US Disney DVD’s ship without Disney Hologram, quality lower than UK.

I was tipped off by a friend in the import DVD business the other day that many genuine US Disney DVDs are now shipping with no disney hologram, I found this incredible, after all in the UK Disney are going to extraordinary lengths to make it easy to tell a Region 2 distribution from a copy.

I ordered a couple of Disney movies direct from Amazon USA (not from a dodgy seller listing on Amazon, but from Amazon proper and shipped from Amazon’s own warehouse), and the pictures here show what turned up, to say I’m shocked is something of an understatement.

• There is absolutely no hologram of any description anywhere.
• The cheap and nasty black plastic box is terrible.
• The printing on the cover, though shiny and nice from a distance has blurred writing on the back.
• The printing on the DVD itself is a cheap screen print that looks awful.
• The disc is very poor quality, and it’s see through in places. ( see video here )

In addition to all that, it won’t play on my Panasonic DVR machine, due to over zealous copy protection. It plays OK on both my Sony Region 1 player and my Philips Multi Region player though.

This is a totally genuine Disney DVD, and that makes it all the more amazing.

Some more images below, click the images to get a bigger image!

Imported Disney Beauty & The Beast DVD for UK Buyers

Disney have not sold Beauty and the Beast on DVD in the UK for a few years now, so the only option for most people is to buy an imported version.  It’s possible to buy an imported version because whilst Disney do not market this title in the UK or in the USA, it is marketed in many countries around the world.

Buyers from the UK are often surprised to find that UK Disney DVDs differ substantially from nearly every country outside Europe.  Main areas of surprise include the following.

• Imported Disney DVDs do not have the hologram ring on the disc itself (however no Beauty and the Beast DVDs have ever yet been manufactured with the Hologram ring anyway)
• Unlike UK DVDs many Imports have no hologram, or if a hologram is present then the Disney hologram is on the front cover and not on the back or spine like most new UK titles.
• USA Disney DVDs have NO HOLOGRAM on either the box nor the packaging, this comes as a surprise to many UK buyers.
• Imported Disney DVDs DO NOT come in blue or purple plastic boxes, they come in black or clear boxes that do not say “Disney” inside the actual box.
• Imported Disney DVDs rarely have insert leaflets.
• Imports can be 1 or 2 Disc versions depending on Origin

As if all that does not make it complicated enough the quality of the printing can vary a great deal depending on the country in which it’s manufactured.

With Licenced Disney DVDs being manufactured worldwide in more than 100 countries, and Beauty and the Beast being manufactured under licence in a handful of those countries at any one time how do you tell an original from a counterfeit?

It’s even more difficult now that traditional “dodgy” countries such as the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia now manufacture genuine licenced Disney DVDs that are sold at a fraction of the UK price and often find their way to the UK via eBay and DVD Websites.

How to Tell: The only genuine imported Beauty and the Beast DVDs that I have seen recently are 2-disc editions, surprisingly the genuine 2-disc special edition of Beauty and the Beast IS available in parts of Southeast-Asia including mainland China.

Note:  The USA release has not been on sale new for many years, the few sealed ones that are around are unlikely to sell for less than US $100, If it’s coming from anywhere outside of the USA or Canada then it’s very very unlikely to be USA Edition.

DON’T even look for a hologram ring on the disc, it will not be there.  BEAUTY & THE BEAST has NEVER been manufactured with a HOLOGRAM on the DVD.

Genuine Disney Title with NO DISNEY HOLGRAM, ALL REGION (Yes Really)

I always thought that Genuine Disney DVDs always had a Disney Hologram, I was wrong.

The photo above shows a 100% Genuine Disney DVD, Bridge To Terabithia distributed by EVS Entertainment which DOES NOT have a Disney Hologram anywhere on the outside or inside of the box or on the DVD, the only Hologram is not a Disney hologram, yet this is a thoroughly genuine Disney DVD.

To as insult to injury to the so-called Disney DVD experts, note that it comes in a black case and has a red DVD 9 symbol on the DVD, and it’s ALL-REGION

Many so-called Disney DVD experts (I call them Know All’s who know F**K All) will tell you the following lies.

1:  Genuine Disney DVDs must have a hologram on the DVD.

This is TOTAL RUBBISH.

2:  Genuine Disney DVDs will have the hologram on the back or spine of the case, not the front.

Again, TOTAL RUBBISH

3:  Genuine Disney DVDs only come in Clear or Blue plastic boxes and never Black.

Rubbish, Completely Untrue.

4:  Genuine Disney DVDs say “Disney DVD in the plastic box”

Not true, again total lies.

5:  Genuine Disney DVDs never have a red DVD9 logo on the box or disc.

Rubbish, as shown in the photo they can have the DVD9 logo on the disc or box.

6: Genuine Disney DVDs are never all-region.

Not True, see photo above.

There are many more myths about what makes a Disney DVD genuine, here is the Bottom Line:

” Payment of  licence fee from the manufacturer/distributor to Disney (Buena Vista) is what makes a Disney DVD authentic, there is next to nothing about the packaging, origin, location of markings, hologram etc, or even regional coding that makes a Disney DVD either fake or real”.

But the know all’s will pay no attention to this and will continue to circulate lies, bullshit and half-truths.