DVDFab/MacTheRipper Error

[RAHRL]

I got the same DVDFab/MacTheRipper error on each of the discs when I tried to rip te dvd box "The Six Million Dollar Man" that I bought from (a partner of) Amazon US a few months ago.

The counterfeit was very professionally made and I would not have taken a closer look at it, had MakeMKV not alerted me.

How can I be so sure, it is a counterfeit? Three reasons:
1. The discs in this box do not have any copy protection at all.
2. All the discs in the box are layer 1 discs.
3. On the covers of each the cases in the box, it is claimed that the discs are layer 2, but, as mentioned, that is not the case. So the covers do not match with the actual discs.

I couldn't believe it but, again, MakeMKV was right.

[pneumatic]

I got the same DVDFab/MacTheRipper error on each of the discs when I tried to rip te dvd box "The Six Million Dollar Man" that I bought from (a partner of) Amazon US a few months ago.

The counterfeit was very professionally made and I would not have taken a closer look at it, had MakeMKV not alerted me.

How can I be so sure, it is a counterfeit? Three reasons:
1. The discs in this box do not have any copy protection at all.
2. All the discs in the box are layer 1 discs.
3. On the covers of each the cases in the box, it is claimed that the discs are layer 2, but, as mentioned, that is not the case. So the covers do not match with the actual discs.

I couldn't believe it but, again, MakeMKV was right.

This is really not good to hear as I recently got conned by a counterfeit as well ¹. I've seen some sites selling DVDs where the prices are unusually low that I suspect foul play too.

I mean, it's one thing to download a DVD, it's a whole nother thing to trick people into paying you for your downloaded copy and then proceed to degrade the image quality to make it fit onto single layer discs. The latter really makes my blood boil - not only did they swindle you and the artists but they smeared grease all over the artists work. This shows they have no soul. Bugpeople.

For the record I don't condone piracy if it hurts the artists financially. If a DVD is worth buying then I'll buy it. For example I'm currently looking to add Stargate SG-1 to my collection and sure I could download it but I think it's good enough that I would have bought it if the download wasn't available. I could buy a used copy for half the price and the artists don't get paid for that, but I'd rather support the artists plus I like having brand new discs that I don't have to clean.

[dcoke22]

Both Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis are available as reasonably priced blu-rays sets, at least in the USA. I don't think I've ever ended up with a counterfeit blu-ray when purchasing from a reputable outlet.

I have found that going through the process of digitizing my collection has gotten me to buy more discs. When I started down this path, I hadn't purchased a new movie in a couple of years. Now I'm regularly buying stuff to add to my collection.

[pneumatic]

I don't think I've ever ended up with a counterfeit blu-ray when purchasing from a reputable outlet.

I suppose BD-R's are too expensive to make profitable counterfeits. Heck, the bootleggers already think dual layer DVD discs are too expensive, there's no way they'd be able to afford BD-R's

On the other hand they might be able to get away with shrinking it down to less discs given how high bitrate blu-rays are to begin with.

I have found that going through the process of digitizing my collection has gotten me to buy more discs. When I started down this path, I hadn't purchased a new movie in a couple of years. Now I'm regularly buying stuff to add to my collection.

Yep, me too. I went into "archiving" mode a couple years ago and my storage cupboard has been filling up with purchased DVD's ever since. On many occasions I've "previewed" the DVD version elsewhere and found the subject matter was relevant to my interests which then prompted me to buy the DVD. In some cases the subject matter wasn't even that great but I still ended up buying it anyway just to make sure I have a reference copy in my archive for future reference (plus the DVD rip quality of these "previews" is not always up to snuff imo...I can do a better job with my own Avisynth script).

[RAHRL]

I got the same DVDFab/MacTheRipper error on each of the discs when I tried to rip te dvd box "The Six Million Dollar Man" that I bought from (a partner of) Amazon US a few months ago.

The counterfeit was very professionally made and I would not have taken a closer look at it, had MakeMKV not alerted me.

