Those releases he is referring to are definitely bootlegs. He should get his movies from a more respectable outlet instead.
I imagine that he started collecting DVDs because it's a cheap way to own a physical copy of your favorite shows...
But for the love of god just go hunt for cheap Blu-ray versions instead and leave DVDs in the past.
Unless you, for whatever reason, just must own a specific DVD release because it has otherwise unreleased extra content/commentary, or it never made it to Blu-ray.
I am situated in Denmark and buy all my movies from laserdisken.dk. While by no means the cheapest option, I like supporting local businesses and doing what I can to incentivize new releases on physical media. They also have excellent support and movie knowledge to help you find what you are looking for.