Bootlegs?

[SaiyaMel]

Came across this - sold by someone in Beijing..



DVD boxed set all 291 eps; optional subtitles in English and Chinese.

[Velasa]

Cantonese with english subtitled automatically equals bootleg, just to let you know. And no whole-series single box exists.

[saiyanprincess]

Any Imports from China and sometimes Tailand = Fake.

I got my dad the Stargate boxset from... cough cough... Ebay, It was an import from China the seller assured me that it was completely genuine.
Don't get me wrong there was zillions of dvds, and they were pretty nifty quality and all in complete english in a tidy box.

Its just they obviously were not original, when I actually recieved it the back had some weird dates on them and the picture quality although good was not as clear as the discs sold in the stores.

I was a bit of a blonde, I believed I was getting a genuine bargain... It was a bargain, I was happy, but they still were not the real DVD's.

Its always best to get the real things if you can, the quality will be better, you will help the industry and not line some fat gangmasters pockets; plus you will have the satisfaction of knowing.... Mine... All Mine...

[The Time Traveller]

Hey, I have a few imports from China that are legit, you just gotta know what you're buying.

[Kendamu]

From firsthand experience I can tell you that the Chinese DBZ bootlegs (which look like the episodes themselves were ripped from the Dragonbox DVDs) have pretty crappy quality subtitles. They range in quality anywhere between, "That was translated a bit too literally," to "Did they just say that Dende was about to win Super?" It's like Zero Wing ("All Your Base Are Belong To Us") and LOLCats crashed into DBZ and took over.

The only reason I was able to put up with them is because I knew the story and the character names already, I've known foreign people who actually talk like that, and I know just enough Japanese to half-read the titles and listen really hard to the words being spoken to get the right idea out of what's being said.

The sad part is that the Chinese bootlegs I've seen have immensely better picture quality than the FUNi DVDs. What makes that even more sad is that there are around 9 episodes per disc on the bootlegs so you know that the video has lost a little bit of the picture quality of the original.

At best, what you'd get out of those is bootleg Dragonbox with lower picture quality than the genuine article, horrible subtitles, and these weird menu errors where sometimes if you try to play a specific episode it'll just play the first one on the disc. Also, skipping chapters can be somewhat temperamental and a lot of times you'll get sent back to the first chapter on the disc. It's similar to those crappy Warp Tubes in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels that would sometimes send you back to a previous level.

So, what you're left with is something that's really cheap and has picture quality that's beter than FUNi, but not as good as Dragonbox or some of the other respectable remastered DVDs legitmately being produced in (I think) Spain and stuff like that. Also, it's only Japanese audio with unreliable subs.

Your best bet with a deal like that is to just get the Dragonbox DVDs if you're looking for Japanese audio and great picture quality. If you're looking to have accurate translation so you don't have to feel like the show doubles as a listening quiz for a Japanese class, just stick to FUNi's stuff and hope you have a good enough HDTV and DVD player that you can play with the various display settings to create a picture that looks pretty decent (which is what I do when staying with friends who have an HDTV).

[Ash]

Cantonese with english subtitled automatically equals bootleg, just to let you know.

True when concerning Dragon Ball DVD's. But it does not hold for all Hong Kong (Cantonese) (anime) releases.

[SSj_Rambo]

I am in no way a supporter of bootlegs nor have I ever owned one but it does seem like Funimation could learn a few things from them.

First off, larger sets would be nice, and more like the Dragonbox's.
Also, the nice cover art I've seen on most of the bootlegs over on EBAY would be welcomed greatly over here, especially after our eyes have been burned by the orange bricks.
And, it would be great if Funimation learned that by redoing everything *cough*Faux Remastering*cough* they only make it worse and they should just by the licenses to the Dragonbox's and give us what we want/deserve!

[Kendamu]

Hell, DVD sets containing fourth generation footage of the Dragonbox would probably be better than the bricks.

[NeptuneKai]

I know we're not allowed to brag about bootlegs on here but let me say those blue bootlegs picture is amazing. I really don't see what the issue is with bootlegging a series that has a shit treatment in America. I don't like crappy half cut off angelically white picture so why buy Funimations product? I can't speak Japanese and they have no subtitles so why buy the Japanese product? But this bootleg gives me super clear picture with subtitles (granted they aren't 100% great but this is easily fixable with a subtitle editor.) Once again I'm not bragging I'm merely posing a question. These bootlegs give me everything I want and if the other two companies aren’t fulfilling my needs I see no issue with buying from a company that is willing to.

[disturbed001]

The only thing I have to say about bootlegs is if you want to own the series and you don't care about the quality or accuracy of the Subtitles, then go for it. But if you really care about the series then get the legit stuff.

