Foreword while thread under construction (close to preliminary completion)
2005.04.19
Hi, all. I'm trying to revive an old thread that I've put in KoreanFilm's board more than a year ago, as above. Hopefully I can get it up here as a sticky thread. I will be transferring post by post while updating any new data along the way.
Please refrain from posting in this thread while it is under construction. But I'll love any contributions or comments via my email at zoossh@starhub.net.sg.
P.S. Anyone interested in setting up a website for Korean Films and have the technical knowledge of making microsoft excel looks al'rite in html formats and who is interested in offering his help, do let me know. I've tons of information that i assembled in my excel files (for tabulation and sorting) but I'm not a techno-savvy guy.
General layout of this thread
2005.05.04
Assess to KFOD
0. Intro & updates done
1. Planning on your online purchase in general done
2. Features of different origins & region code for KFOD done
3. How to identify and avoid boots for KFOD done
4. Options of getting KFOD done
5. Online purchase of KFOD - overview done
6. Online purchase of KFOD not ready
7. Shops that sells KFOD in asia old data
8. Shops that sells/rents KFOD in US/europe/aus old data
9. Forums for trading of asian films between forumers done
10. Postal & Remittance facilities in your country old data
11. Custom practises in your country old data
12. Online purchase for Korean Drama on VCDs done
13. Links for viewing/buying Korean movie/pop posters done
14. Links and sites for your exploration done
Background Knowledge of DVD parameters
15. Understanding some general nomenclature done
16. Understanding region coding, NTSC and PAL need some updating
17. Understanding audio format of DVD, aka track done
18. Understanding video format of DVD, aka aspect ratio not ready
19. Understanding size format of DVD, aka capacity done
20. Understanding packaging terminologies not done
Database of Korean Films and Korean Films on DVDs
21. Database of movie listing updated only to early Apr 2005
22. Directory of Cineseoul Movie Listing updated only to early Apr 2005
23. Personal recommendations in each genre old data, to be updated
24. Prints available from various country not ready
Korean Culture & others
25. Learning Korean in Singapore. limited range of data
old data above refers to invaluable resources that is a pity to discard but are data that are outdated for a couple of years without any practical means to re-verify for its current status.
not ready refers to post that requires major editing for any relevance or appropriate accuracy.
done refers to relatively fixed data that is updated to the date as stated in each post, and should still be reasonably relevant around the few months after the date of posting.
zoossh
03-24-05, 08:12 PM
What this thread is meant for ...
2005.04.19
This will be a general DVD guide for Korean Films based on my experience and whatever I can gather from fellow forumers from various websites to consolidate opinions and hence towards a better informed decision. I do not think that knowledge should only come from one person and everytime a question is asked and answered on any forum, there is enormous value in each of them. While search engine is always there, nothing beats a FAQ especially if one that is maintained. Sometimes when the forum closed or migrated, so much information is lost. It is a pity not to compile them.
This is especially to help newbies all around the world but may be slightly tilted to the Singaporean context as I'm from Singapore, a small island country in Southeast Asia. However, I would be more than willing to get to know the situation at various parts of the world, and if anyone has any links to such information in your area, even if it is not English-based, please let me know so that I can help compile them. I hope to have a thread whereby no matter where u come from, this will be the thread where u can find a common route between you and people from your area to find the same information pertaining to Korean Films on DVDs in your area.
By the way, if u dunno korean or know a little korean like me, there are still free online translators that can do some basic jobs.
http://www.systransoft.com/
http://www.worldlingo.com/products_services/worldlingo_translator.html
The term invented by me ... KFOD ... only in this thread
2005.05.04
Well, in order to prevent confusion and to remain focused ...,
I'm going to use this abbreviation KFOD to represent Korean Films on DVDs, i.e. Korean Films that are printed on DVDs no matter if this DVD is printed in HK or UK or wherever. This will help to differentiate from the term Korean DVDs which may also mean literally DVDs printed in Korea, which can be any movie such as a HK movie or a hollywood movie printed in a dvd from studios in Korea, and not necessarily Korean Films itself.
in short, KFOD refers to "movie starred predominantly by Koreans or combined production with korean actors as a crucial component; DVD printed anywhere" while Korean DVDs often are used in such a context of "any movie made anywhere or starred by anyone; DVD printed in Korea".
the reason why i refer KFOD as "movie starred predominantly by Koreans or combined production with korean actors as a crucial component" is because movies such as "Star Runner" starring Kim Hyun-ju as the lead actress and "Seoul Raiders" that is made predominantly in Korea, are virtually HK productions that can hardly be considered as a Korean production. I feel that the country of production is still best represented by the predominant proportion of cast, more so than the director, the crew, the place of shooting, the production company or even the primary language of the movie.
Definite limitations throughout the whole thread
2005.04.19
1. Thanks to those who have inputs below. i'm sorry if the infomation put forward is not up to date or inaccurate, but i'm trying my best as it takes enormous time off my work; and most verification is difficult to be definite unless i buy all the KFOD in the world (and unless I'm so rich and free...haha). At any time, this thread may be left to rot on it's own which i can't promise to be able to update constantly, but within all my ability, i would not allow that to happen. And i will put the dates to let people know how "updated" this data is, so that they can take discretion of how much they can rely on this advices.
2. Hope to have more traffic in the forum and more inputs here. as for kpop, korean TV dramas and korean film in vcds, i'm sorry that i'm pretty much unfamiliar with them so i would not cover them over here, as the data would be too patchy and likely to be misleading.
3. I would paraphrase the comments from various forumers to make the thread shorter and more relevant. however in whatever way if the comments are made distorted via paraphrasing, i apologise for that but i will make sure the paraphrasing is cut to the minimum and only as relevant.
4. As most of y'alls may have notice that most text are typed without regards to capital letters and i have truncated off the "the"s and "a"s in front of the english titles of the various korean movies. In a way, it is to make entry of data faster, and the truncation of the "the" and "a" in front of the english titles is becos that is the only way i can arrange the titles automatically in my system. of cos, some sites used this common method, such as "way home, the" but i didn't like that. anyway, i will look into this issue when the bulbs light up in my brain.
zoossh
03-24-05, 08:26 PM
Planning on your online purchase in general
2005.05.12
I've adapted a thread from a Singaporean forumer, trjs, from his guide to buying western movies in general to what can be applied for korean dvds.
1. choose the movie/TV drama u want
Starting off from your favorite genre, going by your favorite stars is how most people go by selecting what they want to watch. I do routinely scroll through any available and upcoming titles, their posters, galleries and synopsis to see if i like the shows.
You may try to ask for recommendations in the forum. But do note the forumer population in each forum. koreanfilm.org tend to have a lot of arthouse and academic inclination while other pop culture forums may offer another spectrum of preferences. Some love Hong Sang-soo's films while others enjoy "Oh! Happy Day." just as much.
Ultimately, some will prefer to do some homework such as to read reviews. The below would be some good places to read reviews.
Kung Fu Cinema Cult cinema
http://www.kfccinema.com/reviews/other/korea.html
covers pan-asian movies, both by genre and by country/alphabetical orders of film names, have a scoring system for the films, and mainly covers the review with a brief storyline and a short dvd review
Asian DVD guide
http://www.asiandvdguide.com/
covers pan-asian movies, both by title, distributer, country and mainly covers old HK movies
Darcy's KoreanFilm.org
http://www.koreanfilm.org/reviews.html
extensive numbers of reviews interconnected with other infomation. list by alphabetical orders. not all film reviews are linked to the dvd review but it should be somewhere....
Kalle's the isle.org
http://www.the-isle.org/sites.html
http://www.the-isle.org/all.html
link to various review sites for a listing of 300 over Korean movies
Aleong's MediaCircus
http://www.mediacircus.net/movrev.html
link to various review sites for a listing of 750 over Pan-asian movies but last updated 2004 Aug 28
US-Korean Retailer: DVDasian
http://www.dvdasian.com/cgi-bin/dvdasian/scan/va=what=Korea/va=cat=country/va=s=x/sp=A.html?id=t4dIvgcv&mv_pc=4026
established site, still running gd and strong. sells DVDs but carry DVD information with synopsis and sometimes reviews
Cinema service website
http://cjent.nkino.com/ccp/e_p_list.asp
only for production under this company
Kofic Korean Film Database
http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/films/feature_films.asp
brief listing of about 90 movies with one paragraph's short synopsis each
Jim's DVD site
http://jimsdvdsite.dk/asia.html
list of pan-asian movies (in Dansk)
2. check if it is available in dvds
a) check out dvdasian, pokerindustries and yesasia who hold a wide catalogue for titles that are already in the market. use their search engines.
b) check deeper from domestic sites such as papadvd and madmad.
c) check for your local prints (refer to the posting of available prints for each country of origin of print)
d) ask around in the forums
3. choose the print/release u want
Check out the differences between the various versions and determine the desired one. Use their search engines.
DVD basen
http://www.dvd-basen.dk/uk/home.php3?search=KO&mvis=ok®ion=%&land=%&ok3=go&country=ok
list of Korean movies and various prints with links to review
DVD beaver
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/compare.htm
detailed analysis of DVD versions down to their bit rate
Michael DVD
http://michaeldvd.com/
recommend best version for available movies
DVD compare.net
http://www.dvdcompare.net/
compare mainly the extras and gives overall verdict
Bytes & Bobs (not updating)
http://www.bytesandbobs.com/dvdcompare/
compare feature by feature, existing still but closed for updates
DVD debate
http://www.dvddebate.com/
comparison of general features
DVD heaven
http://web12.dvd2web.de/indexeng.php
comparison of general features of German versions against other versions
4. compare prices
remember to take into account the shipping charges. price comparison feature is generally not asian, so u may find it hard to compare prices for Asian retailers.
DVD pricecheck (UK)
http://www.dvdpricecheck.co.uk/
This is a good site that compares across different regions, though it is not as complete as region-specific sites in terms of the number of stores it covers in each region. It can conveniently convert prices in different currencies to a single currency at the same time.
