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Admins please read this before closing the thread, the title is somewhat misleading.
I am a manager at a grocery store. Before I was the store manager I was the video department manager. I still do the order for the department and oversee a few things. My boss, the general manager, showed me a DVD that one of our customers had brought in. The customer was offered a job selling the DVDs to a specified area. He would be selling them to us for $10 each, this is substantially cheaper than our current dealer. I looked the DVD over and my first thought was bootleg. It had what I thought to be tell-tell signs of this. I used to backup my own DVDs so I knew the procedure and some things to look for. The first thing I spotted was, while looking at the DVD from the bottom, data side, the innermost ring was clear and you could see the paper backing of the label. I know that when I stamped my DVDs you could see the paper ring as well. The next thing I looked for was a texture on top. When I stamped my own labels, you could feel the elevation change. This was non-existent on these movies. I also noticed that the dye was not purple, the bottom of the disk were silver, just like a manufactored DVD. The artwork on the case also varied from the ones that we had order, this I thought was no big deal. The inner insert is not in any of the DVDs. The jewel cases are also different than the ones we got from our distributor, even though the movies were the same, I thought that this was nothing major just a different batch. All of the DVDs say DVD9, I know this to mean Dual Layer, or 9.4GB. When I used to burn my collection, I would have to compress my DVD9 movies to fit onto my DVD5 disk.
I had my boss call the guy so I could ask him some questions, he arrived and assured me they were legitimate. He was told that the cops had taken some and inspected them and agreed they were real. I was a non-believer. I asked him to bring me a couple to inspect on my PC.
He came back later with 2 different DVDs. Monster and The Passion of the Christ. Neither of these had the internal insert, both had different artwork on the cases and the disk, both said DVD9 and DTS, both have Thai and Malay subtitles. He claimed that these disk were called "World Disk" and that the same manufactorer made them. I told him I would take them home and inspect them and bring them back. He let me borrow them, since he is meeting with the people tomorrow and wanted to have some questions ready for them. The one thing that really bothers me though, is the caption on the back of Monster says "Absolutely Hilarious".
I got home and compared the disk to originals. Things that vex me. I will only go over The Passion of the Christ, if enough people want me to lay the specifics out on Monster as well I can.
1. It is a multi-region disk. All regions 1-8 are said to be supported.
2. Media code is NA it is said to be pressed.
3. Volume name is PASSION_CHRIST
4. Implementation Id is Ahead Nero
5. 4.06GB
6. Number of layers is 1
7. Recorded 8/8/04
8. When opened with DVD Shrink, it was unencrypted.
9. Thai, Malay, and Chinese subtitles
Here is why I have a problem with those things. This is for the original disk that we bought through our distributor.
1. The cover of the disk and case say DVD Region 1. The one that I have is only a Region 1
2 My original is also pressed, usually backups are not pressed disks.
3. Volume name on original is PASSION_OF_THE_CHRIST
4. Implementation Id is MEI, I have never seen an original that was done by Nero.
5. 7.31GB
6. Number of layers is 2
7. Recorded 5/19/04
8. It was encrypted and required compression'
9. English and Spanish subs I think.
Here is what I think is going on. Someone gets a movie from Japan that hits DVD before it does in the US. The ship it over, decode, compress, derigion, and burn the disk. Then they pre-book them a month out and sell them to stores.
I would love to shut down the guy making them, not the customer that will be working for these people. I also would like to make some money in the process.
The question I have.
Do you think they are bootlegs.
Does my theory sound accurate.
If they are not bootlegs are they legal for me to rent and sell.
Is there any money to be made, turning this guy in.
What other test should I use to check the validity.
Who do I contact to report this crime.
I used DVDInfoPro to test the media.
Thanks
Lonzo
Ricers Make Baby Jesus Cry
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