OT - Outlet for Rare Videos of Interest

[Philippe Cordier]

Does anyone know anything about the reputability of an online outfit called "MTC Europa Video"?

They claim to have VHS and DVD available low-cost of many movies that have been discussed on this forum that are either out of print or have never been released on VHS or DVD to my knowledge.

Some examples:

Louis Jourdan's Dracula

Witchfinder General (aka The Conqueror Worm)

Eye of the Devil

Burn, Witch, Burn!

and others.

[Darren Gross]

They're bootlegs produced from out of print VHS tapes, foreign videos converted from PAL and taped off-air television broadcasts.

[Gothick]

I think you have to be careful purchasing DVD's from these places (I would think the videos would be OK so long as you are sure they are NTSC standard).  A lot of currently available DVD players do not seem to do well with DVD-R's and RW's.  I have a couple of friends who share their tapes of Queer as folk (the popular, trashy gay soap opera) and this year they tried to upgrade to DVD.  Well, the rewritable DVD's their burner turned out would not play on several different make of players (I have a friend who works in an office with a whole galaxy of media equipment), so we had to go back to using VHS.  We even tried putting the DVD burner setting on VR format and that did not work either.

So, buyer beware on these discs.

That said, I'd love to have good copies of some of those films you mentioned.  I think I read that the Louis Jourdain Dracula is finally being released by BBC on both VHS and DVD formats, this summer, if memory serves.

G.

[Philippe Cordier]

I'm glad I decided to ask for opinions here before going ahead and ordering.  Thanks for the info.

Re:  the Louis Jourdan "Count Dracula."  This came up recently and Stuart posted that it had been released on DVD by the BBC in limited quantities as part of some educational deal last year but was no longer available.  I spent quite a bit of time checking into this, and found that the BBC at one point stated it would no longer accept overseas orders for the item, and I think they have since discontinued it even within the UK.  Some stores in the UK might have it but it sounds like a long shot.

As an aside -- Not sure if overseas DVDs are a different region code than in the U.S.  I purchased the James D'Arcy/Charles Dance version of "Nicholas Nickleby" from Acorn Media and it is in some strange region that made my DVD player (laptop computer) sound like a jet airplane about to take off.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Not sure if overseas DVDs are a different region code than in the U.S.  I purchased the James D'Arcy/Charles Dance version of "Nicholas Nickleby" from Acorn Media and it is in some strange region that made my DVD player (laptop computer) sound like a jet airplane about to take off.

US and Canada are region 1 - Britain is part of region 2. So, unless you have a DVD player that can change regions (many DVD drives are (via their software), many stand alone DVD players are not), buying out of your region means those DVDs are unplayable. You have to be careful.

You can check out a region map here.

[Philippe Cordier]

US and Canada are region 1 - Britain is part of region 2. So, unless you have a DVD player that can change regions (many DVD drives are (via their software), many stand alone DVD players are not), buying out of your region means those DVDs are unplayable. You have to be careful.

Thanks for the information, MB.  I didn't know for sure (or remember) if the Brits' DVDs were a different region code or not.  I remembered that their videos are different.

My experience was so weird taking a surprising twist today.

The DVD I mentioned, the "Nicholas Nickleby" that aired on Bravo a couple of years ago but was a British production, had the number "4" on the back alongside the "DVD" and "Dolby Digital" logos.  When I looked that up on the chart you provided a link to, it showed region 4 as being Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico.  That seemed really weird.  I bought the DVD as soon as it came out (shortly after the Bravo airing) directly from Acorn media.  The Acorn information on the package showed a US address, so that was really confusing.  As I mentioned, when I put the DVD into the drive, it was really, really loud and I didn't dare play it.

Now today I was looking up some movies on the Internet.  Suddenly I saw the numeral "4" on a website.  Something looked very familiar with that "4".  Excited, I got out the "Nicholas Nickleby" DVD and compared the "4" on the package with the "4" on the webpage.  It was the same design.  Apparently, the "4" does not signify "Region 4" after all, but "Channel 4," a Brit network (I gather), which (I gather) must have been the film producer!

So I will be able to play it after all, but I still don't know what the loud noise like an airplane taking off was all about.  I don't think it was my imagination.

(BTW, I also have the DVD of the 2002 or -03 Douglas Magrath version of "Nickleby".  It's a charming confection with gorgeous scenery, Nathan Lane and Jamie Bell among the cast, but it's much more sugar-coated -- and abbreviated.)