Kelkoo films
http://films.kelkoo.co.uk/b/a/c_148401_dvd_video.html
For retailers for UK & US
All DVD prices
http://www.digitalsofa.com/partners/alldvdprices/
Mainly for DVD available in the States
DVD price search
http://www.dvdtalk.com/price.html/
Mainly for DVD available in the States
DVD plaza
http://www.dvdplaza.com.au/pricecrawler/?search=movies
Mainly for Australian retailer
and dun forget to convert into your currency
at any site, but this is easy to remember
http://www.exchangerate.com/
just use the quick calculator at the top left hand corner
5. an additional step for those in singapore
worried if the title u bring in is allowed in singapore and doesn't want to risk a custom rejection?
check it out over here - the media development authority
http://www.mda.gov.sg/wms.www/resources_film.aspx
filmmakers and entertainment companies brought in different versions and different cuts and submit them to the authorites. Some are being passed with cuts (theatrical release, vhs or vcd) and some are already cut before submission. but all u need to know is that the grade must be either "clean" or "e" (exempted, e.g. non-adult animation). Once it is "passed with cuts" or "not recommended", the dvd version of the film will not be allowed as they are often uncut compared to vcds, vhs or the local cinema screening.
zoossh
03-24-05, 10:15 PM
Features of different origins & region code for KFOD
2005.04.02
DVDs made in Korea
Korean production apart from a minority of classics or old movies whose sources are themselves affected, usually had superior picture and sound qualities. Most are widescreen and anamorphic at 1.78:1 with a viewable picture at 2.35:1 to 1.77:1. Audio wise, DD 5.1 Korean are now increasingly becoming a standard, occasionally with DTS 5.0 Korean, DTS 5.1 Korean, DD 5.1 EX Korean or even 6-channels track. DD 2.0 Korean are often listed but that can often be the extra commentary tracks by the director or others. So far, with the exception of Japan-Korea co-productions where the dialogues are a mixture of Japanese and Koreans, e.g. “Asako in ruby shoes”, Korean prints serve only Korean audio tracks. Special editions have plenty of extras but almost all have only Korean subtitles or have no subtitles. The packaging is spectacular, mostly with amaray casings, and some with digipack or slipcase or both.
DVDs made in HK
This come as the next option to most, as HK prints are much cheaper and is widely available from various sources. HK & Japan had the most number of Korean Films on DVDs after Korea, and apparently Japanese prints of Korean Films are targeted only at its domestic markets, often without English subtitles. HK, however, due to its British colonial history and a modernized economy fairly comfortable with English, does entertain 2 large group of population, that is the HK prints of Korean Films often comes with both English and Chinese subtitles. Extras are significantly less, often with only the trailers, music videos, synopsis and cast introduction (often in Chinese only). Packaging comes standard as a normal keepcase mostly without slipcases, or slipcases may be present but are of inferior material. Designs and appearance are decent but far from nice. Other than price, the other unique point is HK occasional printed Korean movies that is yet to be produced in Korea itself.
DVDs made in USA & Europe – UK, France, Germany, Scandinavia
I wasn’t familiar with these but this is an option for those who dwell in these area. Do note that prints from France and Germany usually do not have English subtitles. And also do note some DVDs labeled as R1s, as they may be HK prints brought to the market by Tai Seng (a HK company based in the States), and as such, they are essentially similar (or even totally identical except for an extra sticker) to the HK prints. Despite of its "effort" to bring good asian movies to the states, it had been said that their dvd quality is worse than the hk prints itself. Very often the cover design is almost similar to the hk counterpart, but do note the studio very carefully. Somemore it is almost double the price of the hk prints.
DVDs made in Singapore
Well, this probably is of interest to Singaporeans who does not buy DVDs online. The local market is largely targeted at cheap VCDs which is easily affordable even to students. Moreover, locally DVDs are not sold online except for local movies such as “I not stupid”, that made Singaporean prints of Korean Films unavailable to people from other countries. Quality and feature wise, Singaporean prints of Korean Films are mediocre, and may have only DD 2.0 Korean and may be in fullscreen mode. It will still have English subtitles. Extras will be as barebone as that of HK prints. However, the largest turn off is the censorship applied and the cuts that made the movies incomplete. Price-wise, it is still better to order HK prints online.
DVDs made in China and Thailand
There is a very fine line to draw between bootlegs and prints from these two countries. In fact, it may be very difficult to tell the two, because their prints neither have superior quality than the bootlegs and also are almost as cheap as (or even cheaper than) a bootleg. For those who can’t be bothered with the quality, this may be the cheapest option.
refer to the post with availability of prints from the above country of origin of prints
zoossh
03-25-05, 04:49 AM
How to identify and avoid boots for KFOD
2005.04.02
This is mainly for newbies with a lack of familiarity to genuines and boots.
Concept of understanding and avoiding boots
First of all, I would like to make 2 critical points.
1. to know how to identify boots take you to understand the basis of the mentality of piracy. Boots are made for a regional circulation and they are intended to be sold to people of that particular area with features tweaked to suit the needs of the population.
2. doing homework and knowing the specifications of DVD editions is almost similar to buying any other products. but the pirates get smarter as u gets smarter, in no time they are catching up with the flaws.
I will therefore break this into 3 main areas in comparing boots to the original Korean print
1. comparing specs
2. gauging prices
3. consideration of reliability of resources
The basic is simple, the DVD is sold to the intended group of people. the dialogues will apparently remained dubbed in Korean as the film should be, but the subtitles and the region code will be customized to the population in the region the pirates served. So if u have a title that is R1 from eBay, but has Chinese wordings on the package and subtitles is in Chinese (and after confirming that is not the Hong Kong R3/all region release or Taiseng prints), then crossed your fingers, it is almost invariably a boot.
So essentially it is to look out for flaws in the information the seller provided. Make sure u look for reliable sources or make precautional measures in case of fraudulent deals. And finally be able to identify boots when u finally received it and not be ignorantly and blissfully thinking u've got an original.
Know the specs & cover arts
Region code
Remember the 2 points I’ve made earlier. Pirates reproduce boots that suits your needs. So the Chinatown in the States will produce your R1 versions that do not exist while the pirates in Southeast Asia and China will produce the all-region versions. I'm not too sure about the rampancy of bootlegging in Europe and Japan, so the R2s are out of picture. Releases from Korea are either R3 or R0 (all-region), so is the HK prints. In some special editions for the Korean prints that are thought to have additional international market, they may have a dual-region or tri-region code, i.e. playable for code 1, 3, 4.
For North American forumers, very often you will be sold a R1 Korean print, be cautious about it. Of cos it can be a mistake in information given. The seller may be selling an authentic R1, 3 Korean print but may tell u it is R1 (supposing both seller and buyer are from the States) and that may made u think that since such a DVD does not exist as a US print, it may be a boot, where in fact, it is just a dual-code print. Check out the region code of that Korean print if it does have a dual-region code, from some of the recommended online stores such as yeondvd, mrkwang and dvdasian.
In Southeast Asia however, owning to censorship and a lack of local DVD industry, the range of DVDs in R3 is quite limited. In order to enjoy the R1 Hollywood titles and the other R3 Asian titles, players are geared to be multi-regional. As such, pirates produce all region titles, whether or not the Korean print is R3 or R0. So, the discrepancy may appear if the Korean print is R3 coded but the boot is all-region. But there are 2 serious limitations,
1. Seller is selling an all-region HK print, not a boot
2. When the original itself have a discrepancy, where it is labeled code 3 but is in fact all region, e.g. “2009 Lost Memories”, “Address Unknown” and “Nabi”.
If u ain't sure, seek help in the forum from those who had the DVD and who can check the region code for u from their discs. There is one uncovered resources of Thai original prints as well which hardly anyone I’ve come across had much experience with it. Similar to china, their originals are as cheap as boots but quality likewise is poor. One more minus point is they are almost always PAL coded which is a problem to those in the NTSC regions, e.g. US. Likewise among the very few Singaporean prints, there are also some PAL titles e.g. bungee jumping of their own.
Regarding boots from China. They normally would code in all-region instead of R6. Comparing their boots with original Korean prints will not be difficult at all provided u can differentiate Korean and Chinese words. comparing their boots with their originals does not actually matter much, cos I dun think many of us imports from there and originals have pretty much a similar price and quality as the boots.
Occasionally u might come across some R2 European versions of Japanese and Korean titles, which may be from UK (tartan, Hongkong legends, and eastern cult cinema), Germany, Finland (Future Films and Universal Studio Nordia for the rest of Scandinavia) and France. Original Korean prints are never in R2 coding but the titles u r seeing may be the very few products of the above mentioned studios rather than boots. But I’m sorry I do not know the situation over there to give any further comments.
In short, pirated versions are likely to be converted from the original R3 to either R1 or all-region, although all-region titles are not necessarily boots as many Korean prints are also all-region, aka region free. What is relevant in identifying boots is to check out the discrepancy in the region coding of the original retail item and the item u are offered to buy.
Language and subtitles
As I have said the release is meant for the targeted audience. Original Korean prints will apparently be dubbed in Korean only. Occasionally joint Japan Korean productions might be dubbed in Japanese too or may have mixed Korean and Japanese dialogue. However, a dubbing in mandarin, Cantonese, Thai, Malay or English will mean that this is obviously not the Korean print. However such alternate dubbing is a feature of a non-Korean print which may be original, and the boots can either be a rip of the Korean print with the Korean/Japanese dub or a rip of the non-Korean print.
1. If it is Korean release, it will be in Korean language and may have no subtitles, or Korean, English, and very occasionally Japanese & Chinese subtitles. Package will be in Korean. Menu may be in English or Korean but contents will be in Korean.
2. If it is Hong Kong release, it will be in Korean language, may also have Cantonese or Mandarin dubs, and almost always have both English and Chinese subs. Package will always have Chinese wordings. Menu usually in Chinese too.
3. If it is a US release, it will be in Korean language or sometimes in English, subs will be English and very hardly (or almost never) would there be Chinese subs. Package will be in English, so is the menu.
In short, language and subtitles are generally a reflection of the print distributed for the particular region and what the pirates do is to rip the respective prints. What they can do but not too often is to add on subtitles that is fan-sub or created from automated translating programs (which can be terrible translations). The relevance in identifying boots is to see if the subtitles correlate to the print, e.g. I would be very suspicious if someone is selling to me "The Classic" and claims it is the original Korean print with both English and Chinese subtitles. An additional effort is required to check out online if such a subtitle exists in the Korean print.
