This Is What I've Heard: Is It True?

[Willie Oleson]

And some manufacturers, sadly, do use a cheaper, less substantial card for their slipcases to further keep costs down

The slipcases of DYNASTY's last seasons are also less sturdy than the ones for season 1 to 6. They're sturdy enough, but there is a difference.

I think it would be a huge undertaking to replicate an item before official release.

Right. I could imagine something like this happening to, say, a new Madonna album - but a 12 DVD boxset oddity? The sense of optimism in this alleged scenario seems a little disproportionate, to say the least.

Oddly enough

the opposite thing happened to my FALCON CREST SEASON 3 DVDs as amazon had them advertised them (both volume 1 and 2) as made-on-demand items.
Imagine my surprise when they turned out to be standard manufactured DVDs.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

The slipcases of DYNASTY's last seasons are also less sturdy than the ones for season 1 to 6. They're sturdy enough, but there is a difference.

Ugh, yes. I'd forgotten about that. The latter seasons have to be handled so much more carefully. Those few GSMs make all the difference.

I could imagine something like this happening to, say, a new Madonna album - but a 12 DVD boxset oddity?

It does open up dramatic possibilities though. I mean, if my pre-ordered The Colbys DVDs are counterfeit it would had to have been an inside job. The treachery.

the opposite thing happened to my FALCON CREST SEASON 3 DVDs as amazon had them advertised them (both volume 1 and 2) as made-on-demand items.
Imagine my surprise when they turned out to be standard manufactured DVDs.

Ooh. Is there a quick way of telling the difference?

Because I'm now wondering if my Cathy Lee Crosby Wonder Woman film (another WB MOD item) is actually a proper DVD. I can't see anything on the packaging that says "DVD-R" or "Made-On-Demand" or suchlike, so I'm filled with hope.

 

[ClassyCo]

I'm honestly thinking about buying one and just taking my chances. The sets on Amazon are a little steep for just two seasons.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I mean, if my pre-ordered The Colbys DVDs are counterfeit it would had to have been an inside job. The treachery.

It's almost becoming its own reboot season 3 saga, and more controversial than NuDALLAS.

Ooh. Is there a quick way of telling the difference?

Apart from the colours - but I know how deceiving it can be with CDs vs. CD-Rs - the manufactured-as-opposed-to-burnt discs ususally have this official but boring info printed in the matrix ring, the equivalent of the runout groove on vinyl discs.

Maybe it's related to the barcode (the cat. number is usually part of that code) and there could be pressing plant info, "made in...." etc.
Blank CD-Rs and DVD-Rs can have some imprint too but not on the glossy part. I assume it simply refers to the production batch of said blank discs.
So, that's definitely the first thing to check.

I'd like to point out that made-on-demand discs aren't necessarily counterfeit releases. WB have been selling them on amazon for quite some time now, and with the decline of CD sales the CD-R releases are becoming more and more common practice. Just think of the artists who aren't/aren't no longer represented by the big music labels and need to sell their music to fans (who prefer a physical format) on sites like BANDCAMP.
But even amazon has started to sell CD-R re-releases of The Beatles albums (!!).

If anything, the whole counterfeit format can't exist without the existence of the original release. It has to be copied from something.
A bootleg is a different thing and can exist on genuine albeit illegally manufactured media formats. Although I have yet to see a FAKE vinyl release.

I can't see anything on the packaging that says "DVD-R" or "Made-On-Demand" or suchlike

On the WB release of NUTCRACKER: MONEY, MADNESS & MURDER the discs are labeled as "DVD Download", but the seasons 4 to 6 FOX releases of EMPIRE don't indicate anything as being not factory pressed.
As long as the specifics are available before I purchase them I don't have a problem with that.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Apart from the colours - but I know how deceiving it can be with CDs vs. CD-Rs

Now you mention colour, the back of the Wonder Woman M-o-D DVD has a bit of a blue hue, which probably isn't great news.

the manufactured-as-opposed-to-burnt discs ususally have this official but boring info printed in the matrix ring, the equivalent of the runout groove on vinyl discs.

Maybe it's related to the barcode (the cat. number is usually part of that code) and there could be pressing plant info, "made in...." etc.
Blank CD-Rs and DVD-Rs can have some imprint too but not on the glossy part. I assume it simply refers to the production batch of said blank discs.

On the front, my disc only has writing on the clear part. But on the back different writing is half on the clear and half on the glossy, which excited me.

Unfortunately, among other digits, the writing on the back of said disc includes the phrases "DVR" and "For download", suggesting it isn't a DVD after all.

