DVD Version
 

It seems the dvd version of the marine aquarium is now available on eBay, is there another way of purchasing this disc?

I find that difficult to believe. Are you sure that you aren't mistaking the CD version for the DVD version? There are about 3000 pages in the DVD area on ebay, do you have a link or more information?

At least from the info given, I stand corrected. Jim/Reichart does this seem right to you?

Somebody selling their demo copies, I guess.

Well, hrmph, that seems a bit unappreciative. Mark their name off the list, no Demo for them next time. Put my name in their place. :)

I e-mailed the seller of this asking about where they've gotten hold of it and the following conversation has taken place since then:

[COLOR=sky blue][me]
Hi!

I was just curious on how you could be selling this already as the DVD version TTBOMK hasn't been released yet. Is it some sort of demo version?

Regards

Calle Soderberg, Stockholm Sweden
[/me][/color]

[seller]
It obviously has been released at least to us .Full versiuon DVD not a demo
[/seller]

[COLOR=sky blue][me]
Cute. I just happened to hear directly from the author, mr. Jim Sachs (ever noticed how it says "SACHS" in the bottom left corner of the screen?) that it hasn't been released yet – Just demo copies out so far. Happy eBaying, btw.
[/me][/color]

[seller]
That is incorrect we just had 20 units delivered today This is not the demo.
Why dont you email the web site .
thanks
[/seller]

Good idea – let's e-mail the web site...

/Tiny Twenty

Well I did purchase & receive a copy from this seller, no boxart, came in a jewel case, dvd is labeled but no mention of "demo". Seems to play OK...?

Couldn't anyone with a DVD Burner and a keycode make a version of this? Illegal or not?

Yep! As well as, make it region free/Macrovision free.

Sure. You can also record any movie from a DVD or VHS tape to a DVD burner if you are so inclined/bored. People in Hong Kong and Russia subsist completely from this.

So the one on ebay might be a counterfeit that some guy is pumping out in his basement.

Can you explain this. I am clueless on video standards.

As far as the different types of DVD standards available, look here http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/hardwar...9094142,00.htm

If you are looking for information about DVD regions and so on, look here http://www.dvdadept.com/DVD_Regions.asp

Hope this answers your questions. :)

either the individual are pressing these dvd which would require a master copy which they could master of of the demo and then mass produce and press copies, or they could copy and burn. I highly doubt that they would be using a dvd+-/rw burner due to several issues and variables in this process. Cheapest and quickest method would be to press these discs and screen print them. This would also allow them to have roughly 4.7g on the single layer dvd instead of the 4.3g limit on dvd+-R/RW media. If the original falls between 4.3-4.7g and the clone is a complete copy they are pressing them. read below to understand the media size limits/gig size and pc HD gig size. as for having to crack the macrovision protection, i specifically brought up concerns with this product and questioned about the disks having this encoding and they didnt, as well as the simplicity of making other knock-offs of this format without a copy. Though all i seemed to also recieved were individuals trying to be hard about this topic flapping lip. Also using macrovison would also require paying royalties for using this encoding on the product and doesnt provide protection anymore. This should have been foreseen sad to see that it can effect profits for a small company.

here is alittle more indepth on dvd burn media and its battle for which will be the standard as well as manufactured dvd standards
http://www.dvdrhelp.com/dvd

all you need on region encoding
http://www.dvdrhelp.com/glossary#Region%20Coding
http://www.dvdadept.com/DVD_Regions.asp

DVDs are marked with a REGION which allows the studios to control which countries can play which DVDs when. For instance, if a movie came out in theaters in the US on May 1st, and in Amsterdam on August 15th and there were no regions, why would anyone go to the theater when they can wait a few more weeks for the video/DVD release?

Also, the major studios here usually do not handle distribution in other countries. Another company in these other countries negotiate the video and DVD distribution rights to the film based on the number of copies of the localised DVD they will sell there. They foot the bill on NTSC->PAL conversion, etc. Because of budgets, etc. many non-USA DVDs are quite stripped down and missing supplemental features. :(

Also there are some in Europe who are very unhappy with the 4% speed-up process applied to all movies to make them work with the PAL 25fps/50 Hz system.


So if the Aquarium were region-coded to Region 1, then it would only play in unmodified DVD players sold in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. If you brought the DVD to Australia, it would put up a message that this disc won't play. Australia and the UK share the Region 4 code.

I can see why they did this, but it doesn't really stop people from just modifying their DVD players. Many Japanese films end up on VERY poor/edited/censored/re-dubbed DVDs over here (shockingly, Disney owns the rights to many Hong Kong films like much of the Jackie Chan library and they are butchering the films before DVD release :( ). So people get a region-free DVD player and then just buy the out-of-region discs normally.

I know Canadians who buy the American versions of DVDs just to avoid having the unnecessary bi-lingual printing all over the DVDs (every product sold in Canada MUST have French and English) in sloppy yellow writing. [Article...]


As for Macrovision, it is an encoding in the picture which prevents the DVD from being copied to a VCR without a macrovision removal device.

Macrovision also slightly degrades (some say imperceptably) the picture quality.

I still have a hard time explaining to people that
DVD-R/RW vs DVD+R/RW is not a format war but a spec war.

Beta and VHS never had compatible tapes.

In contrast, the purpose of DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW is all the same. Make discs that play in ALL DVD players out there. So it's 1 format, just 4 ways of doing it.

Some people cook dinner with a microwave, some with a toaster oven, some with a convection oven. But it's still dinner. :) Some dinners are just more compatible with your taste buds than others. :)

If you go to +'s website, it is full of propoganda about how theirs is the only true DVD format and its compatibility with ordinary DVD players is like 99% vs. 60% for DVD-Rs. These statements are wholly unsubstantiated. I say either get the drive you have heard the best things about, or get a dual format drive that simply writes everything. I would be perfectly happy with a DVD-R/-RW drive and just skip the + from what I have heard so far on compatibility.

Where DVD+RW excels is in standalone DVD recorders. If you are buying a DVD burner as a VCR replacement (not a TiVo? :D), DVD+RW gives you a lot more indexing, bite-at-a-time recording, better menus, etc. The format was designed for that purpose.


And don't worry about DVD-RAM. Any similarity to a DVD format is purely coincidental. DVD-RAM is, in my opinion, an expensive, niche market super-sized CD format which never caught on and whose discs have almost no compatibility with your neighbor's or parents' DVD players.

UK Region 2 ! .... :)

Not that these kind of comments would bother me, but this forum is a "family" atmosphere which means we do have people of all ages (kids included) viewing the posts here. So please refrain from posting these types of comments. Beyond that, your other comments and information are definitely appreciated. Thanks! :)

This is definately the case. DL is right on target. Please refrain from these kinds of comments in the future.