DVD capacity
There had been one forumer that had quoted that 95% of the Korean DVD releases are D9s while the supplementary disc might be a D5. The reason being that's the only way you can achieve a credible video transfer with all the extra features packed into it. My own experience is it depends on whether the title is a recent title or an older title before 2000 which is barebone with mediocre quality that just require a D5.
As for most other regions, whether east or west, an emphasis is never made on the capacity. It will only be part of the specifications in small prints but never brought forward in big prints like the country of print and the region code. Most of the time, it is not even stated. The Japanese titles only state as something like single disc double layers but not D9. On the contrary, pirates make it an advertising point either in their claims of major specifications or a sticker the size of a 10cents coin be pasted on the front cover, stating it is a D9. Such a situation almost equates the statement of D9 to the identity of a boot.
The reason why D9 became an unwritten substituting term for bootlegs (or more so for pirated discs) take you to understand the mentality of this illegal manufacturers. They wanted to boast about the quality of their discs and would add all the goodies possible. If it is a D5, it usually cannot hold many extras and the original contents in the original disc may have to selectively remove. If it is a D9, it is more likely to be a complete or close-to-complete rip of the original. However, it is also possible to have a pirated D9 disc that holds the contents from an original D5 disc, and the extra empty space may be used to add a fake DTS track which is not available in the original disc. the illegal manufacturer may either claim a DD (Dolby digital) 5.1 surround / DD 2.0 stereo track as a DTS track or amplify the volume of the DD tracks and claim it as a DTS track. And so, they will usually put up a DVD9 sticker to further credit themselves of a better print that is worth you paying for that. After a while it became a synonym for bootlegs but it essentially does not originally mean that, as described above.
In short, DVD capacity is hardly an important specification in an original Korean print. More relevantly is the widespread phenomenon of pirates using "D9" to advertise their products.
Cover art presented online
How do I know how the original cover art looks? I’m sure most will refer to the picture shown on the online retailer’s website, but DVD covers shown on websites is one big complicated matter pertaining to the high level of inaccuracy. Particularly on European and Hong Kong websites, they may even put up the cover of the Korean print for a Hong Kong print that cost only US$12, or the cover of the VCD copy. If not, it may be the design of the poster; especially when a title is newly released and the DVD cover design are not released.
Simply look up www.dvdasian.com or www.asiandb.com and compare the cover. They tend to have better resolution and more accurate pictures.
Even if the cover is correct, it can be the box design, the slipcase design or the front slot cover design. So it can appear differently on different site, and thus u need to look at the wording of what print (from which country and from which studio) and what edition/version (limited, special or regular edition), and then to compare the specs.
Bootlegs maker used to take some effort to modify the covers to make it "enticing" by boasting about certain features, whether they are available on the original or not. So if you familiarize yourself with the original design, you may be able to spot the difference. Common additions include interesting terms such as "collector's edition", "limited edition", "widescreen edition", "DTS version", "D9" to entice you to buy.
Some ebay sellers do claim they are selling original when they are not, but there are others who simply call them "factory sealed".
In short, look at the front and the back coverart from www.dvdasian.com and compare with the one the seller is offering. This is however useful only if the seller puts up an actual scan of his boot rather than the original coverart he downloaded elsewhere .
Age certification
Just like the Canadian R1s, Korean prints also carry such an icon that is almost always present on the lower left hand corner whereas the symbol of DVD video is on the lower right hand corner. Boots however often do not include this feature but nevertheless includes the DVD video symbol.
Packaging
Bootleggers in some areas are improving with the quality of their cover-art so much so that some are even available with slipcases and who knows when they are going to produce a digipack.
Certain items are close to undistinguishable. Previous impressions of boots never coming with original-looking cover designs, inlays or slipcases are no longer true. More and more DVDs are duplicated in congruence with the original design. Inlays are found in a minority of boots and slipcases start to appear for a few titles, although the material used is usually still a thin cardboard. But so far they are not producing them with any amaray dvd casings or digipacks as yet, but that doesn't mean they are not going to do so in future.
On the other hand, there are ebay members (companies) that have make less effort in order to save cost. They provide you free shipping but only with the printed cover and the disc in a plastic slot or an envelope. The casing is taken off to cut cost for shipping. Originals will never be sold like that, and will always be sealed in a retail format.
In short, look at the actual cover when you receive your DVD. However with the improvement the bootmaker is making over time, it is increasingly difficult to tell the boot from the original. And anyway, by the time you have received and noted that it is a bootleg, it may be quite late to get back your money.
Gauge the pricing
Another thing is know the average price range,
HK prints range from about US$4 to 20,
Korean prints range from about US$18 to 30,
However, if that person is trying to pass off his boot as original and sell it off to you at the original price, this method may not be useful.
Buy only from trustworthy sources
Unless you are absolutely familiar with the titles and know how to deal with fraudulent buyers, simply avoid online auctions such as Yahoo and eBay.
While most titles at these sites are VCDs which is cheap enough not to justify or economize boots, watch out for the DVDs, more than 90% of them are boots sold in an organized manner. If you notice, they have Chinese characters on the cover when it is not supposed to be on any original prints.
There might be some out of print items which can only be found in eBay and yahoo and hardly anywhere else. but please take note even these OOP titles can be rampant in these sites as boots. so take your own risk.
Trust little of the feedback as some people do buy over accounts where feedbacks are good and thus carry on their “business”.
zoossh
03-25-05, 04:50 AM
Options of getting KFOD
2005.04.08
A very very short summary but something worth thinking
1. Buy it online
2. Buy it off the shelves
3. Rent it (info not available in this thread)
4. Buy on forum (take precaution)
4. Trading on forum (take precaution)
5. Buy from auctions (not recommended)
6. Download (not recommended; no further discussion)
Disclaimer: I do have some copies of bootlegs of Korean Movies on DVDs, but they are for academic interest for comparison with original. I will include them upon discussion for identification and avoiding boots, but will not entertain question on such resources. Neither do I support bootlegs sold as bootlegs or passing off as genuines.
zoossh
03-25-05, 04:51 AM
Online purchase of KFOD - overview
2005.04.08
The country of print may vary first, apparently, to the location of studio (based in what country), and secondly, depending on who started the business. This is important in the classification of this online sites depending on different feature -
1. the type of DVDs they will sell
2. the shipping charges
3. service mentality
For example, DVDasian is a Korean company based in the States. As such do note that most DVDs they sell are the Korean prints, but their shipping charges are based on a different standard that would otherwise be applied on vendors from Korea.
Yesasia is a HK company based in the States, and had competitive shipping charges if the order exceeds a minimum criteria for discount. Although it is based in the States, it deals with mainly Asian prints - either Korean, HK, Japanese, Taiwanese or even Chinese prints but do not hold US, UK/European, Australian prints. It has a logistics center in Hong Kong, as well as purchasing and shipping offices in Japan and Korea, and thus is able to offer competitive shipping charges.
While I do not wish to jump into racial or culturally sensitive issues, the cultural background of the vendor does play a very important role. Most Korean vendors from Korea and the States has so far been doing uniformly well in general pre and post sale service. As for the bad ones, I think I will think carefully before commenting.
There are other dealers in the States that deals with mainstream Hollywood movies and may carry Korean movies that are printed from within USA, rather than importing from Asian Sources; they are not included here
HK
1. dddhouse
2. layoyo
European, Thai and Chinese (China) sources not included.
By classification based on origin of print sold,
Various Asian prints
where Korean/HK/Thai prints are all available
1. dvdasian
2. yesasia
3. pokerindustries
4. hkflix
5. aznfilms
6. layoyo
Korean prints only
1. yeondvd
2. mrkwang
3. koreandvds
4. dvdheaven
5. asiandb
HK prints only
1. dddhouse
zoossh
03-25-05, 04:52 AM
Online purchase of KFOD
2005.04.02
Well, as I’ve been occupied with other matters lately, I had not buying that many DVDs. The following experience is based on my old purchases and I’m cutting down the details to the minimum until I catch up with more information.
yeondvd
www.yeondvd.com
Top recommended for newbies. So far the releases from the site is a bit slower than the big companies but this family-run business do selects what they sell and hence not every title is available here but u can always email her and I'm sure she would be glad to help you get the title u want at a reasonable price. Of cos, service is top-notch and personal. What i like about the site is she does tell u explicitly what the DVD set have and what we exactly need to know, e.g. the set she is selling is the regular edition of musa, without the hard cover book in the initial limited edition which is out of print, and that the extras are not subtitled........ whatever u need to know when u r tight over which version to buy. this is very lacking in big companies such as yesasia.
contact yeon@yeondvd.com
service very professional. dun worry if one of your email is being missed, forward it again and she will attend to it promptly.
web design and dvd spec pleasant to view, information relevant and accurate, short and sweet. fast to load.
pricing usual pricing range for korean vendors for export market
shipping charges region dependent. http://www.yeondvd.com/shipping.html
and among all the korean vendors, this shipping rate is among the most competitive
payment options http://www.yeondvd.com/payment.html
dvdasian
http://www.dvdasian.com/cgi-bin/dvd...Z3YT&mv_pc=5243
(verdict: best overall, but price/shipping cost is not competitive enough for countries outside of North America)
origin
California has the largest oversea Korean community so there is no surprise to have a major Korean dvd company serving in english from there. Its selection of Korean DVDs is particularly extensive in comparison with other sites. And other than Korean, Japanese & Chinese titles, they also sell a myriad of other titles from other countries.
pricing/shipping http://www.dvdasian.com/cgi-bin/dvd...ernational.html
This is where I find it an disadvantage of such a good company as compared to the others. The cost of each item is fairly charged but the cost quotations (excluding shipping) for Japanese imports are still more expensive than getting direct from Japanese domestic stores. Delivery to places outside US, Canada and Mexico would cost US$7 per order + $1.95 per item. That is too expensive when I expect the shipping cost to Singapore to be an average of US$1-2 for an order of 3 and more dvds.
ease of surfing/infomation
This is by far the best and most complete catalogue for Korean titles. Each title had a fixed template providing as accurate specifications and dvd covers as they can. Search engine works well. Their effort here is unrivalled.
customer service
I will not hesistate to vouch for this site. Whether friends in Singapore or forumers who are US residents, all who experienced that claims top notch service (that including customization of package and after-sale service) and all that marked up pricing is worthwhile.
