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On Saturday, 21 June 2008, I decided to take Moser Baer for a test. The first test I thought should be on a newish title. So I went ahead and purchased a movie DVD from Moser Baer from the local bookshop 'Crossword'. Here is my review:

Title: Munnabhai MBBS

Package:
The movie like most other MB DVD titles came in slim line DVD cover. This is a big advantage as I always felt that standard DVD jackets come in too thick. Such jackets are OK for two or multiple disk editions but many single disc movies also use the standard thickness DVD covers. Maybe this is because of economies of scale but slimmer covers means more storage space.

The front cover contains the movie poster, actors, director, Censor Board's certificate, cost, etc. The back cover contains mostly stuff about Moser Baer, warnings, etc. Unfortunately it does not contain any information on the video and audio format. The front cover states "NTSC All Region" and that's all. It would be nice if DVD mentioned whether it is Widescreen format or audio is in Dolby Digital 5.1 format or not.

The jacket by itself was a bit flimsy. The DVD is sealed by a hologram sticker.

Marks: 3/5.

Cost:
Rs. 34/- net. This is the real killer and this price cannot be beaten possibly. I don't have to say anything more here. For heaven's sake, this is a DVD movie that you are getting for such a low price. Why buy pirated stuff any more? The only factor was quality but I shall come to it later.

Marks: 5/5.

Inside the Packet:
I was quite disappointed to see that the DVD was dangling loose inside. The jacket does have a DVD holder but it is quite flimsy and the DVD does not stay firm inside. Even when I purchased it I could hear the DVD rattling inside. Once I opened the cover, I saw to my dismay that the DVD had quite a few scratches. The DVD lacked the information page that gives details on the titles, chapters, etc. but that was expected. Even some of the latest DVDs that I purchased in US have also been lacking the insert that gives this information.

The quality of the jacket in the inside is not top notch but again that was expected.

Marks: 1/5.

DVD:
The DVD is standard dual layer (9.4GB). This was surprise as I was expecting a single layer (4.7GB) that are cheaper. But then again commercial content DVDs are never burnt but pressed. But as stated earlier because the DVD was dangling freely inside, it developed a lot of scratches. I suspect that MB did not put on the anti-scratch coating on top or that the quality of coat was not good enough.

The front of the DVD had the etched movie poster (no sticker) and this is how it should be.

Marks: 2/5.

Video and Audio Format:
This was the test that I was most dying to make. I put in the DVD on my Pioneer DVD player. And viola. The first screen (text) that showed up stated:

"Anamorphic Widescreen DVD. This DVD is 16:9 enhanced. If the images appear stretched ..." etc., etc.

This was real exciting news. I looked at my Onkyo Receiver and it displayed "Dolby Digital 3/2" and indeed there was full Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.

A further peek in the "Subtitles" menu displayed option of "5.1 DD Sound" or "2 Channel Stereo". I was elated.

Marks: 5/5.

Video and Audio Quality:
The video quality was quite up to the mark and so was the sound. I have DVD of "Lawrence of Arabia" which comes in Superbit format. Roughly this means that they use a much higher sampling rate to encode the movie. This movie certainly did not meet that quality but nevertheless I was fairly satisfied with the video and audio. I was playing the DVD on my projector and it was good.

But.....

I said earlier that DVD had scratches. And so it showed on the playback. It stuttered and sputtered in the first 5 minutes itself. After 20 minutes or so, the player refused to play further and stopped completely.

I then inserted the DVD on my laptop. The good news was that whereas it stuttered much more on the Pioneer standalone DVD player, it played better on the laptop. But it again stopped playing completely after 35 minutes or so.

Using "DVD Shrink" I copied the entire DVD to my hard disk and it took quite a while to do it but when it completed the playback was possible from the HDD copy.

This only proves what my observations were made earlier. The marks given below are given for pure quality of the source, manufacturing process and reproduction only. This bears no semblence on the DVD media.

Marks: 4/5.

Overall:
Moser Baer promises full replacement for manufacturing defect. So I am going now to seek a replacement. But my fear is, if the replacement is also faulty, then where do I go from here?

Marks: 4/5.

Recommendation: Open your wallets and rush to nearest re-seller. You can also order from the net from their web site. You will be charged Rs. 50/- as shipping charges but by combining multiple purchases into a single order, the shipping charges could be evenly spread.

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*** My computer can beat me at chess but is no match when it comes to kick-boxing ***

I've purchased many Movie CDs of Mosser Baer. In all aspects it's good.

CDs? You mean VCDs? If you really mean VCD then I suggest that you set your sights higher, my friend. VCDs suck. Period.

Further to my review post earlier, I have the following to add:

I went to Crossword and the disc was exchanged without question. The new disc was scratchless. Now the only question is how long will the DVD last. I have DVDs purchased in 1998-99 which are still working flawless. Let us hope the same and then this will a real winner.

I have also seen that others too have dropped prices. Sony-BMG are selling DVDs for Rs. 69/- onwards and they have most Yash-Raj titles - though older ones. Karan Johar hits were all for Rs. 69/-. Eros International have dropped prices. Lage Raho Munnabhai 2-disc Special edition originally priced at Rs. 499/- is not retailing at Rs. 99/-.

To judge the quality, please see attached screen shots (from laptop player - PowerDVD)

Attached Files

Munnabhai_MBBS.zip (305.7 KB, 4 views)

The file is fine... Ive uploaded them onto an image hosting site. Click pics to enlarge.

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Excelent review and thanks a ton for writing such a detailed review.

I dont know about others but your review has changed my perception.