of UD's reviews mention what color the keepcase is, if there's a slipcover, side snaps, etc.

Welcome to the forum!

Extremer3 · Post by **Extremer3** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 5:23 pm

I am quite happy with my experiences on buying online/auctions. I always look at feedback, and ask the seller if the dvd is a US release or an import.

My most important question for any disney classic your looking for is, ask if it has its chapter insert. Cheap imports very rarely do, and bootlegs never have them.

I've purchased around 12 Disney DVD classics and such from auctions, and I am just about 100% positive they're all authentic.

Always nice when you buy a classic and it has the original chapter insert, and all the promotional coupons with it. I bough Snow White and Beauty and the Beast PEs this way and they contained all the inserts that they were sold with.

The only white cased classic dvds (other than Gold Collection) I have are,
Atlantis The Lost Empire, The Great Mouse Detective, Winnie the Pooh 25th, Peter Pan SE, Dumbo Big Top, and Fantasia 60th Anniversary.

hudday · Post by **hudday** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 10:14 am

in england every disney dvd comes in a trademark blue dvd case with a mickey mouse logo on the spine and surroundng the inner hole of the dvd disk itself, thats hwo you can tell a genuine disney dvd in the uk

JamesDFarrow · Post by **JamesDFarrow** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 11:01 am

To me the best advise would be to only buy from reputable retailers. As soon as you buy from eBay or the 3rd party sellers on Amazon, etc... you run the risk of getting a bootleg.

This forum is also good. If you ae not sure if something is legit or not, ask here.

James

P.S. And don't post links to bootleg sites either (inside joke - LOL!).

Pluto Region1 · Post by **Pluto Region1** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 8:19 pm

Well I have only bought a Treasures Series tin via a 2ndary seller - that's been my only experience to try and buy an OOP via the secondary market. I'd assume the tin is legit since kinda hard to boot one I would think.

But LAST week, after listening to the Mousepod Podcast on Snow White , I finally decided I just HAD to have a copy of Snow White Platinum Edition. I ordered through a secondary Amazon market seller with high feedback rating who claims to have a mint condition with all the inserts, Region 1, etc..... so we'll see. I've had no direct email communications from him since submitting the order (which doesn't make me feel very secure at this point). But even if it is a bootleg, if it plays fine and everything is there, what difference does it really matter since I am not buying it as an investment with the intention of reselling it. I mean, I'd rather have the real thing but if I get stuck with a perfect bootleg that plays and has inserts, I can't picture myself being that upset.

I know there has been at least one other thread concerning how to spot bootlegs - I think we should combine the threads and make it a sticky. Or maybe we can ask Luke to make a webpage on this topic?

Ting Ting · Post by **Ting Ting** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 9:56 pm

Pluto Region1 wrote:But LAST week, after listening to the Mousepod Podcast on Snow White , I finally decided I just HAD to have a copy of Snow White Platinum Edition.

If your careful when your browsing, I think you have a good chance of getting a real one. I bought an authentic Gold Collection Fox and the Hound from the Amazon Marketplace...received it and it was real. I also bought an authentic Snow White from eBay...and a set of 3 that contained brand new and authentic copies of Sleeping Beauty, The Lion King, and Brother Bear for $30. Pretty darn good deal if you ask me. My Snow White and Fox and the Hound DVDs were new and sealed as well.

bennyb98 · Post by **bennyb98** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 10:51 pm

Thanks for the info! There are a couple older threads about bootlegs and how to spot them they might be helpful as well. I just did a search for bootleg and found them.

Josh · Post by **Josh** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 11:07 pm

I love Bootlegs! I've only bought Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as a bootleg but it was fantastic quality! I'm in love with the film, not the DVD packaging!!!
Of course when it is re-released though I will buy the official copy.
But like I said, I love the films not the DVD, thats why I'm planning on buying:
The Jungle Book
Fantasia
101 Dalmatians
Peter Pan
The Fox and the Hound
All off of ebay for around US $1. 00 each! Then just buy them when they are re-released, I can't wait that long for them!