mrkwang
http://www.mrkwang.com/StoreFront.bok
both films and OST, sold on ebay with pretty gd records for many years, active participant on various forums too. reliable and fast service. deals mostly korean titles, occasionally some korean prints of hong kong titles.
ultra-expensive, i think this is last alternative. US$20+ dvds sold at US$30+. service standard unknown.
dvdasian
http://www.dvdasian.com/
http://www.dvdasian.com/cgi-bin/dvdasian/scan/va=what=Korea/va=cat=country/va=s=x/sp=A.html?id=umtiZ3YT&mv_pc=5243
(verdict: best overall, but price/shipping cost is not competitive enough for countries outside of North America)
origin
California has the largest oversea Korean community so there is no surprise to have a major Korean dvd company serving in english from there. Its selection of Korean DVDs is particularly extensive in comparison with other sites. And other than Korean, Japanese & Chinese titles, they also sell a myriad of other titles from other countries.
pricing/shipping http://www.dvdasian.com/cgi-bin/dvdasian/international.html
This is where I find it an disadvantage of such a good company as compared to the others. The cost of each item is fairly charged but the cost quotations (excluding shipping) for Japanese imports are still more expensive than getting direct from Japanese domestic stores. Delivery to places outside US, Canada and Mexico would cost US$7 per order + $1.95 per item. That is too expensive when I expect the shipping cost to Singapore to be an average of US$1-2 for an order of 3 and more dvds.
ease of surfing/infomation
This is by far the best and most complete catalogue for Korean titles. Each title had a fixed template providing as accurate specifications and dvd covers as they can. Search engine works well. Their effort here is unrivalled.
customer service
I will not hesistate to vouch for this site. Whether friends in Singapore or forumers who are US residents, all who experienced that claims top notch service (that including customization of package and after-sale service) and all that marked up pricing is worthwhile.
yesasia
us.yesasia.com/assocred.asp?CP9E8RT8+
http://global.yesasia.com/en/Korean/Videos.aspx
(verdict: conditional free shipping is the pivoting factor)
origin
A Hong Kong company based in the States. It is a fairly large catalogue of Korean and Chinese titles, less so for the Japanese titles. Like amazon, it also sell posters, books, gifts and many other merchandise.
pricing/shipping http://global.yesasia.com/help/index.asp?t=3&lang=en&
fair price quotations, but the best part is the free delivery for orders of more than a certain price depending on your region (conditions still hold, please read from their website http://global.yesasia.com/help/index.asp?t=3.1&lang=en&) . Occasionally there are offers of coupons. As for the buy 3 DVDs (Korean Print) can 1 DVD free, do note the free DVD is a HK Print.
ease of surfing/infomation
4 languages to select from, English, Chinese, Korean, Japanese. Website also provide automatic currency conversion. Fairly accurate but incomplete specifications, fairly accurate cover designs. However their search engines is not so user friendly as the film title they used may not be the most common title used.
stock and delivery
As a rough guide, items marked as can be "shipped within 1 or 2 days" means it is in stock, those "within 7 days" means they are out of stock but will be in shortly. Those "within 7 - 14 days" means out of stock.
Free shipping only qualifies for normal airmail and that takes about 5 days flat to reach Singapore in good times but up to a week plus in busy seasons. Their invoices inside the parcel carries the address from Hong Kong, so I wasn't too sure whether the shipping origin is always from HK. But those in Europe need not worry about VAT as yesasia had emailed a forumer promising that VAT would be covered. Speculation remains that the shipping origin is somewhere within EU although the invoice seems to be from HK.
customer service
so far the computer interface has been very systematic, clear cut billing details. no sweat buying from them. Their customer service is not all perfect but most of the request such as damaged jewel cases are often entertained.
pokerindustries
(verdict: large selection but not specifically korean)
origin
I just know it is based in US, selling dvds from everywhere. As it had a huge collection of foreign, its korean selection is almost just as good as dvdasian. Some says it is still a good place to look for hard to find DVDs.
pricing/shipping
shipping charges based on weight and item, only displayed on checkout
can't say very much about the pricing but some cheaper titles could go even cheaper. They also charges more when some titles are coming closer to OOP.
ease of surfing/infomation
Poor layout, inconspicuous search engine. But it does have a feedback button for u to contribute if u find their speculations inaacurate. This is one site that goes down to fine details like subtitles only appear well on 1 tvs, or that states discrepancy of the printed speculations on the cover and the actual speculation. If they can improve on the layout to be like that of dvdasian, it will be an excellent catalogue too.
customer service
they had replied me quite promptly once on email. but according to the rest, their feedback on the customer service shows that the company there are still much room for improvement. Some say that pokerindustries take eons to deliver, but eventually reaches.
hkflix
origin
(hkflix) HKFlix is a USA-based company headquartered in Hawaii. However, we typically ship from distribution centers located in the lower 48 states. We primarily sell DVDs imported from Asia.
customer service
(zoossh, nov 03)
i think i've heard enough from various threads of how bad their customer service is, so many complaints that i would not bother collecting them to post it here....
(joshd2012, dvdtalk, oct 03)
I would just like to comment on HKFlix. I was looking for a copy of Battle Royale NTSC 5.1 Tartan and was having a difficult time find a retailer inside the US. I went to eBay (too much) and then Half.com where I found to people selling them. One was a person with no negative feedback (the one I eventually ordered from) and one was HKFlix. I noticed that HKFlix had two copies up on the site, so I questioned the seller as to whether they actually had a copy of this onhand. When I looked at the feedback, I saw many many cancellations. I got an email today saying that it had "just gone out of print" and refered me to an auction. I will never do business with these bait and switch bastards. Using Half.com as a front to hype an auction is not the way to run a business.
aznfilms
origin
San Jose. guess that most of this distributors are based in bay area, that including asiandiscs, yesasia and probably (i'm not sure about this) the R1 hk distributor Tai Seng at San Bruno next to south San Francisco.
also a gd site to surf on for infomation. heard from other fellow forumers, service not bad. but too expensive, i think.
origin: HK
retail: DVDs and VCDs of HK printed movies, including most of the Korean Films on HK as well as Korean DVD prints.
displayed both in eng/chinese, cheap HK prints
but it is cheaper to buy Korean prints directly from Korea than from HK.
zoossh
03-25-05, 04:56 AM
Shops that sells KFOD in Asia
2005.03.27
Seoul, Korea
not named
Gangnam subway station and Jongno Samga
(2003 Apr; mjcampagna; koreanfilm.org; paraphrased) DVDs may be sold at different prices in different parts of Seoul, even for the new releases, as low as 15,000-20,000 won to as high as 25,000-30,000 Won. There are some shops in Gangnam subway station (green line) with good prices, and two shops on the street near the orange line station for Jongno Samga with reasonable prices but limited domestic selection. the franchises and really commercial stores have raised prices a bit. It's better to buy from independent shops.
Seoul, Korea
Technomart
(2003 Aug; ponce; koreanfilm.org; paraphrased) I remember people mentioning technomart as the best combination of price/selection. Is this still the best bet?
(2003 Aug; darcy; koreanfilm.org) Yes, Technomart would be the best place. I'd advise you just to compare prices at the different stores (and note that it is sometimes cheaper than the price tag, so it's better to ask). There are two stores on the 8th floor on either side of the music shop that seem to be cheaper than all the others.
(2003 Aug; dogwolf; koreanfilm.org) Hello! I would second the recommendation for Technomart. I usually go to Videonara on the 8th floor (to the right of the music shop) as they usually seem to have the best prices. They also get the DVD's as soon as they are released. Just be sure to bring cash as there is a commission on credit card purchases (like just about all of the retailers at Technomart.) If they don't have what you want, there are about three other retailers of which are worth taking a look on the same floor. It's best to ask for the prices at each place because they can vary by quite a bit. It might also be a good idea to write down / type out the Korean title (ie. from Darcy's reviews) in case the English title doesn't translate well.
Seoul, Korea
Yongsan
(2003 Sep; Komtengi; koreanfilm.org) i recommend Yongsan.... location also plays a factor as yongsan and technomart are a fair distance from each other
Seoul, Korea
the express bus terminal
(2003 Aug; Kevin; koreanfilm.org) another place, oddly enough, is a small kiosk at the express bus terminal. I haven't been there in a while, but they're quite cheap and often have discs that never make it down to Daejeon.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong Records
Pacific Place
selection and pricing
(2003-4; kwanbb; koreanfilm.org) Hong Kong Records in Pacific Place has the best selection but prices can range up to HK$269 - about US$30 so only if you are the most dedicated Cinephile they have a lot of original Japanese movies with subtitles - kudos to the buyers on taste... they have "bad guy", "champion", "Nabi"
(2003-4; amyX; koreanfilm.org) HK Records has an impressive collection but it's much too overpriced.
Hong Kong
Broadway Cinematique
Yau Ma Tei
selection & variety
(2003-4; kwanbb; koreanfilm.org) This poster/film junkie shop also has a good selection.
pricing
(2003-4; kwanbb; koreanfilm.org) It is a little cheaper than visual world, although visual world has a bigger selection.
Hong Kong
(unnamed)Music/DVD shop
Central MTR
selection and variety
(2003-4; kwanbb; koreanfilm.org) This Music/DVD shop has pretty much locally printed HK releases of Korean films but never fail to surprise me with their selection of DVDs - I can always find something I want be it a european version of Wong Kar Wai's "In the Mood for Love" loaded with many many extras to some obscure 1960s Japanese movie...
