First, if you put the DVD into your PC, click "My Computer," then click your player's drive, it will give you the size of the disc. Assuming you know whether the movie is supposed to be single layer or double layer, there should be close to 5 GB used on a single layer or more on a double layer. (This is only a generalization of course, since it varies depending on the film's running time.) Unfortunately, this doesn't work. I can point you to hundreds of major studio releases that are nowhere near 5 GB. Running time really doesn't seem to be an indicator either. On bootlegs, the file sizes will usually be identical to the legit version since they are usually copying the exact files. On the Criterion SALO bootleg for example, the files sizes are identical.

If it passes this test, you can then go through Windows Explorer and right click on various files stored on the DVD to check its properties. This will give you the creation date. Obviously, this date will need to be something reasonable. If the DVD is out of print, and the date is (for instance) this year, I would say this is a dead giveaway that it's a bootleg.Again, this doesn't really mean anything since if they are copying the exact files, the date isn't going to change.

I'm very leery of any OOP DVD sold on Ebay and don't like getting ripped off. So if there are ways bootlegs can circumvent these tests please let me know.I'd say the best indicators are on the jacket. Bootlegs still seem to use lower quality jacket art. Most of the time, this is the easiest way to tell, presuming you know what the original jacket art looks like.

the cover has square edges - most R1 dvd covers i've seen have rounded corners This means nothing. Different production runs of different titles can have different corners. This is by no means proof of anything.

Region 0 (90% of the time) You can't really tell from this either. There are thousands of legit titles that are coded Region 0. Even major studio product from Korea is often coded Region 0Region Encoding and NTSC vs. PAL vs. SECAM

Often times a movie will be released at different times in different countries. Or, sometimes a movie will only be licensed for release in some countries and not in others. In order to facilitate this, DVD players sold in various countries are hard coded in order to play only DVD’s that were meant to be played in that region.

The following is a list of how the regions are currently defined:

Region 1: 1: U.S., Canada, U.S. Territories

Region 2: Japan, Europe, South Africa, and Middle East (including Egypt)

Region 3: Southeast Asia and East Asia (including Hong Kong)

Region 4: Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean

Region 5: Eastern Europe (Former Soviet Union), Indian subcontinent, Africa, North Korea, and Mongolia

Region 6: Peoples Republic of China

Region 7: Reserved

Region 8: Special international venues (airplanes, cruise ships, etc.)

“Chinese” Characters on the DVD Cover: This guideline mostly pertains to major US release films. Legitimate Region 1 DVD’s authorized for distribution in North America are not going to have “Chinese” characters.

What to do if you receive a bootleg

So, you’ve done all your research, but, despite all your precautions, you received a bootleg. What do you do?

Well, the first thing to do is to contact the seller and confront him with the problem. I always give the seller the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps he was unaware that the DVD was a bootleg. Give the seller a chance to rectify the problem. You should seek a full refund, including shipping charges, and return shipping. Remember that it is reasonable for the seller to request you return the item prior to receiving a refund.

If the seller is unwilling to make amends, then you should use every means at your disposal to get your money back, to get the seller removed from eBay and to possibly bring charges against the seller. Below are some resources to accomplish this:

File a chargeback through Paypal (if used). When filing the chargeback, make sure you quote the Paypal User Agreement that the seller is in violation of:
Your Information and your activities (including your payments and receipt of payments) through our Service shall not: (a) be false, inaccurate or misleading; (b) be fraudulent or involve the sale of counterfeit or stolen items; ... (e) infringe on any third party's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other property rights or rights of publicity or privacy;

If Paypal denies your chargeback, you can then file a chargeback through your credit card company. It is important to file through Paypal first if you used Paypal. Failure to do so can cause you to loose your Paypal account.

Make sure you file an online fraud report with eBay after 30 days through the following link: http://crs.ebay.com/aw-cgi/ebayisapi.dll?crsstartpage

See if the Copyright holder is a member of eBay's Verified Rights Owner (VeRO): http://pages.ebay.com/help/community/vero-aboutme.html. If they are a member follow the instructions for reporting in the appropriate "About Me" page.

Notify the Motion Picture Association of America at  1-800-NO-COPYS

Finally, leave appropriate feedback for the seller.

DVD Formats

There are different storage capacities of DVD’s. The following is just a brief guide of some of the terminology that you may see when describing DVD formats:

DVD5: Single sided / single layered which hold about 4.7 gigs worth of data or 135 minutes.

DVD9: Single sided / dual layered which hold about 8.5 gigs worth of data or 244 minutes

DVD10: Double sided / single layered and hold about 9.4 gigs worth of data or 270 minutes

DVD18: Double sided / dual layered and hold about 17 gigs worth of data or 488 minutes

The most popular format of DVD’s produced are the DVD9 or single sided / dual layered DVD’s.

For the most part, you can ignore these details. In fact, you will rarely see any of these terms mentioned on legitimate DVD’s. In fact, if you see a DVD with a DVD9 logo on it, you should be very cautious, because it’s very likely a bootleg.

Also if in doubt don't buy it be safe

There is a ebay group on bootleg dvd's