[mat.ralph]

My mother-in-law bought a Disney DVD online.
It was Beauty and the Beast Special (Platinum) Edition, sold as new UK/europe version.
There are a few discrepancies which have made me doubt it's validity;

1) There is no hologram anywhere on either the jacket or the disc itself.

2) There is no age classification on the disc itself, but an American G on the back of the jacket.

3) The jacket print quality is good but definitely not as sharp as other Disney DVDs we have.

4) The disc label print quality is definitely not to the same standard as usual.

This appears to be an American DVD although I cannot be 100% certain as my player is multiregion. The jacket text is all American English unlike other genuine region 2 Disney DVD's.
Does this suggest a region 1 disc has been converted to region 2 illegally? Is this possible?

This DVD obviously wasn't listed as fake and I fear my mother-in-law has been ripped-off.

Can anybody advise please?

[Arthur_Chance]

Yes it probably is a knock off DVD, you dont state where you bought it from, online shop? ebay seller?

unless you buy it from a proper shop online or otherwise you will probably find you have a high percentage of getting a knock off copy.


and yes, you can convert a region 1 disc to any region or multi region disc very easily.

[mat.ralph]

She bought it from an online shop , moviebytes.co.uk.
I have emailed asking them what my options are but they have gone very quiet.
Think I might try Trading Standards or Disney themselves but I realise we will lose the DVD and her money that way.
I think I would actually prefer this as I hate being mugged off.
Thanks for the quick reply, amazing.

[Arthur_Chance]

well they seem like a reputable company, but if you think it is not the one advertised ask for a new copy to be sent to you and you will return the one you have ( or get your mother-in-law to do so as she bought the dvd )

any reputable dvd seller will send you a new copy as you are not happy with the one you received.

hope you get it all sorted out

[chrisjr]

Originally Posted by Arthur_Chance

and yes, you can convert a region 1 disc to any region or multi region disc very easily.

As you say it is possible to "convert" a DVD region but only by re-recording the disk. There is absolutely nothing that you can do to the disk itself to do it. The region coding is embedded in the data recorded on the disk.

Which could make it even more obviously a rip off. Unless the persons responsible have access to a pressing plant then their only option is a recordable disk. Which will have a quite distinct appearance compared to a commercially pressed disk.

[meltcity]

It is an American release. The Platinum edition is not available on region 2.

This eBay guide may help you to determine whether the disc is genuine.

Even if it is genuine, it is not the version you ordered and you are entitled to a refund.

[sjc2007]

If the DVD plays and is of satisfactory quality to watch on the TV, is it really worth the hassle?

[mat.ralph]

Originally Posted by sjc2007

If the DVD plays and is of satisfactory quality to watch on the TV, is it really worth the hassle?

Well she bought it as a present so doesn't want to appear cheap. To be honest though, even if I bought it for my own use I would feel aggrieved, I don't expect counterfiet goods when I buy something.

[gemma-the-husky]

perhaps its a european (R2) disk of some sort. That would probably be legal to sell.
Have you played it? - does it come up with normal rip-off warnings? Can you skip over them.? these are good indicators

is the FACT number on it - report it if you thing its odd?

I just bought a Panasonic camera from a web site - turns out its a US model, and i only realised because it wont output PAL video, just NTSC directly into the TV. Was about £40 cheaper than normal price.

[mat.ralph]

It has the FBI warning instead but I don't know if it skips or not.
Many thanks for all your comments and advice, I am pretty sure this is an illegal region 2 copy of a region 1 DVD and due to the lack of co-operation from Moviebytes, we will be contacting Disney and Trading Standards.
Ironically there is an ad/link for the very item at the bottom of this thread on my screen!

[klaeresource]

Beauty and the Beast has been deleted for several years.
There are countless bootleg discs on sale via Ebay ,Playtrade and even Amazon Marketplace.

A genuine new and sealed disc would be worth about £40.

Disney do not do multiregion dvd's .
It is an obvious bootleg of a region 1.

Its likely to be on a single layer disc so quality may well be poorer than the original.

I've been trying to sell my R1 originals of B&TB and Snow White for ages but the bootlegs make it impossible to sell them for a decent price

I've spoken to Play about the problem and they continue to ban bootleg sellers but they just pop up under another name.

However their freedback does indicate that as the discs are cheap most people either dont care or dont realise they are being ripped off

I see that Moviebytes also offer the Snow White 2 discer for £12.99.
They are either knowingly selling bootlegs or are stupid

[klaeresource]

Originally Posted by mat.ralph

It has the FBI warning instead but I don't know if it skips or not.
Many thanks for all your comments and advice, I am pretty sure this is an illegal region 2 copy of a region 1 DVD and due to the lack of co-operation from Moviebytes, we will be contacting Disney and Trading Standards.
Ironically there is an ad/link for the very item at the bottom of this thread on my screen!

