India Broadband Forum

just4kix

OK. I am not sure whether this should go in here on in 'Offtopic'.

What is your opinion on the low cost movies being sold by Moser Baer (VCD @ Rs. 25~49, DVD @ Rs. 35~99)? These movies are originals and being sold at extreme low cost to combat piracy. If anyone has purchased/viewed these movies let us all know of your opinions. I am going to buy a sample to try out over this weekend. From the net, I found out the following (for DVDs):

Quality: Quite OK. Some have reported audio sync issues (voice lagging behind and not sync'ing with lips).
Price: A definite winner. You will not feel like buying a pirated disc. MB has used their own patented technology to mass produce the discs and still keep the price low.
Choice of titles: Somewhat old and newer titles not available but this is changing as these are early days. MB web site claims over 3000 titles.
Compatibility with players: Generally none but some have reported issues. Maybe those lip-sync issues are related to this.
Video format: It is reported that the movies are not in anamorphic widescreen (16:9) format but in pan & scan format. In P&S mode the frame is in 4:3 format and there are black bars on top and bottom to keep the aspect ratio. This is not good news for owners of WS TVs and projectors (like me).
Audio format: I was unable to ascertain whether the audio is in Dolby Digital 5.1 format. I will be able to verify after buying a sample. For old titles it will not matter because their original track was never stereo anyway. But 5.1 audo is very important to me HT freaks like me.

Advantages:
- You need not rent the movies as cost of renting and owning is now the same
- You will not be tempted to buy pirated copies as you can never be assured of the quality of pirated movies
- Even if you rent original DVDs and are tempted to copy them, you will feel that it is not worth the effort because cost of renting and copying (and not to mention your time spent) will be more than the cost of the MB movie

Disadvantages:
- As yet new titles are slow to appear. Most titles are at least a year old. Hence there is still 'hope' for pirates - if I may say so.
- Director's commentary, deleted scenes. outtakes, bloopers, art gallery, and all such extra material will not exist - but this is not relevant for old movies as there is no source (mostly) anyway.
- I looked at the website and there is no mention of Video/Audio format. This leads me to believe that my fears (see above) are correct. I am not inclined to buy movies that are not presented in their original screen format (anamorphic widescreen) and at least with DD 5.1 audio.
- Very few English (Hollywood) movies of any repute. But this may change.

Please keep posting. Thanks.

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player

I would like to throw some light on this!!

Its good to hear that MB has done a gr8888 job in producing low cost original CD's & DVD's but ................ these are available in seleceted cities and it will take a lot of time to reach small cities and pirated movies are available eveywhere in every "gali koocha" !!!!!!!!

just4kix

Most (authentic) video shops, bookstores such as 'Crossword', etc. are stocking MB titles.

player

hehe in small cities there are no " authentic" shops who sells movies and excuse me bookstores eh? i dont get it that bookstores also sells movies atleast in my city there are none

just4kix

You mean that there are no music/video shops in Aligarh?

You can always order directly from their website or on eBay. You will have to pay shipping charges of Rs. 50/- but if you combine multiple purchases into one buy, the shipping cost will be evenly spread.

In any case these things will change soon as it is just a year that MB has started this enterprise.

Admin

I went to a shop a few months ago to check out the moser baer stuff and found that most of them a actually VCD's and not dvd. The dvds still cost a fortune

just4kix

Not really. DVDs are available from Rs. 34 to Rs. 99.

player

no here are shops but as you mentioned that bookstores also sells them that's wierd atleast here i, am assuming by bookstores you mean the shop which keep books of various courses and all

just4kix

'Crossword', the book store chain sells books, journals, blank media and content media. Most book stores in Pune are selling the same.

stick0

Its good but if you are a person who like better quality then its not for you.I bought jab we meet and found it somewhat okay..and i found the dvd cover kacha.

just4kix

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.

Edit: This was probably a one off incidence. I got a free replacement for the scratched DVD. Subsequently I purchased two more titles - Jab We Met and Hum Aapke Hai Koun. The package was more than satifactory.

Marks: 4/5.

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.

Edit: This was probably a one off incidence. I got a free replacement for the scratched DVD.

Marks: 3/5.

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.

sujithsukrutham

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

just4kix

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

just4kix

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/-.

just4kix

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

Attached Files

Munnabhai_MBBS.zip (305.7 KB, 45 views)

player

i am not able to view the screenshots provided by you(just4kix) it is saying archieve is damaged can you attach jpg images

Admin

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

player

thanks admin but why i am not able to open the zip file i am using winRAR to unzip it but it is showing error

The quality of the movie is exceptionally good comparing the price of the movie

just4kix

Please post whether the review (Moser Baer Movies) was useful to you. If yes, pass it on to your friends who can then make an informed decision.

This will also bring more hits to our website and improve ratings. Thanks all.

Admin

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

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