WKRP Shout Factory counterfeits?

I ordered the set from Amazon last week at full price to avoid counterfeits. It plays fine in one player but not in another. The other DVD player goes past the Shout logo then freezes and ejects. I’m pretty sure it’s the player (yet it never has a problem otherwise) but is there a surefire way of detecting a counterfeit set?

 

In my experience, legit product with stupid anti theft software built in is far more likely to act that way that a pirated copy. I remember buying some Disney stuff that was all but unplayable.

 

Amazon is an authorized dealer so the chances of you obtaining pirated versions are next to nil. The only exception is if you bought from one of the other sellers and not Amazon itself. Occasionally, there can be bootlegs but it's rare since they've cracked down on that stuff a while ago.

Some players are more finicky and some discs are badly manufactured. I remember reading a thread about some music CDs made by a specific company and lots of people echoed the experience the OP had.

If it's a DVD, you can test it out by making a copy on a blank DVD disc with your PC. If it plays fine, you'll know it was a disc issue. If it doesn't read fine on your PC, it simply could be a defective disc. It doesn't happen often but it's not unheard of to have problematic discs exchanged.

 

Every disc in the set acts the same way in that one player. Strange.

 

Gotta be the player

 

Test one disc by making a copy and try that new disc in the problematic player.

Some players are snobby. They'll be fine for everything but specific discs. All depends on how they were manufactured.

Meanwhile, ensure your player is running its latest firmware. Always helps with compatibility issues as a lot of those types of issues are ironed out with newer firmware.

 

I don't see how this set (or sets of old TV shows in general) would be profitable enough to counterfeiters to even take this on. It must cost a quite a bit to produce duplicate discs and packaging. And then the sales aren't exactly huge.

 

Funnily enough, Nero is letting me make a copy of disc one. It never lets me copy commercial DVDs and I never learned a way around that.

 

Counterfeit / Bootleg Media FAQ

 

I copied disc one. It works better than the real disc one in the player.

 

did you but from amazon itself or one of their sellers?
(ps I cant imagine even one of the third parties selling a boot dvd nowadays not worth it, but its possible they didn't know)

 

I bought an All In The Family complete dvd set while I was living in China. Had to be a pirate but it looked and played perfect. Made me wonder if Shout has their stuff made in China?

The funny thing is that it has no subtitles. Few people in China would by it without Chinese subtitles. The Taobao seller said it's good for practicing your English listening ability.

 

Amazon itself. Full price.

 

Actually it says sold by EcoStoreSales even though it was the main (and most expensive) version.

 

OT: this copying onto a blank disc in my PC-- would that work for that fourth disc in my copy of that Petrocelli release (fourth disc of first season; the one that has the scratches)?

 

So, what happened with #7? I thought that was the best tip of any of them.

 

Sometimes. Since producing the copy doesn't have to happen in real time, sometimes enough data can be extracted in multiple passes to reconstruct the the original data.

 

I tried to put it in the laptop but I don’t know how to check the size.

 

Good question. I have a CD of Kind of Blue with a big scratch. I’m gonna try and dupe it.

 

Open up "computer" then right click and select "properties".

 

And then what do I look for? (Sorry. I’m Really slow when it comes to computers)

 

Use EAC (Exact Audio Copy). It's by far the best, most accurate program for attempting that kind of thing, and it's free.

 

Disc size (expressed in "used space").

 

What should a good disc say? (And thank you)

 

Good idea-- will attempt at first opportunity!