what the studio charges is up to them. In some cases high distribuion cost forces them to sell at the prices they do. I don't think the whole robin hood scenerio should be put into place here as it doesn't always go like that. Infact, it's been linked that the Hong Kong pirated dvds fund the triads. So yes, if you buy bootlegs, you will be supporting criminals.

Distribution companies have treated fansubs as a double edge sword, but they do not condem them. They help support a new program or gain an audiance. While bootlegs of a show only take away from the potential that a serie can make here. Those bootlegs are often on the streets way before the R1 version is ever anounced.

So your choice...

Do you want to support these men?

I'm pretty new here.

Actually, while I know a lot of things are bootlegs, I figured there was also a lot of legit stuff that could be bought cheaper by buying a different version, similar to buying prescription drugs in Mexico, etc.

They are usually bootleg copies of the european editions. That is why they have all the different soundtracks and subtitles. The quality is often poor but because the copying programs and hardware are geting better some are equal quality to the legal copies and some of the European versions are better than the US releases.

It is not too difficult to understand why someone would rather pay $5 than $30 for a product of equal quality. But, doing this hurts the industry and the artists and, may, ultimately hurt us all. A real problem.

Well, they showed up today and it looks to me like they are bootlegs. I will most likely toss them in the garbage and take it as an expensive lesson. I had guessed (hoped?) that because of the incredible feedback of the seller that these would be legit.

On a side note, it is frightening to even guess at what kind of an operation the bootleggers must have. The packaging (other than what the discs are in) is very professional. I assumed that if they were bootlegs that they would be made with labels that go on DVD-Rs, have fuzzy pics, etc, but they don't. They show a region code of 6, which is China.

Who knows. Anyway, to avoid this from happening in the future, I suppose I will just stick to non Asian discs.

I quite buying them, because the all looked the same.

Um, HK has been a part of China for nearly 8 years now.

Usually stuff like this is professionally made. Not burned DVD-Rs, but actual pressed DVDs that are made in DVD manufacturing plants after hours (usually in countries that have rather lax copyright laws, and the plant owners like to make some extra money on the side, knowing that the chances of them getting into trouble are slim).

Not to start a political discussion, but Hong Kong is generally considered separate from China for identity purposes. For example: USPS postage, int'l long distance rates, etc. differ depending on whether you are mailing/calling Hong Kong versus mainland China. They have different currencies, different passports, different laws, etc. The official procedures and customs process for visiting Hong Kong is pretty much like visiting the UK for an American tourist while China is a whole different ballgame. Even Chinese cannot freely travel between mainland China and Hong Kong. It's almost as difficult as for a Mexican national to come to the States. I believe a Chinese national visiting Hong Kong even stands in the same immigration line as a US visitor to enter the country. For practical purposes, they are totally different countries. A Hong Kong seller identifying themselves as China is at least as inaccurate as a seller from the British Virgin Islands in the Carribbean saying they are shipping from the "United Kingdom" which is technically true. Much like a seller from Guam saying they ship from the USA.

this discussion about "asian" discs would be alot easier if people didnt refer to the continent, but to an actual country. the type of film and its content also varies dramatically from country to country within asia.

japan produces arguably the best quality dvds in the world.
HK are a mixed bag, sometimes just as good as anywhere else, othertimes truly abysmal.
china has an official market, but largely seems to be a source of bootlegs.

saying "asia" is an unfortunate american habit it seems.

i wouldnt use ebay to buy obviously cheap goods, as theyre more than likely to be bootlegs. if in doubt, use sites located in each specific country to buy the discs in official versions if available : theres no reason to find a disc on ebay for $5 when its actually $20 in korea (for example) for 99% of the time... just like anywhere, there no way to achieve that difference / saving in price.

It's not the discussion, it's the promotion that's the problem. People are welcomed to think and buy whatever they choses, but just because you like to run around naked at home doesn't mean that you should do the same at someone else's home. There are plenty of sites devoted to promoting bootlegs, this isn't one of them.

