12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Well, not really bootlegged, but not great either...., April 22, 2007
This review is from: Star Trek Deep Space Nine - Complete Series (DVD)
Actually, the previous reviewer is mistaken (I'm sure honestly) about the "bootleg" claim. From my understanding, (I am half Asian, and have many relatives and friends that live and do business there) Asia has their own DVD manufacturers who purchase rights to reproduce these DVD's on lower quality (and often lower GB space -- therefore, they may be compressed and have reduced picture quality and sound) discs at reduced prices. It's legal for these vendors to sell them in China and over the internet from their own base of operations IN China, even to US vendors who may legally resell them here in the U.S. Sounds great, but in my own experience, these dvd's are not for the serious collector. If you just love the show and want to watch them over and over, for less money, these are a good deal, IF you can find a vendor that gives you, say, at least 30 days to look these over and make sure that they all work properly ENOUGH to enjoy the show -- which is sometimes hard to find. There are glitches, skips, and freezes (gets stuck on one frame and then will not play for a whole chapter or two) and sometimes the ending of an episode or two is missing. It depends what you can tolerate. If you've already seen the entire series and remember how they generally play out, perhaps you can deal with it,... I do. I was lucky and am okay with my DS9 which had only one problem,... it was missing a disc from season two, which happens to be the one with all the special features. I caught the error in time and it was sent out to me (yes, I had to pay for the return shipping). Otherwise it was in perfect working order.
If you're on an extremely tight budget (like me) and must have the series at the best price, just be sure to check it out thoroughly, immediately, and make returns ASAP -- which can be hard work for an entire series. Now when I purchase one of these (and beleive me they make several TV series), I check it by forwarding to each chapter and letting it play for 30 seconds apiece, until the last chapter, which I let play all the way through to insure the ending is intact. If it doesn't get stuck for more than a second or two, and I feel I can deal with the quality, -- it's a keeper and I go on to check the next episode/disk.
If you can afford the US version, however, or you like your stuff to all be perfect and brand new (the type that never shops at yard sales, consignment stores, Good Will, etc.) or you consider yourself a serious collector, get the official US version, instead.
Oh, and one last note,.... you can get these much cheaper than $300 on the competitor's auction site. Sorry, vendor, but you need to have more reasonable prices.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2.0 out of 5 stars
Some episodes are actually cut off..., July 15, 2009
This review is from: Star Trek Deep Space Nine - Complete Series (DVD)
I bought this same set several years back for around $150. Whether they're technically "bootlegged" or not...
1. Packaging is atrocious... cardboard boxes with disc sleeves that aren't actually attached to the case inside the box.
2. Clearly heavily compressed due to a move from dual-layer to single-layer discs... pixelation due to compression is often evident.
3. Fourth episode of each disc *always* cuts off early. Now, this is usually right after the episode has ended and the credits have started to roll, but I can tell you episode 12 of season 4 and episode 4 of season 6 literally have about 3 minutes chopped off the end of them.
I can't even recommend this set as a low-cost alternative anymore, since I got it much cheaper than $200 many years ago, and the price of the official set has been slashed from around $450 to $250.
It's a great, great, great show. I've watched it more than 3 times over. Believe it or not, I'm actually buying the official set today off Amazon for $250. I recommend everyone else do the same and spend that extra $50 to get a set with decent packaging, decent quality, and episodes that don't cut off before they're done.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
I love China, Chinese people, and Chinese food, but not worthless junk, March 11, 2008
This review is from: Star Trek Deep Space Nine - Complete Series (DVD)
I love China, Chinese people, and Chinese food, but not worthless junk. I actually bought Star Trek Voyager 1-7 from a seller and it turned out to be a Chinese bootleg set. I was so disappointed but the seller disappeared and I was stuck with a, not 2nd rate, but 5th rate quailty set. I should saved my money until Paramount dropped the price.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