Pluto Region1 · Post by **Pluto Region1** » Fri Aug 18, 2006 10:16 pm

OK NOW I AM WORRIED. I gave the new Snow White DVD to my husband to inspect. The packaging looks good however he inspected the discs. The pictures on the 2 discs look not very crisp or clear but I'm not sure if that is how they are supposed to look. HOWEVER, he flipped over the discs to look at the undersides. Both My Snow Whites are blank with no identifying numbers or barcode type marks around the holes. AND at the center of the disc where the hole is, there appears to be a small hatched/scratch little rectangular-shaped mark - as if someone took a dremel to it and tried to cross out whatever had been etched there (a serial number? a region number?). Both discs have this and it doesn't look factory to me....

We opened up my L&T platinum edition disc to compare against these Snow Whites. On the L&T disk there is a lot of writing from Disney - it says LTE and a bar code and possibly a serial number. But L&T is recent - I've no platinum release from that time period to know what Disney was putting on the flipside of the discs.

Can someone here who owns an original Snow White Platinum please let me know if there is supposed to be a bar code around the inner hole of the discs?

My husband says they are playing on the computer....

Disneykid · Post by **Disneykid** » Fri Aug 18, 2006 10:47 pm

Pluto Region1 wrote:Update: The Snow White DVD arrived 2 days ago and looks "mint," but is it real? I don't know, how can I tell? It looks perfectly real to me and has the little book in it and some other stuff - I am assuming its real and if not, I don't think anyone could tell. I'd have to have some hard facts in order to make a claim that its not real. If its the real thing with all the inserts, it is like new and a great deal for $32, IMO.

I will probably try and examine it more closely and watch both discs tomorrow. By chapter insert, are you referring to the chapter selection menu on the DVD when you are playing or are you referring to the little booklet that came with this DVD?

Here are some ways you can find out:

1. Does it come in a double alpha case (the really thick type of DVD case)?

2. Are the edges of the cover art rounded?

3. Are the top and bottom banners a shiny silver?

4. Is there a holographic ring around the movie's logo?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, then it's a fake.

Pluto Region1 · Post by **Pluto Region1** » Fri Aug 18, 2006 11:12 pm

Disneykid wrote: 1. Does it come in a double alpha case (the really thick type of DVD case)?

2. Are the edges of the cover art rounded?

3. Are the top and bottom banners a shiny silver?

4. Is there a holographic ring around the movie's logo?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, then it's a fake.

thanks for writing back. So far yes to all of the above. What we are suspecting is that the packaging is legit but perhaps the discs aren't (see above editted post)

Pluto Region1 · Post by **Pluto Region1** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 4:01 pm

Help needed authenticating SW DVD I just bought via Amazon Secondary Market Seller.

HELP NEEDED: This is why I'm concerned: The disc artwork is dark; the white writing on the discs is not real crisp or bright. Don't know if this is how they are supposed to be. We flipped over the discs and in the inner circle on each disc are two small rectangular scratch marks that look like someone took a dremel to scratch off something. There are NO identifying barcodes or serial numbers in the inner circle, like those that can be found on the later platinum editions (eg. Bambi, L&T). Can someone look at their authentic SW discs and tell me what, if anything, is supposed to be printed on the inner circle area? Are there dremel or scratch marks? BOTH Discs (1 and 2) are slightly gold tinged. Should both be the slightly gold color?

rcjteng wrote: On the back cover, under the "Countless Hours" section, the Deleted Scenes and Songs! is repeated twice. Also, the caption under the Roy Disney picture has a mispelled word, Mirro! (which should be Mirror!). I called up Disney Support Desk…. told me that this is a highly sophisticated bootleg. Disney has never put out a misspelled Snow White DVD cover.

On the back of my cover artwork "mirror" is also spelled "mirro!" under picture of Roy Disney; "Deleted Scenes And Songs!" also appears twice. (this could be the clencher) Also on the back cover art, under "Technical specifications," the twinkling stars appear to be offset with one star overlapping onto a bullet point. Otherwise, my SW case artwork looks stellar. It came with 2 foldout inserts on light paper stock – looks brand new like the DVD case. I have no original to compare them to, however, and I've not read them word for word looking for errors. No coupons or Disney Insider, as this was previously opened/owned copy of SW.

I checked Ruben's cover scans under the other thread called "Snow White Bootleg" . His scans of the cover disc art are bright and crisp, mine aren't. DVDencryptor, which he recommends downloading, is no longer available. Anyone know of any other free programs like that? The case is a black double disc holder (looks like Ruben's scan). The brand is "Nexpak" which appears on the inner spine when you open the case.