How can I be so sure, it is a counterfeit? Three reasons:
1. The discs in this box do not have any copy protection at all.
2. All the discs in the box are layer 1 discs.
3. On the covers of each the cases in the box, it is claimed that the discs are layer 2, but, as mentioned, that is not the case. So the covers do not match with the actual discs.

I couldn't believe it but, again, MakeMKV was right.

Once you’ve received an illegal copy while you thought you’d bought a legitimate version, there are still a number of hurdles to overcome.
1. Trying to convince the seller or Amazon that the box is truly a counterfeit.
Big chance the seller is not the manufacturer and might not have been aware of the fact. They could just be a trading company. For that reason I would not easily write a negative review. But if they lack the technical knowledge, it is hard to convince them using terminology as single and double layer discs, copy protection, etc. They could just as well deny there is any problem and then your complaint is going nowhere.
2. Complaining months after delivery.
In this case, the copy is so professionally made, that I didn’t suspect anything when the box was delivered. I have so many boxes to rip, so I got around to it only a few months later. But it doesn’t really support your case with Amazon when so much time has elapsed.
3. Getting my money back (partially).
I paid about 100 US$ for the box through Amazon and I had no reason to suspect anything. If I had acquired it for 25$ through a private seller on some dubious site, I would have known there was probably something wrong with it. The easiest way for me to get some of my money back, is to ignore the problem and sell the box on to somebody else. Everything that is supposed to be on there, is there, so big chance the buyer won’t even notice it, just as me.
4. Counterfeits are always single layer discs?
For some reason illegal copies are mostly on single layer discs. I don’t know for certain if that is always true and I don’t know why this is. Probably it has to do with the production machines, i.e. double layer is harder or more expensive to produce. But this is my biggest nuisance: as the illegal producer is bound to the same number of discs (if the box would have a different number of discs, it would be obvious that it is counterfeit), the use of single layer discs that have half the storage capacity means that the video files themselves can only be roughly half the original size, i.e. they are of lower quality.
5. Region code also wrong.
I also found out the region information of the discs is incorrect. According to the cover, it is supposed to be a region 1 (only) box, but, as my dvd-reader is configured for region 2, I usually get a message from MakeMKV in the log about this discrepancy. With the discs of this box, I see no message about region code, so it is probably region free. Using DVDFab, I have determined the discs are in fact region free (or regio all, i.e. region 1-8). According to the cover, the box should also be NTSC, and I think it is, because VLC says the framerate is 29.97 fps and NTSC is also confirmed by DVDFab.

[RAHRL]

[pneumatic]

Yep, all pertinent observations there RAHRL, especially that first point about getting a refund is a uniquely insidious problem. In my case I was lucky and got refunded without any resistance. I actually suspect the retailer might have made the copy based on some of the stuff in their FAQ (they specialise in "public domain" DVDs, warn that picture quality may not be as high, will make you a downloadable mp4 version, and says studio DVD-Rs are manufactured on demand).

I have so many boxes to rip, so I got around to it only a few months later. But it doesn’t really support your case with Amazon when so much time has elapsed.

This is even an issue with genuine DVDs as you can have so many discs that all need to be checked for errors, by the time you get around to finding a dodgy disc it's too late for a refund. As an example I received 2 box sets of The Twilight Zone the other day (38 discs total) and I've got to first check all the discs are even in the case (some reviews on Amazon saying they got a duplicate of one of the discs, where the person packing the discs in the factory must have made a mistake) and then rip them all to make sure I didn't get any dud discs. I still prefer DVD to streaming services but it's a lot of work. Well, it's the price to pay if you want a permanent copy, and I'm willing to pay that price.

[RAHRL]

I reported the matter to the vendor but they didn’t respond. Amazon US refunded the purchase without further questions and without specifying the reason. End good, all good, I would say but I still don’t definitely know the box was genuine or not.
If the industry is serious about discouraging illegal copying, they should make it easier for the consumer to determine this.