Do's and Don'ts in trading

[silver hermit]

i wanted to start a thread to help out new traders. feel free to add on guys. please NO TROLL LIKE COMMENTS

1. don't copy your dvd with a dvd recorder. use a dvd recorder to copy vhs.

2.use good quality dvd r media

3.don't make more trades than you can handle.

4.don't burn in dvd 1.0 if you need to copy your dvds for trading so does everyone else. be fair this is the same thing as downgrading on purpose.

just a start guys we need this thread as some guys don't get it.

[ShaolinChamberDotCom]

5. A movie should be correctly listed on your list, if the dvd is "movie only" and does not feature the menu, extras, etc. it should be listed as such.

6. Both traders should try and always pick at least 3 alternates in case a chosen movie could not be found and or copied. This will save time on having to email the person and wait for a response to choose a replacement disc.

7. If both traders are in the U.S., both traders should agree on the same form of shipping when initially setting up the trade. (First Class Mail, Priority Mail, Media Mail, etc.)

8. Disc should always be extremely well handled to make sure no marks or fingerprints get on the bottom part of the disc (burned side). From experience I know even the slightest fingerprint (smudge) will cause Read Errors when trying to rip a dvd.

[ozzieny]

1-Good stuff - Trade discs with sleeves to protect the dvd.
2-Dont send scratched dvd's to people just because 'they play' on your dvd.
3-Try to be as concise as possible with info of release. Ask detailed info of releases when trading so you get what you want.
4-Respect others opinions if they are not satisfied with what they recieve and negotiate to work the trade out.

[corpselinguini]

1. I always favored when traders would leave the dvdr blank and just write the name of the movie in the sleeve...so we can write it oursevles or etc...ive gotten discs with mispelled titles...

[Whirlwind]

1.If you are sending overseas use airmail not surface
2.Check discs are in top condition before you send
3.Always use protective sleeves
4.Have as much info as you can on your list
it will make the trade quicker & save asking lots of questions.
It`s good to know the following before you make your choice :
Widescreen or Fullscreen
Dub or Subs or no subs
What version
film only/no menu
VHS transfer

5.Be friendly :D

[Chen Zhen]

this should be stickied....mods?

[TheManInWhite]

"this should be stickied....mods?"

Request granted.

[Sigitolo]

5. A movie should be correctly listed on your list, if the dvd is "movie only" and does not feature the menu, extras, etc. it should be listed as such.

6. Both traders should try and always pick at least 3 alternates in case a chosen movie could not be found and or copied. This will save time on having to email the person and wait for a response to choose a replacement disc.

7. If both traders are in the U.S., both traders should agree on the same form of shipping when intially setting up the trade. (First Class Mail, Priority Mail, Media Mail, etc.)

YES, YES, YES!!!!!!!!!!

[Sigitolo]

1. I always favored when traders would leave the dvdr blank and just write the name of the movie in the sleeve...so we can write it oursevles or etc...ive gotten discs with mispelled titles...

Wow, my brothers!

Excellent ideas on trading etiquette.

Please, package the dvds in a way that deters thieves. Sure, the bubble wrap envelope is cheap. However, it is not very secure. I've had dvds stolen here in the U.S. Especially around Christmas.

[strutr74]

#1 Please don't eat Fried chicken while you burn dvds.
True story-I got a package of dvds and the disc' were covered in grease, no kidding:D I had to clean them like 2 or 3 times before they worked.

Thats my thoughts, I always back my dvds up on Taiyo Yudens and store them in binders, so writting on the dvds and brand doesn't really matter to me.

[Isfahani]

Brand/manufacturer should matter, cause what if you have read errors and can't rip the disc because of shitty media? If I am shelling out for quality DVDR, I would expect the same in return. THIS MEANS that Memorex and Imation, and the OfficeMax/Depot house brands are right out.

This has happened to me a few times in the past (no names named, ;) all worked out.