I would call Disney Customer service :
020 8222 1571

Let them know the company is selling multiple bootlegs

[zoton2]

Just to say about holograms, I have 2 Disney DVDs from America (region 1 ones, they are ones that aren't released in the UK yet, if at all will be) that have no hologram on them, but they seem genuine, they have all the leaflets in them, even stickers on the front of the seal that was on them, and came from a reputable eBay seller, although these are of TV shows and not movies.

Just thought I'd say that they might not have holograms in America or something?

[whyted9a]

the "about us" section of the moviebytes site states

"Moviebytes are a specialist retailer of imported DVD movies and TV boxed sets, we have been trading since 2004 and have been operating on the internet since 2006."

it goes on to say

"that all DVDs are sent direct from our overseas distribution centre"

looks as though your MiL bought exactly what they state they're selling

http://www.moviebytes.co.uk/informat...78a31be5eaffd0

[klaeresource]

Originally Posted by whyted9a

the "about us" section of the moviebytes site states

"Moviebytes are a specialist retailer of imported DVD movies and TV boxed sets, we have been trading since 2004 and have been operating on the internet since 2006."

it goes on to say

"that all DVDs are sent direct from our overseas distribution centre"

looks as though your MiL bought exactly what they state they're selling

http://www.moviebytes.co.uk/informat...78a31be5eaffd0

Both Snow White and B&TB were deleted long ago .
These discs are clearly bootleg - no new sealed copies are available from anyone but bootleggers.

However it is possible they are unaware they are selling bootlegs.

I bought a boxed set from an Amazon trader and while the packaging was excellent there were tell tale signs to those who notice these things that the discs were copies .

It turned out that the trader had also been duped by a supplier who sold him quite a lot of these copies.
I got a refund and when I bought the genuine article the first sign it was genuine was that instead of being region free it was R1.

There are few , if any of the Hollywood majors who issue region free dvd's - although they are common for Bluray

Some labels like Warner and Universal will often release discs coded for more than one region , like R2 and R4 or even R1-4 but never a completely uncoded one

These "imports" are usually impressive with identical packaging and the discs are usually pressed like the legit ones and not burnt on a recorder .

The first sign its bootleg is that its Region 1 but not coded as such.

Disney do not issue uncoded dvd's.

[klaeresource]

Originally Posted by zoton2

Just to say about holograms, I have 2 Disney DVDs from America (region 1 ones, they are ones that aren't released in the UK yet, if at all will be) that have no hologram on them, but they seem genuine, they have all the leaflets in them, even stickers on the front of the seal that was on them, and came from a reputable eBay seller, although these are of TV shows and not movies.

Just thought I'd say that they might not have holograms in America or something?

Thats right - they do not use holograms for id in the US like they do in the UK

[zoton2]

And just to say the ones I've got are region coded to region 1 and copy protected. So I'm sure mine are probably legit!

[klaeresource]

Originally Posted by zoton2

And just to say the ones I've got are region coded to region 1 and copy protected. So I'm sure mine are probably legit!

Presumably yours did not come from Moviebytes.

I just remembered that a couple of years ago at least there was a similar thread on here about bootleg Disney discs and they were "imports" but they were R2 discs and the hoax was that they came from elsewhere in Europe.

That company vanished too .

IIRC Disney UK got involved

And your post reminds me that an easy way to check if they are legit is to use a program that can tell you what region codes the disc is and which of the various forms of copy protection it has.

If it has none then its not legit

[RobinOfLoxley]

At a quick glance on WOT, moviebytes.com is a known quantity.

moviebytes.co.uk is not.

Check unknown sites/suppliers with WOT.
I like it.

http://www.mywot.com/

[MJsDirtyDiana]

I bought Beauty and the Beast on Disney DVD about 6 months ago. I ordered it off play.com but was most disappointed to find that it didn't have a Disney hologram. So I sent it back and had a look in Asda for it. There must have been about ten copies but only one had a hologram. So I was grateful to find it before someone else did.

I collect Disney DVDs and there was a time not too long ago when the vast majority had holograms. Yesterday I bought 3 new Disney DVDs. I had to look in 3 different shops until I found a copy of Fantasia that had a hologram.

My favourite Disney film of all time 'The Lion King' is going to be released on to DVD next month so I just hope that there will be a Disney hologram on the spine of the case.

[porkpie]

Who cares if there is a hologram.

The Lion King was released on dvd years ago .
The new release is to tie in with the Bluray .

But you've been able to get a region free US Bluray of the movie for some weeks now aswell as an 8 disc set featuring all 3 movies - quite pricey though

[pocatello]

American dvds do not have cheaper packaging.

Price too good to be true...

[porkpie]

Originally Posted by pocatello

American dvds do not have cheaper packaging.

Price too good to be true...

I would think that US Bluray cases might be cheaper as they are thinner than the chunky ones that UK discs usually have.

[pocatello]

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=835042
Mentions the thicker case actually might use thinner plastic... so cheaper? I don't know about that.