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

Ruben Arredondo · Post by **Ruben Arredondo** » Fri Sep 16, 2005 6:52 pm

Here are some pics of my Little Mermaid. I believe it's an authentic copy, although now I'm really not certain. Perhaps, someone else can chime in on it's authenticity.

Disk scan http://img376.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... isk9ha.jpg

Disk ID http://img376.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... kid3vd.jpg

Art Cover http://img376.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... ver6au.jpg

Keep Case http://img376.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... ray6vq.jpg

Disk Info http://img394.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... nfo7vf.jpg

The Lizard King · Post by **The Lizard King** » Sat Sep 17, 2005 8:20 am

Ruben Arredondo wrote:Here are some pics of my Little Mermaid. I believe it's an authentic copy, although now I'm really not certain. Perhaps, someone else can chime in on it's authenticity.

It looks legit to me.

TLK

eric89 · Post by **eric89** » Sat Sep 17, 2005 10:06 am

Ruben: Here are some tips about "The Little Mermaid" that you can use when trying to identify a bootleg:

*Pull out another Disney DVD (a not-so-rare official one). Feel the label of the DVD itself. You feel how it's kinda rough? Then feel the label on "The Little Mermaid" disc, it should be just as rough. It should not be smooth.

*Look at another DVD's case/cover artwork and compare it to your "Little Mermaid" cover artwork. Is your "Little Mermaid" a little more grainy, pixelated, fuzzy, etc.? It should be crystal clear like your other DVD cover/case artwork.

*Take your "Little Mermaid" DVD and put it into your DVD-ROM computer drive, go to "My Computer" and on the DVD-Rom icon right-click it, and click "Properties". Under "Used Space" it should be around 5 GB. If it is ANY less than 5 GB (bootlegs are usually around 3 GB), you have a compressed (and fake) version of the "The Little Mermaid".

*The inside of your "Little Mermaid" case should have a "security device" inside.

The Lizard King · Post by **The Lizard King** » Sat Sep 17, 2005 4:49 pm

eric89 wrote:*Take your "Little Mermaid" DVD and put it into your DVD-ROM computer drive, go to "My Computer" and on the DVD-Rom icon right-click it, and click "Properties". Under "Used Space" it should be around 5 GB. If it is ANY less than 5 GB (bootlegs are usually around 3 GB), you have a compressed (and fake) version of the "The Little Mermaid".

Look at his DVD Decrypter information on his last picture ("Disk Info"). The content weighs in at over 5.1 Gb, is Region 1,4 (only), *AND* is RCE-protected. Taiwanese silvers are always less than 4 Gb, Region All, and NEVER RCE-protected.

So, I'm 100% sure that his is legit.

TLK

Ruben Arredondo · Post by **Ruben Arredondo** » Sat Sep 17, 2005 5:51 pm

Lizard King and eric89 thanks for the help. I really appreciate it very much.

MinnieMe · Post by **MinnieMe** » Sun Sep 18, 2005 9:40 am

Ruben~ Another good tip is that if it says Buena Vista Home entertainment on the bottom of the disk, it is most likely legit. I have a few bootlegs (on accident, bought before I started collecting DVDs), and none of them say Buena Vista on the disk.

Alan · Post by **Alan** » Sun Sep 18, 2005 4:57 pm

I just bought Mickey Mouse in living color vol. 2 dvd for 20 bucks on amazon marketplace. It was labeled "New" and the seller said "Looks exactly like the picture"

When he said it looks like the picture amazon put up, I hope he means that the tin is included.

Oh yeah, and on amazon marketplace, do people mainly sell the treasures with the tins, or without them?

eric89 · Post by **eric89** » Sun Sep 18, 2005 7:33 pm

I don't know about Amazon, but you have to be really careful on Ebay. (I'm assuming that Amazon and Ebay are almost the same, at least risk wise.) Sometimes, the seller puts in small print something around 'comes in disc sleeve w/ artwork only (no case)'. Try e-mailing the seller and asking.

That Announcer · Post by **That Announcer** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 1:32 pm

I have only bought one disc off of eBay (a made-for-TV movie about the Monkees). I thought it may have been a bootleg, but the menus are really complicated (something I doubt most bootleggers would go through the trouble of copying) and there was copy protection on it as well. I once bought a BATB platinum at my flea market, which (again) I thought might have been a bootleg. However, the included CD-ROM, security device, BVHE text on the bottom of the disc and generally well-playing nature of the two discs dispelled any fears I may have had.

Alan · Post by **Alan** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 3:21 pm

I see a lot of bootleg vendors in chinatown. Its funny, they had two little girls selling the dvds so the adults who are actually "selling" the bootleg dvds aren't caught. However, in NEw york chinatown, people sell bootlegs everywhere, like on the streets. Its extremely surprising that they stand on the sidewalks and sell bootlegs when they know they can be caught really easily.

