I was at a flea market recently and a dude was selling a bunch of Hong Kong BDs for $20 a pop. He had Ip Man, Chinese Ghost Story Trilogy, Police Story Trilogy, Bruce Lee Collection...pretty much all the shit I want. I was aching to see Bodyguards and Assassins and $20 didnt sound that bad so I bought it. Before I even got home, I'd already tore off the plastic wrapping, pulled off the attractive foil embossed slipcover, and peeled off the security tape atop the case. Unfortunately, that was where all the fun stopped. I popped it open and the first thing I notice is the disc stuffed inside a little baggy lodged into the holder. From personal experience, I knew instantly I had bought a boot. Furthermore, there wasnt even paint on the disc but rather printed artwork on a sticker label. The final kick to my nuts though was when I flipped the disc over and saw that it was black, not bluish-silver like normal BDs.

I'm usually pretty good at spotting boots but damn, it looked so legit! The packaging actually made the legit release look cheap! It had the security seal on top and the artwork looked completely professional. Not only was there printed artwork on the inside cover, there was even a Disney style "The Future is Blu" insert featuring other releases. Goddamn, I was had BIG TIME!

Has anyone else encoutered bootleg BDs?

The rest of the story tells itself, really. Sorry you were had.

No offense but Hong Kong discs at a flea market and you're suprised they were boots? I guess I would be surprised if they weren't

Ya I sorta knew what I was getting into but he had alot of stuff that was genuine too. Most of his DVDs were legit. u can tell the fakes from the real stuff (i.e. cardboard slipcover when there shouldnt be one, region ALL when should be region 3, english subs included when there shouldnt be, etc.). I bet even some of his BDs were real because many of them I actually own. Ah well.

Fake Blu-ray discs are all the rage here, and one needn't go to flea markets to find them, just to ( Mod Note: Do not discuss where to procure bootlegs. ). Many bootleg stores now have racks of Blu-rays of American movies (and some Asian titles) that are, from the outside, almost convincing, until you look closer and realize the plastic cases are identical across all titles and all studios, and the price is consistent regardless. They started at $20, but most stores are already down to 2/$20. Sleeves are indistinguishable, and I'd bet if they weren't putting these out in bulk-bought Blu-ray cases, they'd probably convince a lot more people. Never bought one, so I don't know what's inside, but I'm betting plenty of people think they're getting a real deal, and the cops don't seem to bother the sellers about them they way they do with DVD boots of American titles, which remain largely underground or in back rooms and must now be scored like crack. There's been speculation that the "Blu-rays" may in fact be copies/ports of the content of CBHD discs from China (rejiggered to play on Blu-ray players, I guess?), as many American titles have been released on that format, although the ongoing availability of new releases confounds this thinking a bit.

$20 for bootlegs? Damn, I guess the economy is better than I thought.

That price is how they make you believe that you're getting the real deal. Less bang for your bucks.

So how was the video/audio quality of these blu-ray boots?

I popped in the boot of Bodyguards & Assassins and despite being a BD-25, the PQ/AQ seems the match up with the legit copy. only difference is that boot copy has been stripped of all extras.

I think the topic of the thread is okay, but I don't want this to turn into a discussion about specific bootlegs.

Be careful because I know that most Blu-Ray bootlegs I've seen are actually just DVD-Rs. They even sell them along with the DVDs in my area because they are no different from the other bootleg DVDs. They just come in a Blu-Ray case. At least you got an actual BD-25 disc.

Around the holidays last year I came across a guy selling bootleg "blurays" of new theatrical releases at a flea market. He claimed that he knew someone that got the screener copies, but that screener's were now also being sent via bluray (dont know how true that is). He said they were only 720p, and he was able to show them off on a 32" hdtv. Surprisingly they looked real good, but I didn't pick up any. I remember he had "The Blind Side" "New Moon" "Princess and the Frog" "Precious" "2012" and a few others I can't remember. I only saw the guy there 2 weeks in a row, then he wasnt there anymore.