[Philippe Cordier]

So I will be able to play it after all, but I still don't know what the loud noise like an airplane taking off was all about.  I don't think it was my imagination.

This is becoming more of a DVD technical question now -- it could possibly apply to DVDs in general so I'd like to post it in case anyone has any ideas.  The DVD in question does make a lot of noise in my laptop DVD player (sounds like an airplane taking off).  Usually my DVDs make some whirring noise at the start (not half this loud) and then stop after half a minute or so.

I e-mailed Acorn Media, the DVD producer, and received a swift response saying that sometimes DVDs are encoded so they can't be copied on a computer (and presumably that could be causing the noise problem I'm experiencing).

It's strange that, out of all the DVDs I have, though, that no other DVD has done this.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Acorn said to try it in a regular DVD player, but I don't have one.  Regardless, I wouldn't be able to return it any more without a receipt (I bought it two or three years ago I'd estimate, and it was expensive).

Thanks if anyone has experienced this and knows what it is, or if it might mean the DVD is defective.

As it is, I'm not going to play it; the mechanical noise it was creating in the DVD drive was alarming!

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I e-mailed Acorn Media, the DVD producer, and received a swift response saying that sometimes DVDs are encoded so they can't be copied on a computer (and presumably that could be causing the noise problem I'm experiencing).

It's strange that, out of all the DVDs I have, though, that no other DVD has done this.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Acorn said to try it in a regular DVD player, but I don't have one.

Hmmm...

I play almost all of my DVDs on my computer (I have a 20" flat panal monitor but only regular TVs (one of these days I really need to do something about that  )). And there is indeed an encoding that prevents certain DVDs from being copied - I own several like that - but I've never experienced anything like what you've described. However, some DVDs, even those without copyguard protection, can have playback problems. Unfortunately there's still no standard DVD encoding process and some drives/players have problems with certain methods - particularly the older methods. The problem you're having might relate to that. But even if it's just a copyguard issue, there might still be good news because there might be some sort of workaround available online for your drive. Try visiting the Web site for your drive's manufacturer or the one for its software and read up on any available upgrades.

Now for the bad news. What you're describing sounds more like the drive isn't recognizing the DVD at all - and presuming it is a region 1 DVD, that shouldn't be caused by encoding/copyguard problems. In the past I've had to upgrade my DVD drive to get it to play certain DVDs, but even when it couldn't necessarily play them, it did recognize them and it didn't make any of the noises you describe. However, a defective DVD (or CD) would sound like that. So, you might want to ask a friend if you or they can try playing the DVD in their player just to see what happens. If that player doesn't recognize it, then you've probably got a bigger problem. 

[Gothick]

Just a reminder, folks--DVDs *are* subject to quality control issues, just like every other mass produced product.

Whenever I purchase a new DVD (or video, or CD, for that matter) I always play at least a little of it as promptly as possible, and I save the packaging and receipt(s) carefully until it's gotten the all-clear.  You really can't be too careful.

If you put something aside to "save" it for a rainy day or special viewing occasion, you may wind up holding onto past the date when a retailer will be willing to give you store credit or full refund for return.

just my 2 drachmae.

G.

[Philippe Cordier]

I read up on regional coding of DVDs and it's all done so that the movie producers and distributors can control the marketing and sales of DVDs -- it's not that every country just "happens" to have different technologies.

I've just discovered something rather interesting, though -- there are a very few DVDs that are REGION-FREE.  I just found this out today when I received the recent release/restoration by RUSCICO (Russian Arts Council) of S. Bondarchuk's 7-hour epic of Tolstoy's "War and Peace."  I'd been searching for an affordable price for this 5-disc set and finally found it for $20 less than amazon's price from a Russian-American outlet -- it turns out that this is the set as it was released by the Russian distributor, not the American -- hence the savings, I assume (the only drawback being that all the packaging and inside text is in Russian!).  There is a small globe on the box and on each disk where, instead of the usual Region number, it says (in English) "ALL."

Following Gothick's advice, I am now watching the DVDs (and they are playing fine).     (And, incidentally, it's one of the greatest motion pictures ever made.  )

Now, I'm wishing to purchase "Brideshead Revisited" -- especially before the movie remake is ruined by Anthony Davies (who has promised to distort and evicerate Waugh's religious sensibilities) -- but reading on amazon, I see some customers have had trouble with the DVDs ... which were made/distributed by none other than Acorn Media (see above)