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Identifying Pirated Optical Discs

Date of Release

Physical External Examination

•    Packaging & Printing : The inferior quality of printing and packaging is usually a dead give away that the product is pirated.

•    Studio & Distributor Logo : In   many instances the studio and distributor logo is missing from the cover and from the disc. Sometimes the wrong studio is placed on the pirate disc !

•    Original artwork, not copies : Often   an attempt is made by the pirate to give the product some semblance of the real product and they put artwork on the disc. However the quality is usually inferior when compared to the genuine product, although the quality is starting to improve and exact copies are on occasion detected.

•    SID (Mould code & LBR number) : SID means Source Identification. There is often no SID code on the pirate product for obvious reasons.

•    Hologram Label & Security Sticker : Some studios protect their product with the use of security stickers or by holograms. Pirates usually do not match these security features and put on fake stickers and holograms.

•    DVD Regional Zone : Below is the DVD Region map which indicates which zoned DVDs are targeted for release in which zone.

Identifying Pirated/Genuine VCDs

• In the following slides you will see some llustrations of false and genuine VCD's showing differences in packaging/ printing, studio and distributor logo's, etc.

Identifying Pirated/Genuine DVDs

In the following slides you will see some illustrations of fake and genuine DVDs
One common 'error' made by pirates is that they use the 'ALL' sign for the Regional Zone.
(Note: non-MPA companies do sometimes release 'All-Zone' or Multi-Zone DVDs).
This is directed towards the buyer to encourage purchase of the product without fear of it not working on their DVD player, irrespective of where it comes from.