Hong Kong
Visual World
Mongkok
a little shop tucked in a corner on 1/F Sino Centre
location and finding it
(2003-4; amyX; koreanfilm.org) Visual World is a tiny shop located at Shop M39 of the arcade.
shopping environment
(2003-4; amyX; koreanfilm.org) everyone in HK knows about sino centre. It is crowded and smoky, not a very slick kind of place though... half of 2/F (or 3/ F?)is occupied by porno VCD shops run by gangsters, plus pirate copies of J-drama and movies etc (Sino Centre is notorious for that). But you also get a good number of pretty decent record shops (specializing in J/K pop), magazine/posters shops etc in the basement
selection and variety
(2003-4; amyX; koreanfilm.org) This is, along with HK records, another wonderful shop that carries only Korean music and film products. It has the best range of Korean DVDs in HK I think. The shop has almost all the K movie DVDs (except the classics) published. What's available on Yesasia can be found there too.
pricing
(2003-4; amyX; koreanfilm.org) I shop there once a week for the latest release of K film DVDs, which cost just 60-70% of what HK Records charges (a DVD's usually priced at VW at about $160, and regular customers get 5-10% discounts --- "2009" Special Edition costs about $320 there and almost $400 at HKR). I also bought my SFMV DVD there, at around HK$160-170 (can't remember): that's about S$30?
service level
(2003-4; amyX; koreanfilm.org) What's best about the shop is that new stocks arrive really really fast: 2 days after the official release date in Korea. And the guy who runs the shop is a Hong Kong K film fan who's watched almost every single K film available on discs, makes sensible recommendations to customers and takes reservations on new releases. He was even so kind as to lend me DVDs of films I wasn't sure were worth purchasing!!
contact
(2003-4; amyX; koreanfilm.org) it would be safer to phone them up and ascertain its availability of the DVD u want before making the trip over there. You can all Andy (who I assume is the owner of the shop) on (852)28685535, from about 4 or 5 p.m. (that's when the shop opens) till 10 p.m. Mon thru Sun.
Hong Kong
DVD shop opposite Visual World
Mongkok
Sino Centre
selection and variety
(2003-4; amyX; koreanfilm.org) this DVD shop opposite Visual World is very very good too. It carries quite a lot of classics/ European arthouse movies so do take the opportunity to check it out
pricing
(2003-4; amyX; koreanfilm.org) albeit a bit pricey --- about $230 up per DVD. In HK$, unless otherwise specified by amyX.
Conversion rate is roughly HK$100 to US$13 to S$22.
Hong Kong
(unnamed)shop
Kimberly Road
(2003-4; amyX; koreanfilm.org) There are also a few grocery shops on Kimberly Road that carry Korean videos (w/out subtitles) of some old/ rare TV and films. I heard that from a friend and am yet to check out how good their collections are.
Taipei, Taiwan
Jpop cafe
chung-hsiao east road
(2003-4; zoossh) i only saw this from their website http://www.hotkorea.com.tw/ that they are selling a few taiwan produced korean tv drama dvds and vcds, e.g. romance, endless love, hotelier. they claim to sell it to international customers too but didn't have more complete infomation. currently waiting for their email reply.
Singapore
(2003-4; zoossh) most korean titles are in vcd format, although a few are released as dvd versions, locally printed rather than imported. prices are about S$25-35 (selling at HMV). There is no specific shops (to my knowledge) with a wide korean DVD selection, but just for the sake of naming, HMV, poh kim, TS, blu max & laser flair. And Far east plaza does have a K-pop shop owned by a Korean who would help u import Korean DVD titles at a flat rate of S$50, but provided it is a title that is passed clean without cuts by FCD.
zoossh
03-25-05, 04:57 AM
Shops that sells/rents KFOD in US/Europe/Australia
2005.03.27
Disclaimer: Invariably the following data comes from contributions from other forumers in a thread dated back in 2003. It is highly likely that some of these places mentioned will have a lot of changes, just like a lonely planet travel guidebook that has the last edition last published 2-3 years ago, and there is no way of checking out except if someone living near these places can give some up to date comments. Anyway, since this sort of data doesn't come by easily, i will leave the comments as they are, with their estimated date of posting together with it.
New York
A few shops
Bowery St.
(DVDude!, Oct 03) Compiled from Jeremy's (jrutz) thread on the planned NYC DVDTalk meeting:
Lai Ying Music (89 Bowery St.): great selection of DVDs, VCDs and music, at the best prices in Chinatown. Rock City Music Corp (85 Bowery St.): not as good of a selection, not as good of prices, but because a lot of shoppers skip you can usually find a hard-to-find or OOP title here. NY Music & Gifts (151 Canal St. on the corner of Bowery and Canal): big selection, slightly higher prices, but a good stop.
(jrutz, nov 03) You are guaranteed to get only legit releases at Lai Ying Music on Bowery. I've seen a few releases of titles I wasn't familiar with down the street at NY Music & Gifts, but aside from anime they are also legit-only. Rock City Music Corp doesn't have the selection of the other two and doesn't get as much traffic, but I haven't run into any boots there.
(Ratrunick, nov 03) I've checked out the stores on Bowery and found some great stuff there.
(eychan, aug 03) I would recommend Lai Ying MUSIC at 89 bowery st, usually they have a good price on most of the HK dvds.. they are probably the only place I would trust around chinatown.. but then again, I only buy the new HK release dvds and some korean movies release by HK distributors
New York
Unnamed shop
32nd street between Broadway and 5th avenue
(jrutz, Oct 03) BTW, you won't find any of the good Korean releases in Chinatown - you'll only find the HK-releases of Korean films. For Korean releases, go up to 32nd street between Broadway and 5th avenue. But you should also be aware they don't have the depth of selection you would find in Chinatown - they are usually restricted to the latest releases or most popular. And they are expensive, between $30 - $35 each. But if you absolutely gotta have it now, as I've done before, you can try there.
New York
Video free brookyn FOR RENTAL
Carroll Gardens on Smith Street
selection & variety
(Adam Hartzell, May 03) Failan and Friend and may have more
New York
Kim's Video FOR RENTAL
6 St. Mark's Place in Manhattan
selection & variety
(karam, May 03) They have a Korean DVD section (really just a shelf or two) on the 3rd floor.
New York
Koryo Book Store
32nd Street between 5th Avenue and Broadway
(nkw88, May 03)
New York
another Korean DVD/CD shop
5th Avenue and 32nd Street.
(nkw88, May 03)
New York
TMC Asian Music
151 Canal Street
Northeast corner of Canal and Bowery
selection & variety, with pricing
(paraphrased from paulmorphine) the best for Korean VCDs, with a varying assortment of Korean VCDS @ 6 for $18.95. At one time, they had more than 15 titles, including No. 3 & Calla. DVDs are priced from $7.95 (such as Memento Mori, Bloody Beach) to 12.95. most are 9.95, including My Sassy Girl and My Wife is a Gangster. They probably had about 20 different DVD titles.
New York
D&V Import
60B Mott St.
selection & variety, with pricing
(paulmorphine) about 20 different DVDs ranging from $9.95 to 13.95 (including My Wife is a Gangster, My Sassy Girl, Bichunmoo, A.F.R.I.K.A. and one w/ Choi Jin Shil I didn't recognize). They also carried at least a dozen different Korean VCDs ranging from $3.95 to 8.95, and I took advantage of a clearance special of 6 VCDs for $19! I just picked out all the non-horror films I found, but as luck would have it, several happened to be ones given favorable reviews on this wonderful site (Happy End, No. 3, The Harmonium in my Memory, The Quiet Family). However, now it (Mar 03) didn't have any Korean VCDs last time I checked.
p.s. unstated currency is in US$ unless otherwise specified
Santa Clara
HanaDVD FOR RENTAL
2725 El Camino Real Suite 105, Santa Clara, CA 95051
(408) 241-5294
(Q, Oct 03) You might want to check out HanaDVD in San Jose (or is it Santa Clara?). http://www.hicotech.com/shop/main.htm mail to: sales@hicotech.com Tel. (408) 241-4848 Fax. (408) 241-5294. They do the Netflix-style rental as well, with $5.00 surcharge to cover mailing expense. It does get expensive, but if you live in San Jose area, it's a great deal. They are very well stocked. Last time I checked, they even carried PAL Region 0 version of MY WIFE IS A GANGSTER 2, not to mention all drama DVDs, with or without English subtitles.
(Q, nov 03) I strongly recommend Hana DVD: they are NOT like those Korean VHS rental shops... they ONLY have DVDs, including (and I guess this matters only to collectors) non-Korean movies released in Korea, such as JAN DARA, special edition GHOST IN THE SHELL, BATTLE ROYALE, etc. Once Hana DVD opens branches in Oakland and San Francisco, all VHS rental places will become pretty much obsolete (at least for me). Non-English subtitled TV programs are rented out in DVD-R format from Hana DVD (at the same price), so there is little reason other than convenience of location than to go other places.
(exnx, nov 03) i checked out hana dvd and came back the very next day too. i love this place! the owner, jimmy and his wife are awesome. jimmys funny... theyre a lovely couple, and really friendly too. this is my new source of k movies forever! gota support the family business guys, come on rent from them. lotsa movies, prety much all the good titles.
(yyoo, nov 03) I'm another happy Hana DVD customer. They've got an amazing selection. Just about everything that has come out on DVD from Korea in recent years.
(zoossh) p.s. i included this here cos i thought though it is online, it seems to serve on a regional basis.
San Francisco
Reel Video FOR RENTAL
(Q, oct 03) I forgot to tell this to Adam and other Berkeley/San Francisco folks, but Reel Video on Shattuck Ave. now has a good collection of Region All DVDs of Korean movies, both Korean and Hong Kong-made. Last time I checked, they carried Kim Ki-duk's REAL FICTION, GHOST IN LOVE, SAY YES, HARMONIUM IN MY MEMORY, JAKARTA, INTERVIEW, A.F.R.I.K.A, DR. K, FRIEND, KOREAN SHORT FILM COLLECTION VOL. 1, THE UPRISING, SOUL GUARDIANS (Korean release), SUNK INTO HER, etc.
San Francisco
Le Video FOR RENTAL
9th between Irving/Lincoln
(atom, Jun 03) One of the best rental shops in San Francisco, LE VIDEO on 9th between Irving/Lincoln, is slowly acquiring some Korean DVDS. Here's the list of their titles: Bichunmoo, Chunhyang, Ditto, Friend, Guns and Talk, Hera, Purple Devil Goddess, Lies, Memento Mori, Nowhere To Hide, Shiri, White Badge
(atom, Oct 03) LE VIDEO in San Francisco in the Inner Sunset (9th between Irving/Lincoln) is stocking more and more Korean DVDs so that's another place to check out.
Cupertino (between San Jose and San Francisco)
Twinkle Star Music DVD/Video Club FOR RENTAL
10891 N. Wolfe Rd., Cupertino, CA 95014
(Pearl Tea, nov 03) Twinkle Star Music DVD/Video Club in Cupertino has a pretty good selection of Korean DVD's and VCD's. It's really a Chinese movie rental store, but has lots of korean movies. They even have a Korean/Japanese section. This store in located in the Cupertino/Wolfe village. Their address is 10891 N. Wolfe Rd., Cupertino, CA 95014, phone# 408-255-2283.
