[Technology Connections] Some DVD re-releases got cheapened out in a weird way [17:59]
[Technology Connections] Some DVD re-releases got cheapened out in a weird way [17:59]
Oh no.
I remember bootlegs being common for certain genres at used DVD stores back in the 2000s. I pointed some out once, and the clerk was like “whatever man.”
Back then it was anime and esoteric stuff. It makes sense to me that TV show box sets would be a target for bootlegs.
It’s a pretty big mistake, though given it’s his second (casual) channel it is very low stakes.
He can’t posit that re-releases are being done on single layer DVDs to save money, but use bootlegs as proof. Bootlegs aren’t a DVD release done by the distributor. That’s a pretty fatal flaw in logic.
It’s the equivalent of “Steam games are getting re-released in a weird way” and linking to Pirate Bay torrents, and the entire video is about how cheap games have gotten since they don’t have Steam features like achievements and cloud-save.
Those releases he is referring to are definitely bootlegs. He should get his movies from a more respectable outlet instead.
I imagine that he started collecting DVDs because it’s a cheap way to own a physical copy of your favorite shows…
But for the love of god just go hunt for cheap Blu-ray versions instead and leave DVDs in the past.
Unless you, for whatever reason, just must own a specific DVD release because it has otherwise unreleased extra content/commentary, or it never made it to Blu-ray.
I have a few on my desk right now that won’t. Usually somewhat more obscure titles where nobody has ripped the key and shared it in the public KEYDB.cfg. Like the Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection (incidentally, one of the movies in there is public domain, and another will be on Jan 1).
Although I also have a copy of Deadpool, not UHD, that won’t rip, so it’s not always obscure titles, either.
I ended up with an archgon MD-8107 and it has been great. It is external and plugs in via usb, and works great on both my Mac Laptop and my Linux box with MakeMKV.
I think I found it via the forums on MakeMKV to make sure I got one that I could put the correct firmware on.
Additional context from his pinned comment to that video:
I’ve been away from internet all day and it sounds like I got my hands on a couple of bootleg/counterfeit sets here! That’s neat. Love that. I’m going to leave this video up as it is because the overall lesson here remains mostly the same - but I am embarrassed this thought never occurred to me, especially with The Good Place Blu-rays. I honestly thought a Blu-ray release of that show would be niche enough that a run of pressed discs wouldn’t be justified and didn’t question it. I’ve not been paying attention to physical media for nearly a decade so I’ve missed some memos and made one too many assumptions!
I HAVE broken discs in similar sets (Mr. Robot, Planet of the Apes) taking them out of those awful cases, and also had them arrived scratched up. Definitely check them closely when they arrive so you don’t realize (like I have) when you get to disc six a month later and realize it won’t play past 40 minutes. So many cheap box sets now have the same horrible packaging that ruins the discs.
When possible with those kinds of cases, I just rip out the horrible center disc holders, put the discs in sleeves and then put those in the case.
I HAVE broken discs in similar sets (Mr. Robot, Planet of the Apes) taking them out of those awful cases
So someone actually came up with something worse than the Scanavo DVD cases (on the grounds that I never actually broke a disc taking it out of a Scanavo case, just thought I was going to)? That’s . . . brutal.
Some “bootlegs” are licensed and sold in Amazon. Note the manufacturer.
Real
“Bootleg”
I feel like it’s also probable that he didn’t do the exhaustive due diligence here because he was trying to get many videos out very quickly to coincide with the launch of the good store socks.
I could see being annoyed that this might be why an issue like this slipped through, but it’s a fund raiser for charity. So, uhh, y’know, let this slide.