I'd like to point out that made-on-demand discs aren't necessarily counterfeit releases. WB have been selling them on amazon for quite some time now, and with the decline of CD sales the CD-R releases are becoming more and more common practice.

Absolutely. It's just a way of them producing stuff for which there isn't enough demand for them to mass produce DVDs. I knew what I was buying when I ordered it.

Of course, the biggest concern with these M-o-D sets is the lifespan. I tend to watch this kind of film once a decade, if that. Which means I may only get to watch it only once or twice before it vanishes.

 

[Willie Oleson]

Of course, the biggest concern with these M-o-D sets is the lifespan

Hm, yes. The DVD is a far mor fickle format than CD (because it stores more data?) and even my 15 y/o home made CD-Rs prove to be surprisingly reliable, even after many hours of playback.

I had started ripping the Knots Landing discs but it's so boring and I stopped at season 4. But it really needs to be done, thanks for the reminder.

But even the factory pressed DVDs can be hit-or-miss. I'm currently on my third edition of Disney's Snow White because the damn things just stop working. It's not like I'm watching this movie every week, and even so that really shouldn't affect the lifespan of the DVD.

An MP4 backup is probably the best option for your M-O-D discs, although the very idea takes some of the magic out of it, I find.
On the upside, with the physical and digital format you have both. A file isn't "safe" just because it's a file, it also needs to be stored properly. Is it wise to trust every hosting website or cloud or wherever these things go? And what's the lifespan of an external hard drive? Etc, etc.

Sigh!

 

[Alexis]

My copy of The Colbys was pre-ordered from Amazon US before official release, but arrived with a damaged slipcase because the card used was so flimsy. I returned it and they sent a replacement but the same thing happened (again, because the quality was poor). I complained again and they ended up refunding the whole item without me having to return it.

The images on the disc do indeed look quite terrible... like it was done on a printer that was low on black ink. And I think the pre-ordered item had the same issue.

Since my set was pre-ordered from Amazon direct (not a third party seller), I've every reason to think it's genuine. I think it would be a huge undertaking to replicate an item before official release.


Shout! Factory is probably a smaller operation with less resources than many of the big names. Perhaps the initial batch of discs just printed badly and it wasn't viable to print more.

And some manufacturers, sadly, do use a cheaper, less substantial card for their slipcases to further keep costs down. I've just checked, and the slipcase on my copy of The Colbys is of a similar card quality to the ones on my Peyton Place DVDs, also from Shout! (happily, the PP slipcases arrived intact. The Colbys slipcase suffers more because it's covering two large cases rather than one standard amaray).



I'd hesitate to buy this kind of item from eBay, partly because of my obsession with perfect slipcases but mostly for the reasons @Matthew Blaisdel gave above: I want to support the industry. Buying from an authenticated seller gives evidence that there's a market for this show, which might just help get similar shows like Knots and Falcon Crest released (call me Pollyanna).

The Colbys is still for sale on Shout!, so regarding the original question: since there's doubt about the eBay item's authenticity, my suggestion would be to spend a little more and buy it direct from the manufacturer. Then there can be no doubt that it's genuine.

I was talking about my boxset of The Golden Girls, that I thought was fake. Not The Colbys. It's all the seasons in individual card cases and they are just really flimsy and dont seem genuine. The images on the DVDs also seem weird, and the menus when you play them are really basic for an official release. The picture quality isn't as a sharp as I would like.

My set of The Colbys was bought from the US on Amazon, at great expense. I think I paid, £80 for it at the time, but I really wanted it. I had no problems with my set and the picture quality is stunning for a show that old, that hasn't been remastered.

 

[Grant Jennings]

Question of the day:
What does Maspeth have more of: counterfeit goods or graves?

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I had started ripping the Knots Landing discs but it's so boring and I stopped at season 4.

I can imagine it's time consuming and tedious, so you've done well to get that far.

But even the factory pressed DVDs can be hit-or-miss. I'm currently on my third edition of Disney's Snow White because the damn things just stop working. It's not like I'm watching this movie every week, and even so that really shouldn't affect the lifespan of the DVD.

Oh my. I'd expect more from Disney. It's not like you can pick up their films in bargain bins.

You're so right about various DVDs coming with their various issues. Like the infamous double-sided discs for Warner Brothers shows.

An MP4 backup is probably the best option for your M-O-D discs, although the very idea takes some of the magic out of it, I find.

Yes. I probably should, but it just feels so alien to me. With music I'm so used to buying CDs but listening mostly to MP3 versions, but I just can't make the transition with TV and film.

And what's the lifespan of an external hard drive?

