Technical Issues and Questions

[HistoryProf]

I don't really know where else to ask this, so pardon me if there's a bootleg thread - i searched and didn't see anything.

I bought Ken Burns WWII series The War off of Ebay a while back...over a year ago...from a seller who had dozens of them. I got it for around $20 so I was quite happy, but a bit suspicious. Yet upon receipt it clearly looked legit, played fine, and the packaging is identical to every other copy i've seen.

However, tonight I went to try and copy it for a student of mine who wanted to watch them at home, and I'm always happy to indulge any students interested in history. I use DVDShrink for personal back ups of protected discs, and imagine my surprise when it read the disc id as "xiaochen" and was unable to even open it!! It plays in any dvd player i've tried, but now I'm kind of pissed off. Never having bought a bootleg before, should I be concerned about these going bad on me? has anyone else ever run into this? I must admit the quality is excellent, but it just rubs me the wrong way - and I don't understand why a bootleg isn't copyable given that I could if it was legit!

And yes, I realize the irony of complaining about copying a bootleg....but that's really besides the point. I am curious if others have come across faked sets like this, and if there are others I should look out for. I don't know why, but this really bugs me.

[perkizitore]

DVDFab is the ultimate tool for decryption, copying, shrinking you name it. You should always check the file size of DVD sets you buy from Ebay, if they are DVD9s it is unlikely that someone sold you a bootleg.

[HistoryProf]

pardon my ignorance, but what's the simplest way to see if it is a DVD9?

[kaujot]

The total amount of space on the disc. A standard dvd has about 4.7gigs of space. A DVD9, or dual-layer dvd, has roughly double that in capacity.

[HistoryProf]

ah, right. duh.

They do appear to be DVD9s...which has me even more confused. I don't see any evidence they could be bootlegs, and the quality is all excellent. But the id is xiaochen - very odd. Perhaps it IS legit and has an encryption DVDShrink couldn't hack...I'm trying DVDFab right now, so thanks for that suggestion....it appears to be working.

[kaujot]

Just because it's a DL-DVD doesn't mean it can't be counterfeit. I buy DLs all the time to back up full copies of my own dvds. It's very easy to do with DVDFab. If the DVD title/id is coming up as "xiaochen," I can guarantee that it's a bootleg, especially if it's in lowercase, as every dvd I've ever loaded into my computer has its title in full caps.

[perkizitore]

You are absolutely right kaujot, i was just mentioning how to recognise a cheap bootleg. There are many releases that are single layered and i am sure there must be DVD9 bootlegs out there.

[kaujot]

I have, um, fallen for them a few times.

[Saturnome]

Looks like a ask a lot of questions on this topic, hm..

I finally bought a HDTV, and Blu-ray+HDMI looks good (when I'm not too close to the screen) but I noticed something: Let's say a black dot on a white background. When the black dot move, I can see a faint blur (more like replicas of the dot) behind it. I turned every option and gadget off, but it's not helping. It can be a bit frustrating when watching cartoons. Anybody know what I'm doing wrong?

[MyNameCriterionForum]

Let's say a black dot on a white background. When the black dot move, I can see a faint blur

I know! I can't believe I upgraded just to play "Pong" and this is what I get? *sigh*

[Saturnome]

Was this such a stupid question...?

[swo17]

Is your HDTV LCD or plasma? I've read that what you describe is an issue with LCDs.

[MyNameCriterionForum]

Was this such a stupid question...?

No offense meant. I'm still on a tube CRT and dot-matrix, so I guess I should shut up!

[Saturnome]

It's LCD. Using this info I searched and found this:

While the "response time" of LCD TVs has markedly improved in the last couple of years, they still suffer from a slight "trailer" effect, where the individual pixels are just slightly out of step with the image on the screen. During fast moving scenes, the most discerning eyes can detect this slight motion response lag.

I think this describe my problem. I guess pixels can't go from black to white quickly enough (or something like that, I'm a bit zero with these things!). It's a bit disapointing, but I guess I'll have to live with it.

[Lemmy Caution]

DVDFab is the ultimate tool for decryption, copying, shrinking you name it. You should always check the file size of DVD sets you buy from Ebay, if they are DVD9s it is unlikely that someone sold you a bootleg.

I'm in China, and the majority of bootleg Dvd's sold here are D9's.

Dvd5's have primarily become the dvd of choice for the first, quick edition of a newly released film, which might be good quality, a screener, or something less than real dvd quality (fortunately the stores will tell you if the new releases are good quality or not, if you ask).

Almost always, bootlegs from China will have one or two sets of optional Chinese subtitles. But possibly some boots from Singapore, Taiwan, HK, might not.

pardon my ignorance, but what's the simplest way to see if it is a DVD9?

The simplest way is to hold the business side of the disc up to the light and look at the pattern. On a Dvd5, you will see lots of perfectly round concentric circles. On a DVD9 you will see a wavy pattern for the circle lines, instead of the perfect circles on a Dvd5.

Once you've seen the difference, it's easy to recognize in a matter of seconds. Just tilt the disc a bit to get the light to reflect off of the surface. Fluorescent or any bright light seems to work well.

[filmyfan]

Anyone have recomendations for taking good hi-quality screen captures ?