Los Angeles
Music Plaza
928. S. Western (inside Koreatown Plaza Mall)
selection & variety
(steve1271) Very nice mainstream record store in an upscale mall in K-Town. Great selection of current releases.
(MikeK Jun 03) Music Plaza inside the Koreatown Plaza (Western and San Marino) also carry a lot of new and older VCDs at low prices.
pricing
(steve1271) Prices are on average $18-$25. I think in US$ unless otherwise specified by steve1271
Los Angeles
MTV Music
Chinatown, LA
services
(quynhao) they also rent Korean movies, Tv series drama) on VCD
Los Angeles
"A Video Store Named Desire" FOR RENTAL
11631 Santa Monica Blvd. (couple of blocks west of the 405)
location & finding it
(steve1271) You've really got to be looking for this place, or you'll never find it. It's a tiny little store front next to a 1950s style diner.
selection & variety
(steve1271) The store is the size of a closet, but they're the only place in all of LA that I've found that has a decent selection of Korean DVDs for rent.
pricing
(steve1271) Beware the rental policy...only $1 for new releases, but they're due back the next night, and the late fees are killer!
Los Angeles
name unknown FOR RENTAL
6th and Western, greater LA area
location & finding it
(MikeK, May 03) on the same strip mall as Mr. Coffee, on the second floor
selection & variety
(MikeK, May 03) They had a pretty decent selection, last I recall.
Paris
asian markets around
(paulmorphine) 13eme arrondissement (during spring)
Melbourne, Australia
many
(katsuben, Sep 03) Is AUD$28-32 a reasonable price? If so there are several places along Little Bourke and Russell Sts in the city. Try the Chinatown newsagents as well as the speciality stores. Then there's the cost-effective alternative in the form of VCD & DVD rentals: their are a few places in the Chinatown Cinema mall and out at Box Hill. Sorry, no names or address - this is all from memory since I don't live in Melbourne. Unfortunately, cheap Korean DVDs don't seem to exist. Unless you wait for specials and order them online!
zoossh
03-25-05, 04:58 AM
Forums for trading of Asian films between forumers
2005.04.02
Short tips
1) Ask for trading references, i.e. if he says that he frequents other forums, check his ids and feedback there
2) Start small trades first... do not be greedy... for the initial trade, exchange max 2 titles first. You don’t lose that much if it is indeed a scam.
3) Communicate properly on shipping terms. Always use registered air-mail. Surface mail takes a long time. Registered would spare you guys the argument if item is lost in the mail.
4) Always have the mental preparation there is no full proof protection. despite of the carefulness, once in a while, u can still get cheated in one way or the other. As much as there are risks on online orders, there are also risks on forum trading
Asian DVD Guide
mostly forumers from UK and US, sometimes some others from other parts of europe, mainly trade HK dvds rather than Korean titles.
http://pub5.ezboard.com/fhongkongdvdsfrm4
Darcy’s Koreanfilm.org
Darcy is the husband of Yeon from the Korean retailer www.yeondvd.com; its forumers are all veterans in Korean Cinema with lots of info. This is where u can relate certain perspectives from koreans about korean films. However, do take note that there are scammers selling boots here but do not take part much in the discussion in other oarts of the forums.
http://www.koreanfilm.org/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=105
Kung Fu Cult Cinema
another site similar to asian dvd guide. as the name may suggest it to be another site for bruce lee, jackie chan and jet lee, it is actually more than that. Population who frequent asian dvd guide also goes to kfc as well.
http://www.kfccinema.com/xtemplex/index.php?showforum=19
zoossh
03-25-05, 04:59 AM
Postal & Remittance facilities in your country
2005.03.27
sending out from US
United States postal services
http://ircalc.usps.gov/default.htm
for up to 1 pound parcel, it costs
. Global priority $13.00 (4-6 days)
. Airmail letter post $10.75 (4-7 days)
. Economy letter post $5.75 (4-6 weeks)
Registered mail available on both letter posts for additional $7.50, not available with Global Priority.
delivery within singapore
Foam padded envelopes are available at all post office, and cost about $0.65-$1. Otherwise boxes are available too. Local postage charges for 1 normal dvd within singapore itself is about $1 unregistered or about $3 registered (registered mail cost an extra $2). Subsequent increments are much gradual, I've sent about $3.50 for 2 dvds sent registered.
sending out from singapore
airmail to
korea takes about 5-8 days
US takes about 9-12 days
UK takes about 7-9 days
if registered, add 2 more days to the duration and an extra bill of S$2. please call 1605 (within singapore) for enquiries from the post-office
payment within singapore
If you are too busy to meet up your buyers or sellers, electronic fund transfer is available as long as you have a POSB or DBS account, either via your nearest ATM or via internet banking, https://internet-banking.dbs.com.sg/.
paying from Sg with paypal
www.paypal.com
with much input from blu and my own,
check out with paypal for more details, it is a whole complicated things for me though. what's gd about paypal is that you can transfer at your convenience and is instanteous, therefore reducing distrust or misunderstanding when buying from international sellers.
you can apply for an account using your email. If u have an US bank account, i.e. that branch is physically in the states and not just some US banks in Singapore, things will be less complicated. But if u are paying your paypal payments via credit card directly (i.e. credit card company pay paypal which then pay the other guy), please take note that
1. the other party cannot received your payment if he/she used a basic account
2. the other party can receive your payment but must pay 3% + US$0.30 if he/she used a premium account
paying from Sg with international bank draft or money order
with much input from blu and my own,
either S$8 or a certain percentage of the transaction amount, per transaction. it will be expensive unless u r making a huge payment. Bank orders and all, you'll still have to post the order to the other party... you still incur postage charges on top of the service charge. and there is always a possibility it can be lost, unless u got yourself registered mail for an extra charge...
zoossh
03-25-05, 04:59 AM
Custom practises in your country
2005.03.24
U may like to contribute information about the custom practices in your country, about what to look out for, what is allowed, what is not allowed, what to do if your DVDs are intercepted or what consequences u may have to face, etc.
As these practises may be subjectable to change, kindly take the below as mere reference and proceed with further clarification. The date of posting is shown to give an idea of how old the data may be (and thus how likely it is valid).
Singapore
My parcel had not reached me, could it be with the customs?
Local customs will never hold up something without informing you. If it is sent to the FDP, they are very efficient and a letter will be sent out to you within a working day asking you to go down to Maxwell Road to open up a parcel in their presence. Then they will take their own sweet time to review the discs and this might take 1-2 weeks. In otherwise, there is actually no such things for customs hold up for SG unlike in the states where they review it for taxes and do not inform you only to slap you with a hefty tax when the mail-man comes to your door 2-3 weeks later. Our only hold-up is with the FPD but we're always informed. Anyway, if the wrong address is written, the item will be sent back to sender.
Japan
When do i need to pay for customs charges?
(kumar j, nov 03, dvdtalk, shibuya) I got gifts or purchases up to $200 no tax. But I heard laptop or computer stuff do get taxed about 5%. But not the parts of a computer. DVD's they never taxed me even though I once got 12 DVD's in 1 order.
United Kingdoms
When do i need to pay for customs charges?
(paraphrased from degeneration, asian dvd guide forum, Nov 03) One is allowed £18 worth before customs charge you, so if you keep your order below that you will be fine. It doesn't matter how it is marked as gift or anything, as long as it is less than the customs limit, it will go VAT free. Some stores will allow upon your request to understate the value as being less than £18 so that it should go through without being stopped. Alternatively, there is us.yesasia.com/assocred.asp?CP9E8RT8+. Regardless how much you order from them, your package will be VAT and customs free guaranteed. They have some sort of special arrangement with their delivery company! So you can order £10000 worth of stuff and not pay a penny in customs charges. They also do free shipping for orders over US$49.
(whitecot, dvdtalk, Surrey, UK, nov 03) Charges if "caught" are 17.5% VAT (Customs view on the value plus postage) + 5% import duty + GBP 2-3 handling fee - ouch! Full details are available at www.hmce.gov.uk
Max tax free purchase: GBP18 (excl postage) (approx US$30)
Max gift: GBP 36 (excl postage)
(Squirrel God, dvdtalk, UK, nov 03) Worth mentioning that the above (written by whitecot) only applies to purchases imported from non-EU member states
(Butch Coolidge, dvdtalk, UK, nov 03) Had to pay the VAT once on a $36 DVD received from Amazon.com. If I remember correctly I had to pay £6 (~ $8) to the Royal Mail. Half of it was "handling fees"
Germany
When do i need to pay for customs charges?
(elrond, dvdtalk, Germany, nov 03, paraphrased) merchandise from countries that are members of the european union are free of charge. every once in a while they check parcels for contraband. parcels from outside the european union are checked more thoroughly. I mention this because importing certain movies(porn, banned movies) into germany is prohibited.
(samuelowens, dvdtalk, Canberra, nov 03, paraphrased) custom charges if goods exceeds the value of $A500 ($US360). unless imported by a courier company like UPS, then it's $A250. Charge is usually 10% GST plus service charges.
(llmakj, asiandvdguide, nov 03) I generally keep my orders under A$300 (which I'm pretty sure is the limit) and haven't had to pay anything to those customs parasites. The government doesn't discriminate where the package comes from (unless they come via a boatload of Turkish Kurds) so they don't open everything, only about 5% of the stuff I order gets inspected.
Canada
When do i need to pay for customs charges?