[strutr74]

Good points on the media. Even tho it doesn't matter to me. ALOT of traders use cheap stuff. And the kicker is the GREAT media is the same price and sometimes even lower. I was at my local target store and seen a 25 pack of Imations for 17.99, But if you shop at supermediastore.com,you can pick up Taiyo Yudens 50 for the same price. And when they run specials you can get 100 for $31 and 200 for around $65

Hell, even silver top TDKs are $7 bucks most times at Circuit City

[silver hermit]

maybe we should have a thread on media because some members might not know what a good disk is and they think they are good.

[strutr74]

Shoot, We don't need a whole thread for best media. Go here:
www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm (http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm)

Thats all EVERYONE needs to know.

[silver hermit]

Thanks for the link I admit I don't know specifics of media so this is helpful.

[Johnnie freeze]

as a side note, if you're offering a VHS transfer to disc, please do your best to fix the tracking. Tracking noise, lines, and that "video calibration" message flashing in your face that is also now permanently burned to the DVD R will only end up in the trash.8o

[strutr74]

LOL, I just got a dvd-r with Auto tracking message. I filed it in my Trash file. I suggest Finding someone with an Svhs Edit Deck to transfer your Vhs tapes. A cheap store bought vhs player is junk for doing transfers. If quality doesn't matter its a simple way to do it. But I personally use a studio machine when I work on vhs tapes/master dvs or Hi8s. I can remaster the picture, adjust the Hue, blacks levels, and remove 99% of the grain. And fix the audio as well. I don't understand why, Flashlegs, and Falkors don't invest in a good machine for transfers? With all the Extra cash they make off sales saving up $ 600 or $700 U.S shouldn't be a problem?

http://i22.ebayimg.com/05/i/06/4c/95/f4_1.JPG

[Johnnie freeze]

... I don't understand why, Flashlegs, and Falkors don't invest in a good machine for transfers? With all the Extra cash they make off sales saving up $ 600 or $700 U.S shouldn't be a problem?


Thats a very good point strutr.

[silver hermit]

Nice I'm gonna have to get me one of those things.

[strutr74]

Best investment I've made in a long time. Well 3 years ago;)

[whitelotus]

And here I am breaking all the rules...

I send in ziplock bag, surface with stamps

I eat fried chicken while a dub movies and use them as coasters for my root bear float.

I write on the disc...in crayon.

I use referbished DVD's for media, with scratch's

I list W/S when I know its F/S

I transfer movies with the "Play" on the screen when doing my vhs...sometines I leave the channel # "03"...when feeling a little crazy!


All jokes a side, great thread, good work....


I also would like to add, keep the person your trading with updated with progress info.... I think every thing else has been covered.

[corpselinguini]

this is a great thread...i like when traders let u know whats up...i always let them know the day i sent them..i know it drive me crazy not knowing if they sent them or not or if they'll be here on monday...:P

[strutr74]

QUILTY!!!! I forget to always let the other party know when I send. I do massive amounts of trades weekly. Mostly Music boots, but I'm trying to reply to everyone and let them know..I always try to mail the next day( 2 at the most, tho) :b

[kngfu]

Good point! Strutr74 is worth a deuce....lol

[corpselinguini]

also if ur compressing a full dvd try using the advanced analsyis which is usually the slowest but best way of compresing and if u know while compressing that the quality isnt going to be great, let the trader know if theyd like the movie only... i do that to save quality of the movie rather than quantity

[Isfahani]

It sounds like you are using DVDShrink.
Which degrades the video quality no matter what, IMO.
I can always tell a DVDShrink job, esp when there's a lot of black field in the picture on screen.

If you want to do serious reencoding, get DVD RB, use the HC encoder, as it's freeware as opposed to CCE...which takes like 8 hrs as opposed to HC's 3-4. (added disclaimer: This is on my machine, P4 2.81GHz with 1GB of RAM)
If you also use this in tandem with DVD ReMake, and learn how to make those bloated menus STILL, get rid of the warnings and adverts for, say, DOLBY...you can reencode and not be able to tell the difference between the source DVD9 and your new DVD5, having kept the menus intact, but gotten rid of the bloatware in the dvd.
For example, I always get rid of DTS, which can bloat out a disc another whole GB if there's dual audio. My backups of Stephen Chow films always lose the Mandarin tracks.