I use VLC media player..but is not great and can seiz up sometimes !

Any recommendations would be good !

Thanks !

[DanV]

Anyone have recomendations for taking good hi-quality screen captures ?

I use VLC media player..but is not great and can seiz up sometimes !

Any recommendations would be good !

Thanks !

Nero ShowTime is the finest program I've ever used, it's included in the Nero 7 suite; don't know if you can find it individually. Another very good one is Cyberlink PowerDVD, but I noticed that sometimes it tends to lower the actual quality of the disc (some pixelations too).

[Zumpano]

I have become one of the increasingly many who have fallen victim to Samsung's infamous two-year flameout. This is a known problem to Samsung, but Samsung is unwilling to work with me regarding the repair cost because my television wasn't made during the time span THEY believe their faulty TVs were produced. They suggested I write a letter to corporate. ](*,) I have added my name to a class action lawsuit I saw online that is investigating Samsung.

Please fellow boarders, if you're looking to buy a TV; do not buy Samsung. If you own a Samsung: unload it, unless you have the cash for repairs.

[Matt]

my television wasn't made during the time span THEY believe their faulty TVs were produced

What time frame is this?

My Samsung is approaching its second birthday. Not an occasion for celebration, apparently. I never expected to get the 13 years out of an LCD that I got from my old RCA tube TV, but I'd like a little more than 2.

[subliminac]

Not that it excuses Samsung's behavior, and I sympathise because I had the same problem, but the fix for this is actually pretty easy. I take it you have the bad capacitor issue. If so the parts can be picked up from Radio Shack for ten to fifteen bucks tops, and all it requires is a little soldering. If your not comfortable with that any repair shop should replace them cheaply, I would think, especially if you show up with the necessary parts in hand. Here's an instructional video that guided me through the process: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm51C_RD ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Zumpano]

What time frame is this?
My Samsung is approaching its second birthday. Not an occasion for celebration, apparently. I never expected to get the 13 years out of an LCD that I got from my old RCA tube TV, but I'd like a little more than 2.

One of the customer service reps told me the range was from October 2007-December 2007. The production date is listed by your serial number. Beware of the clicking sound.

Subliminac, thanks for the tips. I saw these fixes online as well, and not being an experienced solderer I will be grabbing some parts and taking them to a repair shop.

I think what got me most was that this problem seems so widespread and Samsung doesn't seem all too concerned (especially customer service, but I suppose that goes without saying). Since the repair is as inexpensive as you say, you'd think they'd comp those having the problem, or be willing to work with them somehow. Perhaps I'm a big baby, but I don't like to have to go repair stuff every two years (My Sony Trinitron bought in 2000, still rocking).

[ianthemovie]

My apologies for what may be a stupid question: do any of you own or know anything about the Sony BDP-N460 Blu player and whether or not it will play region-free or non-region-A Blu discs? Or does anyone know how I can find this out? I can't seem to find any information about this in the technical specifications. (I'm shopping around for players--under $200--online; I was considering going with the Sony 350 or 360 but decided against it for no other reason than I already bought Walkabout on Blu and don't want to have to exchange it for a non-defective copy that will play on that model.) In terms of foreign discs, it's not crucial that I get something that allows me to play region-B stuff necessarily, but I would like to be able to play region-free Blus. Thanks for the help.

[reno dakota]

In terms of foreign discs, it's not crucial that I get something that allows me to play region-B stuff necessarily, but I would like to be able to play region-free Blus. Thanks for the help.

Region-free BDs should play in any Blu-ray player, so that's not a concern (there is, however, the possibility that a foreign region-free BD will have some supplemental content that is encoded in SD PAL, but the main features will be encoded at 24fps and playable regardless of the region-locking of your machine). I have the Sony BDP-S360 and can confirm that it is region-A locked--it will play region-A and region-free BDs, as well as R1 and R0 DVDs encoded in the NTSC standard. Hope this helps.

[Norbie]

Please be patient. I'll try to explain my problem so that it can be understood. [-o<
I've included photos.

The problem is with framing

This is what i see:



However, i've found out that i'm not seeing the whole frame.
I press this setting button on my tv controler and it gives me this option to mover the frame right-left, up-down



When i move either left or right i see some of the hidden image
Look at the images and notice that between them you see more on the left but
less on the right, and the other way around, see more on right but less on left.
Notice the changes on the left and right side between these photos.




Can this problem be fixed? Could this have anything to do with overscan? I thought that only tube
television sets have this problem. My tv is LCD.

I hope i made myself clear. [-o<
It's also my first post with pictures. Any creative critcism is welcomed.

ps. No, this has nothing to do with changing the aspect ration on the tv.

[MichaelB]

This is what i see:



However, i've found out that i'm not seeing the whole frame.
I press this setting button on my tv controler and it gives me this option to mover the frame right-left, up-down



When i move either left or right i see some of the hidden image
Look at the images and notice that between them you see more on the left but
less on the right, and the other way around, see more on right but less on left.
Notice the changes on the left and right side between these photos.

What film is it, and what's the original aspect ratio?
And what's your TV's model number? If it has a downloadable manual, I can have a quick rummage and suggest something.