I ordered several DVDs for Christmas gifts in Nov. 2009 and received them in a timely fashion, but upon closer inspection suspected that they were copies, as the label artwork looked inkjetted and a bit blurry...
I opened one of the movies to confirm and the DVD itself was printed in color which looked convincing, but when I tried to play it there was no menu, and pressing the menu button on my remote simply stopped play for a second or two and then kept going. A bit of googling indicated that was a classic symptom of copying protected DVDs.
As far as reporting the copies, I've emailed the DOJ, but have gotten no response. I also reported them via the Motion Picture Association website: http://www.mpaa.org/ReportPiracy/ReportPiracy.aspx
I've copied below my attempts at communication with the folks at WDDVDs for your information. I have no doubt in my mind that I was sold fakes, and am annoyed at having lost the money, but at this point, my only concern is to keep others from being bilked the way I was.
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Sent 11-25-09:
I sent this message via your website, but I have not received a reply, so I am trying this email address as well.
I ordered 3 DVDs from you (order XXXXX). I have received them, but I have doubts regarding their authenticity. The printing on all of the labels appears to be blurry, as if they were color copied.
I'd never experienced such an issue, so I opened UP and tried to play the movie. There was no menu - the movie just played a special intro and then started into the movie. There are no inserts as well - the cover indicates that there would be a DisneyMovieRewards code inside and there was nothing, not even the standard chapter guide or ever-present disney movie coupons/ads.
I am in no way implying that you were responsible for copying the movies, but I have no desire to own pirated movies and would like to return them all for a refund.
Please let me know how to go about returning the movies.
Thank you for your assistance.
Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx
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Received 11-27-09:
UP is an FastPlay movie by Disney. To see the menus, you have to press menu. With FastPlay, the movie starts automatically so kids don't have to mess with the menu options. All the DVDs we sell which are out of production in the US is imported from Canada and they are different from the US production run and do not include the US inserts or movie rewards.
Thanks
Bridgett
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Walt Disney DVDs
www.waltdisneydvds.com
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My Reply 11-29-09:
(for which I've yet to receive a response)
Bridgett,
Thanks for your reply.
I pressed menu. It halted play for a second and then just went back to playing, like there was no menu. I've heard of FastPlay, and read about it, and this isn't FastPlay, which opens with a screen allowing you to choose FastPlay or Main Menu.
Up is also definitely not out of production in the US, and even if it was Canadian packaging, it would not reference inserts that should be included but aren't.
Also, I can tell the difference between something printed on an offset press and an inkjet print, and the labels on all of the DVDs I received from you are inkjetted; I can see the lines made as the print head moved back and forth in the dot pattern, as opposed to the rosette pattern made by the CMYK dots in offset printing, which is how any large run of labels would be produced. Inkjet printing is great for short runs or home printing, but time-consuming and expensive in large-quantities, and Disney would never produce labels in that manner.
I'd like to return all of the movies for a refund - I'm no expert, but everything is pointing to these movies being fakes - which you may or may not have been aware of. If you were unaware, you would accept my concerns, refund my purchase and investigate or change your supplier. On the other hand, if you were aware, you'd defend the fraud with excuses and try to get me to keep movies that are not what I purchased - legitimate Disney movies, not pirated copies. In that case, I'd feel a moral obligation to report this to the appropriate authorities.
Please let me know which course of action I should pursue.
Thanks!
Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Flynrider
Phoeix,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Obvious bootlegs
#2Consumer Suggestion
Tue, January 12, 2010
I don't even have to see the DVDs. You can tell by the website that it's a bootleg site. It is obviously not a site owned by the Disney corporation and Disney is not about to let someone else use their company's identity on a website (particularly a shoddy looking one).
If you really want justice, contact the real Disney corp. and let them know about the site and the bootleg DVDs that they sold you. I guarantee that will get you a much better response that the DOJ or even the MPAA. Disney is like a junkyard dog when it comes to protecting their corporate identity.
Good luck!