Positive TCR.com.tw experience
#1
Cool New Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Rockville, MD
Posts: 26
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Positive TCR.com.tw experience
For those of you who can't read Chinese, go to yangshouwen's guide to ordering from www.tcr.com.tw at http://members.lycos.co.uk/yangshouw...lkthrough.html TCR is actually the web presence for Taichung Records, a music/movie retail chain in Taiwan. If you're looking for Taiwanese versions of certain DVD's, this is pretty much the only place where you can buy them (unless if you want to hop on a plane to Taiwan ).
I ordered the Taiwanese DVD versions of Totoro and Kiki's Delivery (both are R3 encoded) because these were produced by Buena Vista Taiwan, not the HK DVD's produced by IVL. If you do a little research at the animeondvd.com forums, you'll find that IVL severly screwed up the video encoding on their versions. IVL also made the bonus discs single-layered instead of double-layered and dropped the original Japanese audio on the second disc (which houses the complete storyboards). The video and sound quality on the Taiwan versions are the same as the more expensive Japanese versions.
OK, let me cut to the chase . I ordered both on 3/15 and my credit card was immediately charged. It actually shipped on 3/22, so be careful if your card is near its max limit! They did not email a shipping notification, but you can check your order status on their website. Their email customer service is pretty fast, but they only respond in Chinese. I chose the second shipping option and I received them today. The total was $41 for both. This is definitely a great alternative for anime fans who want Miyazaki's DVD's but can't afford to shell out $40 for 1 Japanese DVD. I'm definitely ordering the rest of his collection from TCR as soon as they come out in Taiwan.
I ordered the Taiwanese DVD versions of Totoro and Kiki's Delivery (both are R3 encoded) because these were produced by Buena Vista Taiwan, not the HK DVD's produced by IVL. If you do a little research at the animeondvd.com forums, you'll find that IVL severly screwed up the video encoding on their versions. IVL also made the bonus discs single-layered instead of double-layered and dropped the original Japanese audio on the second disc (which houses the complete storyboards). The video and sound quality on the Taiwan versions are the same as the more expensive Japanese versions.
OK, let me cut to the chase . I ordered both on 3/15 and my credit card was immediately charged. It actually shipped on 3/22, so be careful if your card is near its max limit! They did not email a shipping notification, but you can check your order status on their website. Their email customer service is pretty fast, but they only respond in Chinese. I chose the second shipping option and I received them today. The total was $41 for both. This is definitely a great alternative for anime fans who want Miyazaki's DVD's but can't afford to shell out $40 for 1 Japanese DVD. I'm definitely ordering the rest of his collection from TCR as soon as they come out in Taiwan.
Last edited by Animezine; 04-03-02 at 09:34 PM.
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: Chicago
Posts: 558
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Animezine, I noticed there is now an IVL version of Princess Mononoke at Hivizone. Is there a BV Taiwan equivalent? Is this on par with the superb transfer in the Japanese Mononoke Hime Box Set? (which clearly better than its R1 counterpart) If I can avoid paying more I will.
#3
Cool New Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Rockville, MD
Posts: 26
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Yes, it was released in Taiwan on 3/6. For some reason, TCR isn't listing it yet. However, if you have the courage, you can try ordering it from http://www.books.com.tw , which is in Chinese and almost impossible to translate (with either Babelfish or Worldlingo) its new member registration page. They do carry Princess Mononoke at http://www.books.com.tw/item/001/0010185798.htm The video quality should be the same as the R2 Japanese release, considering that the Taiwanese Totoro and Kiki releases were basically just ports of their R2 counterparts. However, I have not seen a review of either the IVL or Buena Vista Taiwan versions yet. You can try asking around at the animeondvd.com forums.