MinnieMe · Post by **MinnieMe** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 7:55 am

My friend bought a copy of the Wedding Crashers on the street in Georgetown for $7 a few weeks ago. Usually the bootlegs that they sell on the street are ones that are currently released in theaters or popular ones that just left theaters. He was selling the Wedding Crashers and the 40 Year Old Virgin. But I've seen booths of bootlegs in flea markets and stuff like that. People not versed in bootlegs probably don't know that they are selling illegal dvds.

And as long as people will buy them, they won't get caught. In busy places like DC and NYC, police have a lot more to deal with than some guys selling illegal DVDs. But if I went outside right now and started selling them I'm sure I'd get arrested within a half hour.

rcjteng · Post by **rcjteng** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 8:18 am

I just recently bought a Snow White Platinum Edition DVD 2-Disc Set on Ebay. I checked everything, the dvd case, the dvds and the inserts. They look perfect and authentic. I went through every feature that is available on the discs. There were no problems at all. Everything was accessible, the feature itself is gorgeous.

Then, I doubled checked the DVD cover arts and I noticed a few problems. On the front cover, the background is very dark purple and the shadow on Snow White's face is very red. The circle surrounding the title does not shimmer. 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 and told them about this. After a while, the person came back on the phone and told me that this is a highly sophisticated bootleg. Disney has never put out a misspelled Snow White DVD cover.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Check your dvds and let me know. Perhaps the dvds are authentic, but the cover art is not.

Post by **Luke** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 8:29 am

Welcome to the forum! You really have to be careful buying out of print Disney DVDs on eBay. Many, if not most, are bootlegs, especially those priced reasonably.

rcjteng wrote:Does anyone have any experience with this? Check your dvds and let me know. Perhaps the dvds are authentic, but the cover art is not.

That's not too likely. If the cover art is bogus, the DVDs inside likely are too. Someone posted link to a free-to-download tool which can identify (somewhat definitively) if your DVD is a bootleg. Maybe someone can tredge that up for you, or you could try finding it with a forum search.

RJKD23 · Post by **RJKD23** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 11:37 am

No experience with that, and I've been through 3 Snow Whites (though I've sold 2 of them, and I have one for our collection).

So...how's that first disc of Snow White? Is it gold-tinted?

And Welcome to the forum!

Hope to see you post more...sorry about the potential bootleg.

P.S. I wouldn't know where exactly to direct you, but if you <a href="http://www.ultimatedisney.com/forum/sea ... >Search</a> UD, and type in BOOTLEG in Search for Keywords, and change your option to SEARCH TOPIC TITLE ONLY, you'll come up with 21 matches...and there are threads that'll tell you how to identify a bootleg...<a href="http://www.ultimatedisney.com/forum/vie ... 7221">like this one</a>

rcjteng · Post by **rcjteng** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 12:08 pm

don't buy it. it is fake. the seller was not being very specific about it and the price is low.

Ruben Arredondo · Post by **Ruben Arredondo** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 12:09 pm

The first thing you should do is to download dvd decrypter. The first disk of Snow White should
look like this:

Label: Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs
Region: 1 - RCE Protection: NO
Copyright Protection System Type: CSS/CPPM
Disk Size 1: 37 Files: 8,185,344 KB

Note: The art work surface on both disk's should feel a little rough - not smooth.

Here are some pics of an authentic Snow White movie:

Snow white Cover 1
Snow white Cover 2
Disk Case
Disk 1
Disk 2
Disk info

Ruben

DaveWadding · Post by **DaveWadding** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 12:21 pm

rcjteng wrote:don't buy it. it is fake. the seller was not being very specific about it and the price is low.

Thank you for telling her FIVE MONTHS AFTER the post was made.

chaychay102royal · Post by **chaychay102royal** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 12:22 pm

Shouldn't all these Snow White bootleg threads be combined? There are links to how to identify a bootleg on another thread.

Alan · Post by **Alan** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 1:01 pm

rcjteng wrote:don't buy it. it is fake. the seller was not being very specific about it and the price is low.

I don't think the bid would had lasted five months. Obviously, someone has already bought it given the length of time.

disneydude · Post by **disneydude** » Wed Nov 16, 2005 12:42 pm

New member here... I'm getting a little obsessed about Disney with my 1st born coming

Anways....

I noticed a bunch of Pinocchio DVDs on ebay claiming to be authentic, but not much money (compared to other OOP DVDs) Is the Pinocchio DVD still pretty easy to find and thus not that expensive or are they really copies/bootlegs?

Thanks!

DVDizzy Forum

Latest Movie Reviews

🎬 DVDizzy Top Stories️️

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

Snow White Platinum 2-Disc Edition Bootleg

Re: Snow White Platinum 2-Disc Edition Bootleg

no, it is fake

Re: no, it is fake

Re: no, it is fake

Pinocchio DVD Question