When I put SW Disc #1 into my laptop computer, a program came up called Interactual Player (Licensed 1999-2001). Did anyone's Snow White, trigger this same software? I accidentally installed this, and it appears to be spyware!

Neither of my DVD players seem to offer a way to view the region encoding or title info of the disk.

I went to Blockbuster Video to see if I could rent their copy of SW to compare to mine. They no longer have it (told me it was damaged or stolen). They did not carry Pinocchio.

Disney DVD replacement (800-723-4763) is closed on the weekends. Their website doesn't offer any info on authenticating OOP DVDs.

Final thoughts; I've already spent way too much precious time trying to determine if this is a bootleg. But it appears that I cannot rent SW anymore at the video store, so this makes the decision of whether to return the DVD all the more difficult. I paid $32 + $5 S&H for what looks like a mint condition copy that is probably a bootleg. However, as far was we know, SW will not be released again for the next several years. I can't picture myself going through this authentication process again with another seller and another copy of SW…. As for DVD quality – it will take awhile to watch all that is on both discs. So far the menus are there, they look nice and crisp; features are playing…. If this is a boot, it appears to be a good one. Thanks in advance for comments or help.

Update: My husband came home and I showed him the mistakes on the DVD rear cover art - to him, this is a definite sign its a bootleg. He's not going to bother to download any diagnostic programs for it. At this point he is more worried about the spyware I inadvertently installed.

Disneykid · Post by **Disneykid** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 4:45 pm

I hate to tell you this, but you have a bootleg inside of authentic packaging. Both of my Snow White discs (the film and the bonus material) have barcodes and serial numbers all around the ring surrounding the center hole. I'm sorry you were cheated by that Ebay buyer. Have you tried running the discs? Do they play all right? If they do, then that at least can tide you over until Snow White's re-released. Since I, personally, think we'll see it re-released in 2008 (judging by Disney's usual 7-year release window), so having the bootleg for two years isn't so bad.

Pluto Region1 · Post by **Pluto Region1** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 5:36 pm

Disneykid wrote:I hate to tell you this, but you have a bootleg inside of authentic packaging. Both of my Snow White discs (the film and the bonus material) have barcodes and serial numbers all around the ring surrounding the center hole. ... I, personally, think we'll see it re-released in 2008 (judging by Disney's usual 7-year release window), so having the bootleg for two years isn't so bad.

Thanks Disneykid! I appreciate you getting back to me. That was the final thing: what is supposed to be around the center holes. To tell you the truth, I am actually relieved because I've been going crazy all day trying to determine if it was a bootleg. Now that I know there's supposed to be barcodes etc. I'm convinced it is. However, further detective work here at UD forums provides further nail in the coffin:

rcjteng wrote: On the back cover, under the "Countless Hours" section, the Deleted Scenes and Songs! is repeated twice. Also, the caption under the Roy Disney picture has a mispelled word, Mirro! (which should be Mirror!). I called up Disney Support Desk…. told me that this is a highly sophisticated bootleg. Disney has never put out a misspelled Snow White DVD cover.

I have the same mistakes on my back cover art.

Now I just have to decide what to do. So you think SW will come out in 2008? My husband also thinks I should just hold onto the bootleg copy. In retrospect, the issue of whether or not I had a bootleg ended up bothering me a lot more than I thought it would!

I still need to play the discs to see if they fully function and then confront the seller. I updated my detective work in the actual thread about bootlegs here: http://www.ultimatedisney.com/forum/vie ... 828#256828

brotherbear · Post by **brotherbear** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 6:34 pm

hey, Disneykid, I was wondering if you could somehow post images of these barcodes / serial numbers around the center ring? You see, i'm going to be attempting to pick up SW at my local Gamestop within a day or two, and I want to be sure i'm not buying a bootleg.

Thanks!

-BB

Kram Nebuer · Post by **Kram Nebuer** » Sat Aug 19, 2006 9:41 pm

I hate to be the one to tell you this, but it looks like you're another victim of DVD bootlegging.

Snow White PE was my first DVD and it's from the Disney Store, so it's a definite real one. I've been using it to compare to your observations...

