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HK bootleg Robotech DVD box sets


Burn

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Maybe this has been discussed before, if so, just point me to the corresponding thread...

Today I found these HK DVD box sets on eBay. Does anyone know anything about them or maybe where I can find detailed info? What's the difference compared to the official Harmony Gold DVDs?

post-26-1067021520_thumb.jpg

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are you sure that those are bootlegs? after the original, seven-set release, HG repackaged the same dvds into a 3-set release of "macross" saga, "southern cross" saga and "new generation" saga. the only difference besides the packaging was that the second release didn't inculde any of the extras discs.

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The description says they are RC0 and I don't believe HG would make them codefree. Besides, the seller sells 95% HK bootlegs (I've already ordered from him).

They want 30 euros (which is about the same or slightly more in US$) for each set...

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:huh:

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

Can't ... stop ... laughing ...

(falls over backwards in chair)

Ali Sama, maybe the pic Burn posted above is from a legit release, but I'm definitely seeing some bootlegged box sets up for auction right now. Get a load of this:

1648038-0901_the_macross_.jpg

This came from one claiming "English, Chinese, No Subtitle" and "an be playable in USA, UK , AUSTRILIA AND EUROPE'S DVD players, PS2 and DVD-ROM". This isn't from HG unless they're somehow even dumber than I ever gave them credit for. How stupid would you have to be to try to sell these in HK??? Anyway, go to Ebay and do a search for "robotech dvd box set". You should be able to find them easily enough.

Edit in: Me fail English? That's unpossible! (stupid grammar mistakes)

Edited by Batou
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I actually heard about this coming a couple weeks ago, glad to see it actually happened. This is just the thing we need to prove HG is full of crap whenever it threatens legal action. Let's see them do something about this!

BTW, does anyone know if the sentinels is included? I have a massachistic need to own that, but don't actually want to buy the DVD set it comes with.

One more thing, check out the new issue of Newtype (Angelic Layer cover), one of the new contest prizes is get this:

-3 mini AnimEigo Box sets

-ADV Mospeada Set

-ADV Southern Cross Set.

What a bitchin' prize.

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BTW, does anyone know if the sentinels is included? I have a massachistic need to own that, but don't actually want to buy the DVD set it comes with.

LOL! Keith, you so crazy! :D

Of all the RT, you want THAT? Why not ask for that clip of RT3K as well? ;)

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BTW, does anyone know if the sentinels is included? I have a massachistic need to own that, but don't actually want to buy the DVD set it comes with.

LOL! Keith, you so crazy! :D

Of all the RT, you want THAT? Why not ask for that clip of RT3K as well? ;)

Well, I have a copied from rental VHS version....but I want it on DVD!

It's just so bad, right down to Santa Clause, robot cracker cats, male pattern baldness exedore, superbucket britai, she-male-milia, and thatgirl gone wrong Misa, it's just so....ownable!

Edited by Keith
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At only 7 discs, I wonder if there is room left for the Sentinels. As if Robotech weren't baffling enough for the East, I'd think the Sentinels would confuse them up even more. Mospeada and Southern Cross mecha in the same universe? :blink: I hope the bootleggers included linear notes explaining Robotech's origins. :lol:

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My bad, it appear the bootleg Macross Saga box set is only 5 discs long. So, it's probably 7 episodes per disc. At that rate, I wonder if there's room left for the good ol' Sentinels.

Actually the description says there are 4 DVDs in the Macross Saga set and 3 DVDs in the New Generation Set. But at 40 and 30 Euros for the respective sets, who's complaining?

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But at 40 and 30 Euros for the respective sets, who's complaining?

Err, don't answer that. Hopefully not me when I see the quality...

Anyway, everything is better than my RM clips at a resolution of 160x120... :blink: We will know for sure in 1 or 2 weeks.

Edited by Burn
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You know the saying:

"What goes around, comes around."

boot legers wil boot leg anythign that sells. they even bootleged the crappy dubbs of dbz.

hg, no matter hwo badly thye handled macorss. did legitinmalty pay for it. you can't compare the two.

True, but you gotta admit, it's funny.

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I actually heard about this coming a couple weeks ago, glad to see it actually happened. This is just the thing we need to prove HG is full of crap whenever it threatens legal action. Let's see them do something about this!

What makes you think they will or can actually do anything about it? For one thing, they legtimately own Mospeada without any question yet I still see HK boots of the thing on ebay all the time. Let's not even get into the tons of Macross bootlegs being sold in their "supposed" market for years now. HG can't do a damn thing. Still, someone would have to be dirt poor or extremely cheap to even consider buying boots to already inferior quality DVDs.

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  • 3 weeks later...

OK, everybody, I got the thing, I looked into it, here's my two cents:

Packaging:

  • both sets come in a folded carton with a clear plastic sleeve
  • the artwork on the cover of the macross saga seems to be a direct copy of the original RC1 covers, AFAIK, down to the label "extra disc" on one of the images
  • the artwork on Invid Invasion has less variation, some Cyclones on the outside and the same troopers on each inside "page" with variations on the disc labels
  • if you know the "Gasaraki" or "Patlabor WXIII" HK bootlegs, they are pretty much of the same make...

Contents:

  • They actually managed to get one complete original boxset on each DVD. I can't tell the exact count of episodes as I am not at home right now as I'm typing this. Details will follow.
  • No Sentinels, sorry.
  • No extras whatsoever. No animated menus, no BGM for the menus, just a nice background image, that's all
  • Interestingly, the cover of both bootleg boxes state that the audio is in both Japanese and English, with optional English subtitles. This is simply not true, English audio only, no subs, no Japanese (as if... :D )

Quality:

  • In one word: mediocre.
  • Compression: no really visible signs of compression artefacts
  • now for the worst part: in the Macross Saga DVDs there are frequent shifts in brightness. I don't know however if this is due to the fact that the material was not remastered or maybe that's even the case with the legitimate RC1 release (I don't own them). Maybe someone else can help here???
  • On the cover it says "Dolby Digital". Well, depends on how you define that. It's definitely not Digital Surround, nor ProLogic. I guess just stereo.
  • The visual quality of the Invid Invasion set is much better than that of the Macross Saga. How it is compared to the ADV remastered versrion of Mospeada I can't say, as I will only get THAT by the end of the month.

Summary:

While the quality of the material is mediocre, I have seen bootlegs far worse than this. At a price of 40 euros for 4 DVDs (Macross set) and 30 euros for 3 DVDs (Invid Invasion) you simply cannot complain. It beats the RealMedia files by a mile of course and IMO is definitely good enough to watch. It sucks that there are no extras, but still good enough for me who cannot afford to import the legitimate RC1 releases and is sick of the RM files.

I hope this helped. More details, episode lists per DVD will follow shortly. If you have any questions that I haven't covered, feel free to ask... :D

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On the cover it says "Dolby Digital". Well, depends on how you define that. It's definitely not Digital Surround, nor ProLogic. I guess just stereo.

Legit R1 and R4 Robotech is Dolby Digital Dual Mono.

You can have mono and it can still be Dolby Digital you know :)

Cyc

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