Discussion Forums - Questions about SwapaDVD

There are several things to look for.  These are not "slam dunks" ... but if you notice 2 or more things wrong ...it's likely a bootleg.

Artwork should be clear & in focus.  There should not be any typos.  There was a legit Disney movie with a typo once ... so it happens.  Recently I got a bootleg Two Broke Girls DVD with the word Canana (instead of Canada).

Another bootleg I've seen (Big Bang Theory) ... the artwork looked blurry & faded.  There were supposed to be grey numbers and formulas in the background (I had the legit one) ...instead the grey was mostly missing.... and the grey art background (on the disc) was missing altogether.

Discs should have a bar code looking thing around the hub.  There should be a series of numbers around the hub.  The Two Broke Girls just had the name of the series ..... not right

Put your disc in your PC & look at the properties (click on the drive & right click).  How large is the file?  Many (newer) titles are dual-layer..... it should be noted on the artwork.  Single layer DVDs contain no more than 4.38 GB ...... if you have a  "dual-layer" is less than 4.38 GB ....I would seriously consider it a bootleg. 

I would ask someone here in SWAP to look at the file size if they have the same DVD.  I am guessing there are more "tells" that I don't know about.

Thanks for the info. I have been a member for awhile and never knew anything about this until I had passed on a dvd set from here and the person said it was a bootleg. I went through my dvd's and found what I thought were bootleg/copies so now I want to be extra careful about accepting dvd's.

Hi Lori,

You can also search this forum and find several related topics. There is also some discussion about bootlegs over in the CMT.

"Put your disc in your PC & look at the properties (click on the drive & right click).  How large is the file?  Many (newer) titles are dual-layer..... it should be noted on the artwork.  Single layer DVDs contain no more than 4.38 GB ...... if you have a  "dual-layer" is less than 4.38 GB ....I would seriously consider it a bootleg."

For me this is the single best way to tell for tv series. Anything new and popular will be dual layer hands down. I have one legit season that is single layer and its this no name youve never heard of it type of series from before there were dvds... :-)

Go to Help Center/Browse Help Docs and search for pirated to find the SwapaDVD answer.

I would add that many pirated DVD discs have additional subtitle options (usually including Chinese) which are accessible only via the player's menu system or subtitle button; these options will not be listed on the cover art or on the disc's setup menu(s).

If you want a more definitive answer, there are PC tools such as Nero DiscSpeed which will show you the disc's region(s), number of layers, and copy protection method. Aside from discs from very small, independent distributors, pretty much all official releases will have copy protection. Pirated discs will never have copy protection.

I would not rely on the dual-layer method above.

thanks for the nero discspeed suggestion, ive used that on a couple of seasons Ive gotten lately, including one that looked perfect right down to the little barcodes on the underside of the disc (but I knew was fake when i was watching it because of quality). While my method of checking the disc size does essentially the same thing if you know that it is supposed to be dual layer, its nice to have the additional facts that its not copyright protected and its region ALL listing.

Generally, bootleggers dont create dual layer discs because of the expense of doing so makes it not worth manufacturing, so its pretty much a guarentee if you know the disc is supposed to be dual layered, but if you are unsure, then nerodisc is great.