American Ntsc 1 Hour volumes -fakes?

[AndyThomas]

Well, here are some more facts.As I have both a "volume one" and an actual volume three, I've just played both from the beginning.The white label (includes the details STARFLEET VOLUME 1 SAVE THE EARTH!) does NOT contain the FBI message at the beginning.  It does NOT contain the title of the tape on the opening credits immediately after the Star Fleet logo.  It does, however, include the Classic Family Entertainment logo at the beginning.The gold label version starts with the FBI message, runs through the Classic Family Entertainment logo, and then starts with the title of the tape after the Star Fleet logo comes up superimposed on the opening shot of X-Bomber.Now, were I a counterfeiter I really wouldn't have left the Classic Family Entertainment logo which lasts a good couple of seconds on the front of the tape.  Bit of a giveaway isn't it?  Certainly you'd get rid of the FBI message.However, as raretv has pointed out, from a purely technical point of view there is no way, unless they cut a big chunk out of the starting sequence, that they could get rid of that title text at the start - it's too much a part of the scene.  I haven't watched it all the way through as yet, but the quality looked to be on a par with the ex-rental copy, if not better.Now of course it may well be that some of the white labels are re-labelled rental releases.  Consider this - they could just be shrink-wrapped ex-rentals trying to be passed off as unplayed white rentals.So - you may both be right.  Some white labels could be rip offs, but some do appear to be genuinely different versions.As the volume one is volume three problem is quite common, this suggests a big production mistake - even for a pirate to make.  Someone stuck a lot of labels on the wrong tapes and put them in the wrong jacket.  Major lack of quality control.So if this was a factory mistake, it might also explain why the wrong master was used.  The fact that it's got Classic Family Entertainment on it, but not the FBI or title name, suggests it was some sort of pre-release version - maybe even some sort of test tape that for whatever reason got copied.What I suppose I'll now have to do is have a look at my other sealed tapes and see if this gets repeated...On the whole FACT thing - I imagine US tapes would have a minimum requirement, but of course if these were test tapes they wouldn't have their official labels.  They might have been intended to just tag what the tape was.  In fact, it might even be that the rules changed while the tapes were being produced so they had to re-edit them.  The BBFC didn't introduce certification over here until around 1984 - interestingly the early Star Fleet Thorn tape was originally unclassified, I believe.I do have a hard time understanding why a FACT employee would know about upcoming releases?  The BBFC would get the first heads up I would have thought, as it would need to classify releases ahead of release.  Bear in mind that the Japanese DVDs, being Region 2, could be legitimately sold over here so it could be that they're what she'd heard about.  I certainly haven't heard anything of late.  Anyone else know why FACT might know about something like this?

[Jon Talpur]

Sorry to jump in and immediately talk about this possible DVD release of Star Fleet, rather than the matter at hand (although I do actually have a US Volume 2 tape if that helps!).Quote Bear in mind that the Japanese DVDs, being Region 2, could be legitimately sold over here so it could be that they're what she'd heard about.Actually I'm not so sure about this. Of course, Japanese DVDs are regionally encoded the same as ours, but the simple fact that the series hasn't been officially rated by the BBFC would make it impossible for anyone in this country to legally sell them. Every tape/DVD (with a few exceptions such as music videos) has to have been rated by the BBFC otherwise it simply can't be sold.Of course, there's nothing to stop people from simply importing BBFC unrated tapes/DVDs from other countries, provided that they are for personal use only and won't be sold on afterwards.

[AndyThomas]

Quote (Jon Talpur @ 21 July 2004,12:20)Sorry to jump in and immediately talk about this possible DVD release of Star Fleet, rather than the matter at hand (although I do actually have a US Volume 2 tape if that helps!).Quote Bear in mind that the Japanese DVDs, being Region 2, could be legitimately sold over here so it could be that they're what she'd heard about.Actually I'm not so sure about this. Of course, Japanese DVDs are regionally encoded the same as ours, but the simple fact that the series hasn't been officially rated by the BBFC would make it impossible for anyone in this country to legally sell them. Every tape/DVD (with a few exceptions such as music videos) has to have been rated by the BBFC otherwise it simply can't be sold.Of course, there's nothing to stop people from simply importing BBFC unrated tapes/DVDs from other countries, provided that they are for personal use only and won't be sold on afterwards.Yes, to clarify - I thought she could have heard of someone trying to get certification for those DVDs. Having read the FACT site it's an interesting distinction - you can buy them abroad and bring them back, or buy them "remotely", but once here you couldn't resell them in theory - even privately, it seems. And yet, a Region 2 DVD's licence would seem to suggest that it should be freely distributable within the Region's countries otherwise what's the point of regional encoding? It's a curious one - presumably this means you couldn't resell the NTSC US tapes of Star Fleet here in the UK...

[Jon Talpur]

I think the whole deal with stuff only being allowed for sale in the UK if it's been rated by the BBFC is really only a UK situation, so no you legally wouldn't be able to sell the US Star Fleet tapes within the UK (as crazy as it seems).I'm not aware of many guidelines as strict as this in other countries, as for instance, Canadian DVDs or tapes can be bought quite legally with no problems in the US for the most part (there are exceptions of course, and the Disney one for the infamous "Song of the South" is a very good example).The only thing making sales of foreign tapes illegal in the UK is the fact that they haven't been rated by the BBFC, who have to rate everything for sale here by law. Since the BBFC have to be paid for their certification services, they've more-or-less got guaranteed jobs for life!

[Happosai]

Regarding BBFC classification, you can search their web site for titles that have been submitted for classification. The only relevant results a search for 'star flleet' returns are for the old UK video releases -- a new DVD release would require recertification, and the lack of entry for such would lead me to believe that a UK DVD release isn't imminent.[Happosai]

[lightluke]

if you check the bbfc website they do not include titles which are in development or near release, only those which have been released in the past i.e. last few days. An example of this is the extended version of return of the king. while we know it is coming out, it does not have a classification yet because the exact date of release has not been determined.

[AndyThomas]

Isn't that a bit chicken and egg - wouldn't the getting of certification impact on the date of release, as a release requires certification? On the basis of what's been discussed I'd expect to see a BBFC classification before a release, not afterwards, although of course there may be some delay depending on how rapidly the web site updates and reflects the decision passed on to the film company. As trailers also get certification, they'd be a good indication for upcoming feature films I imagine, if they're included. Of course, a film might even get a re-edit to fit a different classification although that might be less of an issue these days with the likes of PG12 etc.