Sure, if someone could come up with an original reason for supporting bootlegs, I would love understand their perspective of it, but all I hear is just the same excuses over and over again.

Is this still America? The last time I checked, this is still the land of opportunity. You want to make more money? To buy more things? To live a better life? Go to school. Change jobs. Heck, get two jobs. But, I guess most of us would rather take the easy way out.

First, we need to revoke your DVD Hero status. Second, don't make another dumb mistake just because you've already made one. Not all Asian DVDs are bootlegs. The point that other posters are trying to make is that this site and other legitimate sites are here to help you make these kind of decisions, that's why there's an "international" forum here.

I bought all nine seasons of The X-Files on ebay. I got them and they were clearly bootlegs. All the episodes were there with only a few menu problems. They must have quite the pirating operation going on over there.

Maybe it's just me, but when I refer to an Asian release, I'm talking about R3s and when I refer to a Japanese release, I'm talking about R2s. Japan may be a part of Asia, but it's distinct.

I am not promoting anything, just asking for opinions, as I am new to
buying DVDs. I was surprised to see what appeared to be good DVDs
at an incredibly low price (e.g. < $5 to $15 for a DVD or set that is

$50 to $80 at Amazon, which I have bought from with good results,
and savings of up to 50%, esp. if you buy used. OTOH, sometimes used
can get you a rental VHS that is junk, but for $10 or so, you take your chances, I guess.

Of course this is a DVD forum, but I though maybe this is a good
time to get cheap VHS, as stores should be changing to DVD.

But I prefer DVD, bacause of the "film school in a box", with profs
or other experts commenting, so you can watch twice:
1) the film
2) film with narration

I just received, but haven't watched the Bergman 6 disc set of
Persona, Shame, Passion of Anna, Hour of the Wolf, Serpent's Egg,
and interviews on the 6th disc.
The box had Mandarin (I think) on outside, but English inside,
MGM logo.
bid at ebay for $20.50 but shipping (from Shanghia) is $20 = $40.50 eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee 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Van, this forum has a policy to not promote bootlegs in any way. As far as I understand it, that includes discussion of good deals you got in bootlegs, the quality of specific bootlegs, and the pricing of bootlegs. I believe the forum rules only allow discussion of bootlegs in terms of general discussions about how to determine something is a bootleg, the general problem of bootleg discs, etc. You can find very cheap bootlegs of any major movie on most street corners not only in Asia but even here in major downtown areas, but we don't discuss such things here

I don't disagree with what you are saying, but what it comes down to is: "one country, two systems"

I picked up the Asian version of the Bergman set because of the price ($30 plus $2.50 shipping at Half). The main drawback is there are NO audio commentaries, and only a few 'extras' on the discs with the films (like a 2 minute conversation with an actress). But if you're just getting it to own the films, it's fine. And it does have the documentaries listed on the 'bonus' disk. I suspect all Asian dvd's would be lacking any commentary tracks as they would have to be subtitled in Chinese for the listening audience. I have a couple of dvd's where they have subtitled commentary tracks and I find them difficult to follow.

Oh, and in case you might be wondering, I have a couple of other Asian disks and none of them are 'dubbed) in Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese), which is the most frequently asked question about them. The big question is do you want the commentary tracks and the 'making of' documentaries on the Bergman. If so, you're going to have to spend the bucks. Personally, I heard the commentaries weren't very interesting.

I tried to delete the post witih all the e's, but failed--sorry.
Also, sorry if I broke some rules by posting prices, I was not aware of
this rule.

How does one tell if a DVD is a bootleg?

The DVDs I got had audio commentary (Bergman set), which is important to me,
while an Ozu (Tokyo Story) I got elsewhere did not.
I will have to see about this for details, as both Tokyo Story
and the Bergman set had both English and Mandarin (Bergman) or Japanese (Tokyo Story) on the box.

I prefer Criterion Collection, or comparable quality, if available.