I know this sounds like a chore, and I was a little tardy in learning how to use this stuff - but it's really not as complex as it sounds.

I am going to have to go back and try to sort thru my stuff a little, and make notes...I know for a fact that if I backed up any of TaiSeng's dvds I for SURE only kept the film part. lol

[corpselinguini]

actually i use nero's recode 2 but it practically the same as dvd shrink...

[Isfahani]

Right. Low Quality results. :b
At least Recode gives you a little more editing option.

[whitelotus]

so....... whats better then shrink???

[Isfahani]

look up four posts and read.

[Neil]

CloneDVD2 is far better
go and give it a try.

www.elby.ch/products/clon...index.html (http://www.elby.ch/products/clone_dvd/index.html)

[shaolindogpaw]

ive used lots and lots of dvd rippers and such...the absolute best...best quality, easy to use, works everytime, super fast...takes about 20 minutes to burn a copy. its ONE CLICK DVD, you have to pay for it and download an external codec program but its well worth it.

[Johnnie freeze]

DVD2One - you can compress the hell out of a DVD9 and it always preserves 100% [or close] quality. I've never had to strip anything while using it. I recently used it on Kill Bill Japanese version and HKL's Big Boss leaving all extras in tact @ 100% quality. Only it doesnt contain burning software. D/l movie to your pc and burn using nero or whatever else you want.
I've uploaded my totally free version for anyone who wants to take a look...a tiny lil' program..no installer...just d/l, then hit "next" and your ready to use.
download.yousendit.com/E95AEA8C6A7E0AF7 (http://download.yousendit.com/E95AEA8C6A7E0AF7)

[Isfahani]

I'd like to see the resultant bitrates in the DVDs for these 'EZ' programs in comparison to the originals tho...
There's NO WAY you're going to "compress the hell out of a DVD9" and get close to 100% quality. Compression=Loss.

[silver hermit]

only if you remove the extras some movies themselves are less than a dvd in size. depends on the movie

[Johnnie freeze]

There's NO WAY you're going to "compress the hell out of a DVD9" and get close to 100% quality. Compression=Loss.

If the quality loss is so slight that the naked eye can't see it, then who cares. You'd have to lose a good 20% before your eyes can pick up the difference.

[Saint360]

I've also used numerous programs, but I have to give it to DVD2one, for me it's the easiest and truly a great program. I never noticed a loss of quality in the film after compression, I know I'm not a pro like some of you guys, but I really could never see a difference in the films after compression and I've had both running at the same time,the dvd9 and the compressed copy, just to check.
I have another question though, what do you guys do to transfer a film from PAL to NTSC, keep the menus and also the quality of the film?

Best regards
Saint

[whitelotus]

Also...to get back on track...If you did a good trade with someone, post their name in the good traders thread, that way others know that they are solid traders!

MIke

[Sigitolo]

Greetings,

Would all traders please update their public profile with their location. By country, of course.

[hammyhamster27]

One thing that should be pointed out sometimes things do get lost in the mail. So give the person a chance to retify the lost package before just labelling them a bad trader

[Johnnie freeze]

Some should keep in mind that traders aren't retail stores..if you don't like the quality of a studio produced disc you received in a trade don't shoot the messenger! If its not a bad burn then its the fault of the studio who produced it, NOT the person who gave you a copy.[unless there was a mistake made over the print received] Demanding free movies or trash talking only makes YOU a bad trader. If you don't like HKL's/Celestials/Crash's/Vengeance's....etc. of a certain flick then complain to them and not the poor bastard who sent you a DVD R of it.:(

[orubap]

on the note of dvd 'backups'...

if the copy is to be a dvd5 to 4.7dvdr then the tool to use would be DVD Decryptor which would give you an EXACT byte-for-byte copy.

if all of the original content fits on a regular dvdr then theres no point in using programs such as dvdshrink, clonedvd, dvd2one, etc where the content would suffer quality loss (however small) through re-encoding.

obviously this mostly applies to dvd's of older movies which are short in extra's.