[Jerseymilk]

I know we're not allowed to brag about bootlegs on here but let me say those blue bootlegs picture is amazing. I really don't see what the issue is with bootlegging a series that has a shit treatment in America. I don't like crappy half cut off angelically white picture so why buy Funimations product? I can't speak Japanese and they have no subtitles so why buy the Japanese product? But this bootleg gives me super clear picture with subtitles (granted they aren't 100% great but this is easily fixable with a subtitle editor.) Once again I'm not bragging I'm merely posing a question. These bootlegs give me everything I want and if the other two companies aren’t fulfilling my needs I see no issue with buying from a company that is willing to.

Well there's the fact that you're lining the pockets of the Chinese mafia, but I digress I suppose. >>

[NeptuneKai]

I know we're not allowed to brag about bootlegs on here but let me say those blue bootlegs picture is amazing. I really don't see what the issue is with bootlegging a series that has a shit treatment in America. I don't like crappy half cut off angelically white picture so why buy Funimations product? I can't speak Japanese and they have no subtitles so why buy the Japanese product? But this bootleg gives me super clear picture with subtitles (granted they aren't 100% great but this is easily fixable with a subtitle editor.) Once again I'm not bragging I'm merely posing a question. These bootlegs give me everything I want and if the other two companies aren’t fulfilling my needs I see no issue with buying from a company that is willing to.

Well there's the fact that you're lining the pockets of the Chinese mafia, but I digress I suppose. >>

Hey if the Chinese mafia is putting out some decent Dragonball products they deserve my money. Their products are better then what's already out there so they earned it. If Funi didn't want me not buying their products they shouldnt have fucked up their product so much.

It's almost like one man is holding an apple covered in horse shit but the other is holding a shiny new fresh apple, however the man holding the fresh apple is a criminal. If the other man isn't willing to supply me with better apples I'm forced to buy from the criminal.

[Jerseymilk]

So....essentially, you're okay with helping to fund organized crime, such as murder and drug dealing? Then again as you said, they're putting out some decent DB products so what does that matter right?

[Sun_Wukong]

Cantonese with english subtitled automatically equals bootleg, just to let you know.

True when concerning Dragon Ball DVD's. But it does not hold for all Hong Kong (Cantonese) (anime) releases.

Um, I have no idea what youre talking about. Why on earth would Chinese releases come with English subs?

[Kendamu]

Where's the evidence or firsthand experience that anime bootlegs are linked to Chinese organized crime?

[Ash]

Cantonese with english subtitled automatically equals bootleg, just to let you know.

True when concerning Dragon Ball DVD's. But it does not hold for all Hong Kong (Cantonese) (anime) releases.

Um, I have no idea what youre talking about. Why on earth would Chinese releases come with English subs?

Well... maybe because Hong Kong was British for about 100 years? I am of course talking about official Hong Kong releases and it's true most of them don't feature English subtitles, but some do.

[Jerseymilk]

Where's the evidence or firsthand experience that anime bootlegs are linked to Chinese organized crime?

This is an excerpt taken from a New York Times article from 2005, when the problem of pirated DVDs was just starting to surface as a real problem for studios:

Although investigators say that the hard-goods traffickers, the most notorious of whom are based in China and Russia, often get their stolen products from warez groups, they are equally adept at making knock-offs of new DVD's as soon as Hollywood studios release them. For this they rely on techies known as "rippers" or "crackers" who are adept at unscrambling the security codes that studios have embedded on DVD's to deter copycats.

"The parts of the world where replication is thriving are where large-scale operations exist, sometimes controlled by organized-crime groups who can afford to spend more than $1 million on a replication machine," said John G. Malcolm, who oversees antipiracy efforts for the Motion Picture Association of America. "Asia is piracy central, and a majority of the world's pirated discs are replicated there."

The Asian rings also have strong roots in the United States, law enforcement officials say. Last fall, federal prosecutors in New York indicted 51 people linked to the two largest Chinese organized-crime families in the city. Charges ranged from human smuggling and extortion to money laundering and murder. Law enforcement officials said people named in the indictment were also heavily involved in film piracy.

Here's the entire article, the excerpt is from page 3:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/28/busin ... =nyt&scp=9

[Kendamu]

Thanks, Jerseymilk. I always heard about the priacy/organized crime link, but it was always through hearsay and stuff. I just wanted to see an actual link before I started spreading the same kind of info.

[Jerseymilk]

Oh that's no problem. Goodness knows the anime world gets enough rumours flying as it is.

[Sun_Wukong]

Well... maybe because Hong Kong was British for about 100 years? I am of course talking about official Hong Kong releases and it's true most of them don't feature English subtitles, but some do.

mm, yeah, so was America, damn you.