Oh - I hadn't even thought of that!!

I was talking about my boxset of The Golden Girls, that I thought was fake. Not The Colbys. It's all the seasons in individual card cases and they are just really flimsy and dont seem genuine.

Oh, I see. That's disappointing. I had thought about getting an imported boxset at some point to replace my individual seasons which are differently packaged and from different countries (since the UK had only released four seasons at the point I bought them). Now I'm glad I didn't.

My set of The Colbys was bought from the US on Amazon, at great expense. I think I paid, £80 for it at the time, but I really wanted it. I had no problems with my set and the picture quality is stunning for a show that old, that hasn't been remastered.

Ditto on all counts.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I'm honestly thinking about buying one and just taking my chances. The sets on Amazon are a little steep for just two seasons.

How about this BEAUTIFUL Australian release with the original DYNASTY style font?

It's 90 AUS$ but that something like the Italian Lire so after conversion it shouldn't look too expensive.
I already have the German and UK releases and the seperate seasons box sets from Germany creates a nice consistency with the individual DYNASTY season sets, also housed in slipcases.

But this beautiful picture makes me feel so greedy!

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

My boxset of The Colby's is a Fremantle boxset.

There are two special features which have interviews with John James, Maxwell Caulfield and Stephanie Beacham.

 

[Miss Texas 1967]

There are multiple listings for THE COLBYS complete series box set on eBay right now. I've heard through the grape vine that these sets are most likely fraudulent. If anyone of you have ordered this sets from eBay, do you know if they are official sets? I see several sets on eBay right now for around $30 (US).

Here's a picture from one of the current listings.

View attachment 28614​

The purple looks less vibrant than what I have (which I believe to be real) so maybe?

 

[Mel O'Drama]

The purple looks less vibrant than what I have (which I believe to be real) so maybe?

It looks like your copy is the UK version, which was released two years later by a different company.

Compared with the Region One version are lots of little visual tweaks for Region Two, including the background colour, the size of the logo and the way the image is cropped (note you can't see Sable's hourglass waistline on the UK version). The discs and inner cases are also presented very differently.

Both are official, it's just that there were different choices made for different markets.

 

[Willie Oleson]

If you're going to show your The Colbys DVD set then at least display it quasi-casually on a nice fur.


Respect!

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

I'm honestly thinking about buying one and just taking my chances. The sets on Amazon are a little steep for just two seasons.

Hi buddy, the one I got off eBay was a good used one for £12.

It was like new, so I guess it's just the luck of the draw.

Don't pay silly money for. Do what I did and order a good used one. Good Luck.

 

[ClassyCo]

Hi buddy, the one I got off eBay was a good used one for £12.

It was like new, so I guess it's just the luck of the draw.

Don't pay silly money for. Do what I did and order a good used one. Good Luck.

That's what I'm seriously considering: Ordering a cheaper, used copy and save some money in the process.

 

[Luke_Krebbs_Ewing]

That's what I'm seriously considering: Ordering a cheaper, used copy and save some money in the process.

Well it worked for me, I can't see why it couldn't work for you.

 

[ClassyCo]

So.... I just took the chance on this for $28.08 (US).

I'll let everyone know how it goes.

 

[ClassyCo]

Okay the set I ordered came in last Thursday, and I was finally able to get to it and open it on Saturday. The outer box looked good, but when I opened the individual cases within, I could instantly tell the set was a bootleg. Naturally I was worried and somewhat upset that I probably wasted my money, but I decided to check some of the discs before totaling flipping out. I skimmed some episodes on the discs and the quality looks good. It appears the set is a bootleg version of the real DVD set. The quality perhaps isn't as clear as in the official release, but it's quite good. As long as the discs play and I can watch the show, I haven't any complaints.​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Okay the set I ordered came in last Thursday, and I was finally able to get to it and open it on Saturday. The outer box looked good, but when I opened the individual cases within, I could instantly tell the set was a bootleg. Naturally I was worried and somewhat upset that I probably wasted my money, but I decided to check some of the discs before totaling flipping out. I skimmed some episodes on the discs and the quality looks good. It appears the set is a bootleg version of the real DVD set. The quality perhaps isn't as clear as in the official release, but it's quite good. As long as the discs play and I can watch the show, I haven't any complaints.

Had I received it I'd be returning the set for a full refund and reporting the seller. Apart from the questionable legality, that seller will be making an obscene profit from less savvy buyers who won't realise they've bought a counterfeit (and probably wouldn't be happy if they did know).

Just my opinion, but I think as fans of older series it's good to support the industry when our favourite shows are made officially available.