(eXcentris, nov 03, dvdtalk, Montreal) So it's better if you can get the etailer to mark the package as a gift although this doesn't always work. Charges if you get "caught": 6% duty + $5 handling charge + GST + PST. Boxes tend to get intercepted more than envelopes so it is wise NOT to order more than 2 titles at the time. Some retailers are more "customs friendly" than others. Seems that the smaller they are the better. In my experience: Friendly: Bensonsworld, dvdzone2, dddhouse, yesasia, yeondvd, Not friendly: all amazon sites, cd-wow
Max merchandise: $20 CDN
Max gift: $60 CDN
(extracted from furious's post, asian dvd guide forum, Nov 03) Any order of 20 dollars Canadian or more is subject to PST&GST plus a handling charge of something like 5 dollars. For items marked as gifts on the customs decleration form, you'll be charge free until you hit 50 dollars. The way I get around this is to ask DDDHouse to mark the parcel with a value of say 10 USD. Most orders can sneak through that way, but Canada Customs has the right to open any parcel and declare at any value they wish, regardless of any prices declared on the package or invoices. As such, any large packages (say 10 dvds) marked at a value of 10 USD will likely draw attention. I have better luck with importing via EMS with Purolator handling local delivery. I've had packages ranging from $300-500 at 5-10 pounds passed through customs with a value of 10 bucks. Purolator is in bed with Canada Post so most of their packages do not go through normal brokerage processes. Customs friendly retailers you'll want to shop with are: DDDHouse, DVDasian, and Amotokyo. Yesasia parcels seem to be reshipped from within Canada most of the time, so they are probably a safe bet for the odd Korean/Japanese import. Use any courier other than Purolator and you are guaranteed to pay a combination of brokerage and customs fees. These charges are mutually exclusive, and even customs free packages are subject to brokerage fees.
(extracted from shawbros's post, asian dvd guide forum, Nov 03) Actually according to their rules it's supposed to be $65 Canadian (maybe you meant $50USD) but in practice they'll still charge you when it hits around $20 even if it's declared as "GIFT"! I even got charged almost $10 for a single dvd shipment (declared 8.99GBP) from cd-wow!!! The most ridiculous is I've been charged when trading videos (3) with guys in the US. They were 3 unlabelled Maxell blanks and declared properly as "GIFT" total value of $5USD--customs decided it was worth $60USD and charged me!!! That really pissed me off but I filed for a refund using the form on the back side of the invoice and got my money back (less the postage). Of course it took approx 6months before I got the refund!!! One time they didn't even rewind the tapes after watching them and lost the labels too! (probably checking for kiddy porn but found kung fu instead ) I was notified in writing that they were inspecting the videos and it took almost 2 months until I finally got the videos!!! considering using a US mail box
(cultshock, nov 03, dvdtalk, Niagara Falls & Yokohama) Hell, I've gotten "dinged" even with only a 2 title shipment. For Canadians living close to the border, if you order alot, you might consider looking into renting a mail box in the US (the customs limit over there is a much more reasonable $200). I rent one, and when the shipment arrives, I open up the box, unwrap the DVDs (or whatever I bought) and throw them in the back seat of my car. I bring them over the border myself and never have a problem with customs. This also comes in handy for buying things from ebay sellers that ship to the US only and getting all those free magazine subscriptions I find on the Hot Deals forum (most of them ship to the US only)
US
When do i need to pay for customs charges?
(yellow hammer, may 03) We here in the US don't have to worry about that since the theoretically customs fee doesn't kick in until the order is greater than $400 US. As such, we don't worry about the word 'gift'.
(andras, may 03) You can get taxed with three items too if marked as "Merchandise" (I wanted to get 5 from Shelf). No trouble with DDD as they send it as "gift",not even a receipt inside. Guess I should stick to them.
zoossh
03-25-05, 05:00 AM
Online purchase for Korean Drama on VCDs
2005.03.27
coolwin video
http://www.coolwin-video.com/
(2003-4; jenny aka for3vergirl5180) Korean production doesn't come lower than 60-70 bucks, so I believe that's not what you want and the lowest price available with the DVD is from www.coolwin-video.com . Total with shipping it will cost you about $46-$47, so if you'd like to check it out, you can go to the website.
(2003 Jun; tmnt99au)I bought something from coolwin and a few people in my forum has bought things there as well. I have no complaints and have not hear any. So based on this, I would think it is "safe".
"Quality" is another issue. Coolwin does not manufacture their own VCD/DVD, so quality is not something they can control. But I believe if your disc have problem, they will exchange it for you. If you are worried, before you place order, you can email them and ask these questions first.
wanita
(site in english) http://shopping.wanita.net/
(site in chinese) http://shopping.wanita.net/eshop/default.asp?lang=ch
walawala
http://www.walawala.net/
(2003-4; catherine) this is the website that sell Korean dramas at lowest price. You guys should check it out. I already ordered it. It is very reliable. I had compared prices with other websites like yesasia.com or others, but this website still get the lowest price. You just email the owner and she will reply to you very quick. Her name is susan. In the past, I had bought "I'm still loving you" from her at @27.00 which already including shipping and handing fees, which is very cheap compare to others websites. I just ordered, "the successful story of a bright girl" @30.00 which already including shipping and handling fee. You guys should check it out. Good luck
(2003-4; ching) Comparing the Sucess title from coolwin or wanita vs the new site is like comparing apples and oranges... For little more, you could have obtained English subtitles and on dvd format for this very title. The availability of English subtitles is priceless for many here..
p.s. online stores listed in the dvd section, e.g. dvdshelf and dddhouse also sells vcd, but I guess rather coolwin and wanita are recommended by those who buys korean drama vcds
zoossh
03-25-05, 05:01 AM
Links for viewing Korean movie/pop posters
2005.03.27
In Hangul (Korean)
you may also refer to the directory at the end of the thread but it is outdated while subjectable to my updating.
1. Korea: Movie Portal, movist
categorised by latest screening, older movies need some search
http://www.movist.com/movies/coming.asp
http://www.movist.com/movies/now.asp
2. Korea: Movie Portal, nkino
categorised by alphabetical order of Hangul title
http://www.nkino.com/Search/Directory/Movie_Country.asp?c=79
3. Korea: Movie Portal, cineseoul
listed by individual movies, refer to directory of links in following threads
In Chinese
1. HK: Korean Film Database, krmdb
categorised by year in the top left hand corner, click on individual link for different years of production, followed by individual movie with thumbnails
http://www.krmdb.com/index.b5.shtml
2. China: International poster & DVD arts, impdb
updated by chronology of uploading, click on thumbnails accordingly
http://www.impdb.com/zh-cn/newposters.aspx
In German
1. Germany: Film Festival Promotion, Highnoon
Far-East-Filmfestival des asiatischen Kinos, 2001 April, only a few posters, click directly on thumbnails
http://aka.informatik.uni-freiburg.de/highnoon/festivals.shtml?details=2
Links for buying Korean movie/pop posters
2005.03.27
1. US: Asian DVDs retailer, AsianDB
http://www.asiandb.com/store/photo.pfm
2. HK-US: Asian DVDs retailer, YesAsia
http://global.yesasia.com/en/brPrdDept.aspx?did=188§ion=posters&code=k&
3. HK: Asian DVDs retailer, Twinkle
http://www.twinkle.com.hk/[/color]
(blu) price of yesasia is fair but the postage + handling is a put off.
zoossh
03-25-05, 05:03 AM
links and sites for your exploration
sites in English
2005.03.24
1. the-isle
Kalle Bjorklid, our fellow forumer from Finland had kindly organised the whole list of korean films, their respective dvd versions and related links. absolutely wonderful
http://www.the-isle.org/
last updated 2004.06.24 - I'm still having hopes one day this would be revived & updated...
2. dvdtalk
here, the real international forum for your international titles
http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=12
3. dvdasian
a gd catalogue for u if u want a quick look at synopsis, stills and coverart. it holds fairly accurate DVD specifications and often with gd reviews too. other vendors will be introduced later
www.dvdasian.com
4. koreanfilm.org forum
a fantastic site held by Darcy Paquet; for discussion of Korean Films
http://www.koreanfilm.org/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=100&page=
5. Korea Infogate
a portal with some reviews and many other stuff
http://www.koreainfogate.com/shop/movie/News.asp?Insert_Code=R
sites in Korean
2005.03.24
1. Cineseoul
(this site has very comprehensive listing of the cast in the films)
http://www.cineseoul.com/movies/
2. nkino
(i had some error trying to view some of the text but in general, they provide good high resolution posters)
http://www.nkino.com/
3. movist
(works properly on internet explorer but have errors on opera)
http://www.nkino.com/
4. FILM 2.0
http://www.film2.co.kr/
sites in Japanese
2005.03.24
1. Korean Movies by Terukuni-Sanjin
(list of synopsis and other film details from 1955 till now)
http://www.hf.rim.or.jp/~t-sanjin/korea.html
2. Yodobashi
(get the list of latest Japanese DVD prints of Korean Films)
http://www.yodobashi.com/enjoy/more/productslist/cat_1107_14051336/25265581.html
sites in other European languages
2005.03.24
1. Lincnline (Germany)
some Korean Films inside
http://www.linc.de/review/Film/filme-uebersicht.html
sites in Chinese
2005.03.24
1. koreanwind
super-big and organised forum in chinese
http://www.koreanwind.net/
zoossh
03-25-05, 05:18 AM
Understanding some nomenclature
2005.03.24
Areas of terminology
What is the DVD settings/standards I need to know if the DVDs can properly in my player?
terms: region code, PAL/NTSC
What is meant by the different versions of DVDs?
terms: titles, releases/prints/version/edition, types of editions
What is the various terms of the viewable area of the movie?
terms: aspect ratio, widescreen, panaroma, cinémascope, full screen/standard ratio
What is the various feature a DVD may carry?
terms: extras, OST
Disc compatility to player
This is the first and foremost question you should ask and check out before you buy a dvd, unless your player can play all regions and both PAL/NTSC.
region code
this is a measure instituted in the dvd industry to facilitate flow of their product in conjunction to the film release in various parts of the world. in short, it is a lock and key situation whereby your dvd player or dvd-rom may be locked to a certain region and only dvd that is allocated to that region can play in it. For example, Region 3 dvd disc plays in a region 3 coded player.
PAL/NTSC
signal outputs that runs from the DVD to the player to the TV. Put it simply, try to get NTSC dvds and watch out for PAL dvds. Check if your dvd player is PAL compatible which is more expensive too.
