SlingshotBandit

Hi,

I wanted to purchase the first 3 Once Upon a Time in Chinas (I know there are others, but I'm only interested in the first 3).

Can anyone tell me what the definitive one is for this set? I think I came across an opinion on one of these boards (not in dvdtalk, but somewhere) where someone said the U.S. R1 are edited and the best ones to get were the ones from Hong Kong.

(I usually don't buy Asian imports, but should I make an exception for this if I'd like to get the best one?)

I'd appreciate any 411 on this.

Thanks

SlingshotBandit

By the way, before someone else points this out, I know there was another thread about this in the middle of last year:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...nce+upon+china

It doesn't go in depth, and it just talks about the trilogy box set that was released last year.

I would just like to know which is thee BEST quality in terms of picture, audio, subtitles, and extras.

Thanks.

-William

flashburn

I have the Hong Kong Legends R2 trilogy, they are nice. You can check comparisons at www.dvdcompare.net

KKnight

Hong Kong Legends for R2 apparently is the best choice according to these comparsions:
http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparison...ge.php?fid=723
http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparison...ge.php?fid=853
http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparison...e.php?fid=1557

SlingshotBandit

What if I don't have an all-regions encoded player?

I have a paltry R1......I guess this warrants a split-thread now...

is there a lot of great non-R1 dvds out there that warrant getting an all-regions dvd player?

By the way....thanks flashburn and KKnight for the recommendation for the HKL R2 version.

SlingshotBandit

Oooh, just read that R1 is a fake anamorhpic.

That was a good review to read.

flashburn

Just head over to the international forum. Ton's of us buy 20+ Non R-1 movies every month!

danwiz

By the way, if you only plan on buying a few R-2 DVDs then it's actually cheaper to purchase a low end R-2 DVD player (in addition to your good quality R-1 player) than it is to buy an ALL REGION player. I live in Japan, buy mostly R-1's, but occasionally an R-2 DVD, so I just went out & bought a low end R-2 player. Good for rentals too!!!

Fandango

Remember that the HKL are PAL so your dvd player will have to convert PAL to NTSC as well.

SlingshotBandit

What kind of dvd player will allow you to convert PAL to NTSC and play othe regions as well?

I mean, how much do these players go for?

I don't know too many things that would warrant spending money for an all-region/Pal-NTSC dvd player, aside from the HKL O.U.A.T.I.C. trilogy and maybe...

Iron Monkey. (Is the Hong Kong one better for that, as well?)

Thanks a bunch for your help guys. I sure do appreciate it.

Fandango

Toshiba SD-4900 and Philips 727 will convert PAL and can be made region-free as well.

SlingshotBandit

How much do they run for?

SlingshotBandit

I looked up the two models at Buy.Com, and they list the

Toshiba Sd-4900 as $89.99

(I couldn't find the Philips/Phillips 727).

Does that sound about right?

darmok

drop the Region 1 fake anamorphic edition like a bad habit. it looks even worse than any non-anamorphic version on a 4:3 tv set.

Fandango

Yes, that is about what it costs, I think you can find the Philips at Target.

SlingshotBandit

Hmm, alright...

but how does it become Pal/region-free? Do you "hack" it to make it that way or it comes like that automatically?

Darpy

the trilogy was going pretty cheap from r1 site of cdwow

and someone mentioned an international forum. what is that?

Trigger

it's a subforum of this site. - you can find it below on the Forum Jump list.