[Isfahani]

what do you guys do to transfer a film from PAL to NTSC, keep the menus and also the quality of the film?
Me personally, I don't even try, because the software is prohibitively expensive + learning curve, and if you try and do it the cheap way you're going to end up with a low quality reencode that will probably have audio synch problems. That's just my experience.

Now, while I agree with what Freeze said about 'aren't retail stores' it does fall on the person you are trading with to vouch for quality...I just got a disc that I was told looked 'fine' but to me it look like someone took a 7+GB disc and ran it thru shrinky-dink...making the film in question look like those bootleg VHS transfers we love so well.
And I know for a fact that these are remastered high bitrate DVD sources, but in order to fit them on a dvd-r...
Bummer, but oh well. Win some lose some.

Sorry about the offtopics, guys...I'll say this once more, and leave it alone. IMO DVD ReBuilder with CCE or HC encoders aren't that much harder to use than those other progs, but give much higher quality results (when used with DVD ReMake, to get rid of motion menus - these can be UBER bloated - and whatever else, to get back some room for bit rate). If you're going to be trading, shouldn't you try to get the best possible result out there?

[Johnnie freeze]

Yes, I tend to agree...I would consider too much compression and total loss of quality a "bad burn" and should be replaced.[My comments were more specifically made towards those who get an exact dup of the original but still want a free disc because they dont like "........" studio's work.] Hey about a link to one of these high end programs that preserves quality?:)

[Saint360]

Somebody here has to know how to convert a DVD from Pal To NTSC and keep the menu and extras.

Saint

[Johnnie freeze]

Saint, ask Troy Garcia what he uses.

[Saint360]

OK

[Sigitolo]

3.don't make more trades than you can handle.

Deserves repeating!

[Mantis FIST]

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[Mantis FIST]

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[Sleepman]

CLEANING YOUR DVDS WITHOUT SCRATCHING THEM : USE RUBBING ALCHOHOL, ONLY A LITTLE LEAVES
NO STREAKS WHATSOEVER IF YOU ONLY USE A LITTLE..

TRADING : YA UM GET BACK TO THE GUY.. IVE SEEN SO MANY PEOPLE ON THE FORUM BE LIKE UM
WHERE ARE YOU I SENT A PM 3 WEEKS AGO, OR THIS CLASSIC WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR DEAL! ONLY
TO BE NONCHLANTLY IGNORED. WHAT A TRIP THIS EVEN PISSES ME OFF TO SEE THIS. QUIT BEING
SO GAY AND HOLD YOUR END OF THE DEAL.

[HONG FIST]

send out on the same day as the other person

[Dahnamics]

Mac Users:
Popcorn 2 alongside Mac The Ripper is a GREAT combo and makes for great DVD-R copies! I've only had ONE erroneous disc on my Macbook Pro, and that's because I bumped into my laptop while it was burning!

[Dahnamics]

HOW TO GET HIGH QUALITY DVD+R/DVD-R for CHEAP!!

order from online sites (bestbuy.com/circuitcity.com)

use the pick-up from store feature to avoid shipping costs..

every week best buy online has some type of sale on there recordable dvd media

last week BestBuy.com had Sony DVD+R spindles of 50 for $12

i missed that but today ordered 2 Memorex DVD+R 25 spindles for $6.99 each.. (regular retail price is $19.99 [i checked in the store before picking up mine and these were NOT on sale in the store and were still priced at $19.99])

so i saved over $25!!

[Ozzieny]

Thats mucho money D. On ebay you can get 100 dvd's for as little as
$7-$10. And decent quality too - HP, Memorex etc. Do a search for dvdR+ or dvdr- and see what sellers are selling. Keep a track of these sellers as they often have overstock and get rid of these quickly. I bought 3 packs of 100 dvd Hp's for $45 - thats $15 per 100 and I often get them cheaper than that! Sometimes as low as $8 per 100!