Different DVD editions of the same movie
for you to differentiate between different choices
titles
titles/name of the films. note that one movie usually had at least two names, one is the romanization of its Hangul (Korean) name, such as "Bichunmoo", another one would be an English translation with various alternatives for some movies.
releases/versions: prints/editions
a single movie may be produced from different sources and released in different releases/versions, and this different versions may be called by different manners, but all the above terms are actually interchangeably.
for simplicity, i refer to a print by the origin of manufacturing and distribution of a dvd version, usually by a single studio for each country that is for example, a Korean print. sometimes, there may be 2 studio in the same country that may produced a print each, but this is exceedingly rare.
edition however mostly refer to its contents largely in terms of the no. of discs and the packaging.
standard edition, regular edition, RE
barebone versions which is often packed in 1 disc only, with no or limited extras such as trailers and music videos. For korean prints, most of the older titles are produced as REs whereas most of the newest titles are produced as special editions (see below). Most of the HK/chinese/thai prints are also produced as REs.
for simplicity, all the 1-disc versions would be termed as RE.
special edition, SE
dvd releases with more extras such as the making of film, interviews, commentary, outtakes, CGI scenes and many others. Due to the better transfer and more extras, it is often loaded into 2 discs as 1 disc is unable to hold that much infomation. However, SEs that came with 1 disc also exist, although I feel that these releases are not qualified as SE. However it must be noted that it is just a way of naming and there is no hard and fast rule that clearly delineates it. An extra-loaded RE can be better than a single-disc SE that is being called that way. More and more korean titles are released directly as SEs without any RE counterpart.
for simplicity, all the multi-disc versions would be termed as SE.
The first disc usually contain the main film feature with or without some extras. The second disc may contain more extras or may be an original soundtrack audio-CD. Commentaries may be on either discs. In multi-disc versions with more than 2 discs, sometimes both the Director's cut and the Theatrical cut may be included on different discs.
limited edition, LE
dvd releases that are released in limited numbers. This often comes with multiple discs, such as the 4 disc edition that came with the classic. and also there are quite a number of freebies and accompanying items such as booklets, accessories, OST CDs, etc. As such, it is almost equivalent to box set or gift set.
do note that Japanese often have limited period releases which is not the same as LEs in a way that although they are limited in numbers and are sold only during a certain period, they may not have multiple discs, more extras, special packaging and may even be an identical print to the previous releases, i.e. a re-issue.
another term being used is limited initial press, which again means it is the first print released and is released only for a limited period.
box sets
which means u got to pay a lot for the shipping of such heavy items. it either refers to a limited edition packed with a lots of stuff or different films packed together, e.g. lee chang dong's films bosxet. Be prepared to pay an extra US$6 to US$20 depending on the weight of the set.
deluxe edition, ultimate edition, premium edition, collector's edition
just substitutes for special edition. fanciful way of calling it.
overseas version
this is what yesasia calls its hong kong prints of korean titles.
Video format
This is the dimension (width and height) a movie is presented in.
Usually this is called the overall aspect ratio which refers to the width over the height of the entire movie (including the black bars you may see on TV) when it is neither stretched horizontally or vertically.
The different dimensions are sometimes called by different names.
full screen, standard ratio
overall aspect ratio = 1.33:1 (4:3)
widescreen
overall aspect ratio = 1.78:1 (16:9)
Now, when we look at only the viewable part of the movie on the screen, excluding the black bars you may see on TV, that is the original aspect ratio.
panaroma
original aspect ratio = 1.78:1 to 1.85:1
Usually the viewable part of the movie may still have a thin strip of black bar above and below it. The overall aspect ratio will still be a standard 1.78:1.
cinémascope
aspect ratio = 2.35:1
For Korean prints, usually the viewable part of the movie is 2.35:1 in an overall aspect ratio of 1.78:1 with a thick black bar above and below.
DVD features
extras
something we used to call music videos, trailers, teasers, deleted scenes, cast and crew profile, the making, documentaries, short films by the same director and many others. basically it means all extra features apart from the standard movie playback, the interactive menu with chapter selections, the subtitle and audio language select.
OST
original soundtrack. do take note whether it is just OST (which means the soundtrack is included as an extra which u can select via the DVD player menu) or a separate OST CD (which is a CD-audio that plays direct in a CD player). Usually the OST CD is not a full album but a single with only a few tracks. And if the dvd comes as a 3 disc set and with the OST (i.e. OST CD), it means 1 movie disc, 1 extra disc, and 1 OST CD (which is counted as 1 disc).
RSDL
(www.michaeldvd.com.au) Reverse Spiral Dual Layer. A DVD which has two layers for data. The first layer reads from the inside of the disc to the outside of the disc, and the second reads back from the outside to the inside of the disc. Also known as Opposite Track Path (OTP) or DVD-9. This is the commonest formatting for long programming, as a DVD player's laser reads to the end of the first layer and then merely has to refocus on the second layer to continue with the disc. The RSDL point of a disc is usually at around the mid-point of the programming on the disc, and most players will exhibit a slight pause of the order of 1/2 second at this point as the laser refocuses.
flipper
(www.michaeldvd.com.au) A disc with the programming split over two sides of the disc, so that you have to get up and FLIP the disc over part-way through watching it. Extremely annoying, and less and less common now that dual layered discs are commonplace. Note that a disc which has the programming on one side and the extras on the other is not generally considered to be a flipper, nor is a disc with fullscreen and widescreen versions on either side. Also known as DVD-10.
zoossh
03-25-05, 05:18 AM
understanding region coding, NTSC and PAL
2003.01.09
What is region coding?
http://www.dvdtalk.com/images/homermulti.jpg
Movie studios have carved the planet into regions with each region having a specific code. And DVD Region Locking is a system used to control which DVD movies play on which DVD Players.
All DVD players and discs have region codes. A DVD player and disc must be of the same region or the disc will be rendered inoperable. If you want to watch movies from other countries, you need a multiregion DVD player. This will allow you to play any disc from any region.
However, because TV standards differ, you might need a specialized NTSC/SECAM/PAL TV or a DVD player that can output any signal to an NTSC signal. The United States, Canada, Mexico, and Japan use NTSC. Europe and South America use a combination of PAL and SECAM.
Basically, DVDs released in each region will typically only play on players sold in that region. IE a DVD released in the UK *Region 2* would not play on a player sold in the us *Region 1*. You can tell what Region a DVD is coded for by looking at the back of the box for a Globe with a number on it. The number correlates to the region list above. If a DVD is listed as 'Region 0' it means that it isn't coded for any region and should play on ALL regions players.
http://zoossh.coolinc.info/region%20code.jpg
the region code is identified by this symbol on the back of the dvd coverart, a number within a globe. the above is thus region code 3
How many region codes are there and how does it relate to korean dvds?
There are 8 regions. Players and discs are often identified by the region number superimposed on a world globe. If a disc plays in more than one region it will have more than one number on the globe.
Region 0 is meant to mean playable in all places.
1: U.S., Canada, U.S. Territories
2: Japan, Europe, South Africa, and Middle East (including Egypt)
3: Southeast Asia and East Asia (including Hong Kong & South Korea)
4: Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean
The above 4 region coding is the most common. Korean dvds are largely region coded 3 or 0 (all-region) and almost all (if not absolutely all) are NTSC based. Some of the newer titles or limited edition titles can occasionally be coded for multiple region such as R1 & R3, and very rarely R4. R2 titles may also be available from Japan, UK, Spain, Germany and Finland.
Other region coding u may never need to know.
5: Eastern Europe (Former Soviet Union), Indian subcontinent, Africa, North Korea, and Mongolia
6: China
7: Reserved
8: Special international venues (airplanes, cruise ships, etc.)
How does region coding affect my purchase of korean dvds?
One tricky issue is the correct region coding you can check out before buying. I wasn't too sure if there is an authority on this, but so far there have been discrepancies between various trustworthy vendors or online database, e.g. dvdasian can code as R0 but movist code as R3. the best way is ask around from users who got the dvd, especially from a fellow countryman.
For American forumers, i think you would know better than me that if your player is not region-free, you should take extra precaution about ensuring that your titles you are interested in must either be an all region title, i.e. R0, or a multiple region coded title, such as YMCA baseball that is coded R1/3. Of cos, there is also a few titles that is printed in the states, such as chunhyang, nowhere to hide and tell me something. But take note to avoid Tai Seng titles which is R1 but had hardly have the quality that R1 deserves.
For European and Australian forumers, korean dvds hardly comes with R2 or R4 coding. Only once or twice, i saw titles that is R1/3/4 coded, but off hand, i can't remember which title is that. Your only practical choice is R0. Lies is by far the only korean title i knew that is just in R4. As for R2, some titles just as attack of the gas station is available in japan, but consider the price, the shipping or the lack of english subtitles, R2 jap prints of korean titles does not seem to be a solution at all. Fortunately, there are some titles that is produced by UK Hong Kong Legend who had some world titles including bichunmoo and musa. Future films from Finland also had some titles but unfortuntely they are typically subtited with the 4 scandinavian language and is reserved for domestic market.
Why does region coding exist?
Region coding is how Hollywood studios stagger DVD movie releases across the planet. Motion picture studios in the USA wanted to control the release of movies around the world using DVD region codes. Movies are released on DVD at different times around the world, typically America and Canada first, Australia and Japan 6 months later, and Europe 12 months after US release. In some instances, DVD movies are available for purchase in America and Canada before they are released in European cinemas. Due to the high quality of DVD and the movie release system used by Hollywood, 6 regions were establish to prevent people from watching Region 1 movies before they were released on Regions 2-6. These codes also ensure that one country doesn't get a DVD movie before the same movie is out in that country's theatres.
If there is anyone who can shed some light of how korean titles are distributed, please let me know.
What is Regional Coding enhancement(RCE)? Does it affect me?
Thankfully, it is an issue that does not involve korean dvds. Simply looking at it, it is another lock that is trying to counteract on the emergence of all-region players.
But for completeness sake,
It's a digital enhancement added to some Warner Bros and Columbia DVDs to stop region 1 (R1) DVDs from playing on Region-free DVD players. Unfortunately some Multi-Region Players can be effected by RCE discs, but we've had many reports of Multi-Region Players working fine with RCE Discs. If you try to play a RCE DVD in a region-free or multi-region player that doesn't play RCE discs you'll see this map:
Do I need to know about what is PAL and NTSC?
well, if you only buy korean prints, it would not be a problem as both US and korea are both using NTSC. But do take note if you are buying dvds from europe, and occasionally for some jp, hk, sg prints. These PAL dvds may not be able to play on your players.
Understanding PAL and NTSC.
This originates from different alternating power frequency in different countries and therefore different signal output read from the tape and the dvds.
America's television standard was developed under the guidance of the National Television Standards Committee, thus it is called NTSC. When you're playing an NTSC-standard DVD, it will output an NTSC si
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