Pluto Region1 wrote:HELP NEEDED: This is why I'm concerned: The disc artwork is dark; the white writing on the discs is not real crisp or bright. Don't know if this is how they are supposed to be. We flipped over the discs and in the inner circle on each disc are two small rectangular scratch marks that look like someone took a dremel to scratch off something. There are NO identifying barcodes or serial numbers in the inner circle, like those that can be found on the later platinum editions (eg. Bambi, L&T). Can someone look at their authentic SW discs and tell me what, if anything, is supposed to be printed on the inner circle area? Are there dremel or scratch marks? BOTH Discs (1 and 2) are slightly gold tinged. Should both be the slightly gold color?

The scratch should've been a sign of definite tampering as I can't imagine any DVD to have a scratch even if it looks intentional. Sadly, there are barcodes and serial numbers in this inner circle. I've never noticed them until now. Oh and the discs are slightly gold, but the first disc is moreso than the second. I think it's because it has so much on it.

Pluto Region1 wrote:On the back of my cover artwork "mirror" is also spelled "mirro!" under picture of Roy Disney; "Deleted Scenes And Songs!" also appears twice. (this could be the clencher) Also on the back cover art, under "Technical specifications," the twinkling stars appear to be offset with one star overlapping onto a bullet point. Otherwise, my SW case artwork looks stellar. It came with 2 foldout inserts on light paper stock – looks brand new like the DVD case. I have no original to compare them to, however, and I've not read them word for word looking for errors. No coupons or Disney Insider, as this was previously opened/owned copy of SW.

Mirror should be "Mirror" and "Deleted Scenes And Songs!" only appears once. But the twinkiling stars you mentioned are right. Man this bootlegger did so well on almost everything and then (s)he goofed with spelling! Also, the Disney Insider didn't start until I think 2005 DVD releases, so it shouldn't be in there even if the previous owner left the other inserts. The inserts I have are coupons, the DVD chapter guide and DVD guide (which is a thicker paper material than the recent DVD inserts), and a very nice guide to most/maybe all of the Disney DVDs released up until Snow White PE (2001). Also, the cover art should have the shiney, metallic look for the Platinum Edition banners.

Pluto Region1 wrote:I checked Ruben's cover scans under the other thread called "Snow White Bootleg" . His scans of the cover disc art are bright and crisp, mine aren't. DVDencryptor, which he recommends downloading, is no longer available. Anyone know of any other free programs like that? The case is a black double disc holder (looks like Ruben's scan). The brand is "Nexpak" which appears on the inner spine when you open the case.

I don't know about another program like that, but I do know that the DVD case should be a black double Amaray brand DVD case (not with the swinging doors) that are exactly like the cases the Walt Disney Treasures come in. It's like an extra thick regular DVD case and instead of a swinging door, it's like the DVD case has an extra page or something.

Pluto Region1 wrote: When I put SW Disc #1 into my laptop computer, a program came up called Interactual Player (Licensed 1999-2001). Did anyone's Snow White, trigger this same software? I accidentally installed this, and it appears to be spyware!

That should've happened. That's the program you use to access the DVD-Rom features. Lol, I recently discovered this when I was trying to fix my laptop's DVD player. I still haven't, btw...Oh and I don't think it's supposed to be spyware unless Disney is trying to get our information.

Pluto Region1 wrote: Neither of my DVD players seem to offer a way to view the region encoding or title info of the disk.

I went to Blockbuster Video to see if I could rent their copy of SW to compare to mine. They no longer have it (told me it was damaged or stolen). They did not carry Pinocchio.

Hmmm, I don't know if mine can either. That's sad about Blockbuster. Don't they usually have a lot of copies so more than one family can rent the movie at a time?

Pluto Region1 wrote:Final thoughts; I've already spent way too much precious time trying to determine if this is a bootleg. But it appears that I cannot rent SW anymore at the video store, so this makes the decision of whether to return the DVD all the more difficult. I paid $32 + $5 S&H for what looks like a mint condition copy that is probably a bootleg. However, as far was we know, SW will not be released again for the next several years. I can't picture myself going through this authentication process again with another seller and another copy of SW…. As for DVD quality – it will take awhile to watch all that is on both discs. So far the menus are there, they look nice and crisp; features are playing…. If this is a boot, it appears to be a good one. Thanks in advance for comments or help.

Yeah, that's what I was going to say. It's terrible that you got a fake, but if it plays well and you can still enjoy it, then by all means enjoy it. You had no positive way of knowing it was an illegal copy and since its so close, I don't think it's bad if you keep it. At least you didn't pay oodles of money for it as some people have.

Pluto Region1 wrote: Update: My husband came home and I showed him the mistakes on the DVD rear cover art - to him, this is a definite sign its a bootleg. He's not going to bother to download any diagnostic programs for it. At this point he is more worried about the spyware I inadvertently installed.

Oh! Oops!

I feel silly. I guess I should've read your whole post before I replied to it!

Hopefully my comments can further confirm that its a bootleg. I'm sorry I had to rub it in!

Pluto Region1 · Post by **Pluto Region1** » Sun Aug 20, 2006 4:29 pm

brotherbear wrote:hey, Disneykid, I was wondering if you could somehow post images of these barcodes / serial numbers around the center ring? You see, i'm going to be attempting to pick up SW at my local Gamestop within a day or two, and I want to be sure i'm not buying a bootleg.

-BB

I think the serial numbers and bar codes are probably exactly like the ones we see on the newer Platinum releases, in which case, I would think they'd be too difficult to see in a photograph/jpeg. When you are at the store, look at the packaging for the errors I've posted about. Cover artwork should have rounded corners; there should be platinum colored bands across the top and bottom; it should not says DTS on the cover... Also check the plastic case for the manufacturer name of it. Should be an Aramay brand case. Before paying for these discs, check them over - look at the color of the discs (Disc 1 supposed to be more gold colored than Disc 2, although there is some discrepancy with some UDers saying both were slightly gold - if none are slightly gold and look pure silver, then its a boot) at least one of the labels is supposed to be slightly textured - how crisp is the artwork on the labels (mine sort of looked like it could have been a bad Xerox!) and ask the counter person to let you examine the discs before you pay. Look for the serial numbers and bar code on the underside of the discs. Good luck! Let us know if this was a real or fake.

Enchantress · Post by **Enchantress** » Sun Aug 20, 2006 4:30 pm

Woah, how strange is this, I've just come on this site to post a link regarding this topic!

Anyway, I was browsing Ebay, and this came up, it may help some.

http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/DISNEY-PIRATE ... 1:SEARCH:1

Pluto Region1 · Post by **Pluto Region1** » Sun Aug 20, 2006 4:39 pm

Kram Nebuer wrote::
The scratch should've been a sign of definite tampering as I can't imagine any DVD to have a scratch even if it looks intentional. Sadly, there are barcodes and serial numbers in this inner circle.…. The DVD case should be a black double Amaray brand DVD case...

Thanks Kram!

The banners were indeed silver and look real, but the case is not Aramay so that's another giveaway. They were pretty clever to put them on slightly gold colored discs. I forgot to add that the labels on the discs were smooth; no texture on either of them. I think the most telltale sign was the quality of the discs (that was what alerted my suspicions and why I showed it to my husband) because I didn't notice the mistakes on the back cover until I came across that post here at the forum.

My husband and I initially disagreed on seller's guilt. I felt that the bootleg was so good he probably had no idea. However, my husband contends that it only took a minute for him to flip the discs over and discover the dremel marks and if this guy sells DVDs for a living, he likely knows about the fakes in the market and should make a basic effort to check for authenticity.

This all figures into how I was going to deal with this seller. There were many sellers at Amazon Marketplace who claim to have genuine copies of SW for about the same price I paid. I could have gotten a REAL copy from another reputable dealer. Instead I spent almost $40 and have nothing but a worthless fake, which cannot be sold to anyone else at this point. My husband doesn't believe the seller will refund. He thinks if I send the discs back, not only will I not get a refund, but I will have lost "the evidence." He thinks this person is intentionally selling bootlegs and will turn around and sell it to someone else. So after mulling this over, I am going to demand a full refund, but I will not send the product back. (We should start a whole thread just for posting names of bootleg sellers and how UD members have dealt with them).

It also makes you wonder just how many people here at UD think they have a legit copy of an OOP Disney title, and perhaps really DO have fakes and just don't know it because the fakes are so good... Anyway, I hope my posts about this very good fake helps someone else out.

DVDizzy Forum

Latest Movie Reviews

🎬 DVDizzy Top Stories️️

How to Tell if Your Dvd is Fake/Bootleg or Is This Dvd Real?