Where to Obtain Hong Kong and Malaysian DVDs and VCDs
TWO LITTLE NOTES:
To open a new window (if you are on a PC), right-click on a web address and select "Open in New Window"
(there is no need to right-click on the Currency Converter nor the Universal Language Translators, though).
All shipping charges are calculated specifically with American buyers in mind.
CD Japanhttp://www.cdjapan.co.jp/
(based in Tokyo, Japan) [Japanese DVDs: expensive; hey, it's Japan]
postage is 1200 yen (approx $9.89) for first item, plus 320 yen (approx $2.64) for each additional item
DC-DVDhttp://www.dc-dvd.net/
(based in the UK)
"DVD titles include free delivery by Royal Mail" and 5% surcharge for credit cards
DVD Asian.comhttp://www.dvdasian.com/
(based in La Mirada, California)
1st Class: $1.50 per order + $0.45 per item; Priority Mail: $2.50 per order + $0.95 per item
has the all-region Taiwanese Legend of the Sacred Stone 2-disc set, and Yellow Hair 2, and The Ring Virus
HiViZonehttp://www.hivizone.com/ [click on "DVD"]
(based in Hong Kong)
Speedpost: 1-3 items $15, 4-6 items $21, 7-12 items $27;
Registered Air Mail: 1 item $5, 2 items $8, 3 items $10.50, 4 items $13, 5 items $16, 6 items $18.50, 7 items $21.50, 8 items $24.50, 9 items $27.50, 10 items $30,
11 items $33, 12 items $36; the items are very low priced!
Martial Arts Theaterhttp://www.martialartstheater.com/mainFrame.htm
(based in San Francisco, CA)
[this is Tai Seng's American-issued line of old school kung fu classics originally released by Ocean Shores]
"First item $6.00, each additional item add $0.50." "Allow two to three weeks for delivery"
Sazuma Tradinghttp://www.sazuma.com/a
[you must set up a userID & login in order to place an order]
(based in Hawthorne, CA)
USPS Priority Mail 1-4 items $4.20, 5-6 items $5.10, 7-8 items $6.20
DVDs and VCDs
Adrena Filmhttp://www.adrenafilm.de/
(based in Germany)
Surface mail: 15DM (US$7) for 1-15 VCDs. Airmail: US$19 for 1-15 VCDs. Insured Airmail
is recommended for 16+ VCDs. US$1 for each additional kg. Has ACROSS THE RIVER, THE RING,
and TIGER CAGE II subtitled in English.
AsianDiscs.comhttp://www.asiandiscs.com/
(based in San Jose, California)
"Shipping and Handling is a flat rate of $3.99 for any size order. We use priority shipping"; prices are somewhat high
Blue Laserhttp://www.bluelaser.com
(based in Enfield, Connecticut)
"$4.00 for the first title shipped UPS ground and $1 for each subsequent title of the same order"; prices are high
Charmes DVDhttp://www.charmes.de/
(based in Germany)
1 item 20,00 DM (approx $9), 2-4 items 28,00 DM (approx $13), 5+ items 34,00 DM (approx $15); sent via German Premium post
DDD Househttp://www.dddhouse.com/
(based in Hong Kong) [item prices are extremely low; pretty darned good!]
postage: 1 for $30HK ($3.85US), 2 for $50HK ($6.41US), 3 for $70HK ($8.98US),
4 for $90HK ($11.54US), 5 for $105HK ($13.46US), 6 for $120HK ($15.39US),
7 for $135HK ($17.31US), 8 for $150HK ($19.23US), 9 for $160HK ($20.52US),
10 for $170HK ($21.80US), 11 for $180HK ($23.08US), 12 for $190HK ($24.36US),
13 for $200HK ($25.65US), 14 for $210HK ($26.93US).
DVD Shelf [see Layoyo]
HK Flix.comhttp://www.hkflix.com/
(based in Honolulu, HI)
shipping is "$3.95 regardless of the size of your order"
Layoyo [formerly DVD Shelf]
http://www.layoyo.com.hk/
(based in Hong Kong)
postage feels: 1-5 items $18.59, 6-10 items $28.85, 11-20 items $36.54; the items are very low priced!
Poker Industries d
http://www.pokerindustries.com/
(based in Old Bridge, NJ)
$3.95 shipping charge per order and FREE SHIPPING on all orders of $50.00 or more, but prices are somewhat high
Tai Senghttp://www.taiseng.com/
(based in San Francisco, CA)
"First item $6.00, each additional item add $0.50"
World Videohttp://www.worldvideo.com/
(based in South San Francisco, CA; phone: 650-837-9888)
$4.00 for one item, and $1.50 for each additional item.
YesAsia.comhttp://us.yesasia.com/
(based in San Francisco, CA)
lowest price shipping is for USPS: 1-2 items $2.99, 3-5 items $4.99, 6-10 items $5.99, 11+ items $7.99; items prices are high
VCDs and SVCDs
VCD Galleryhttp://www.vcdgallery.com/
(based in Malaysia) [all the SVCDs are in PAL format]
Shipping and handling is a flat rate of $7.99 for the first 8 VCD titles, and an additional $7.99 for each multiple of 8 titles.
VCDs only
All VCDhttp://www.allvcd.com/
(based in Malaysia?)
Shipping is $6 combined with an additional $1 for each VCD
CoolVCD.comhttp://www.coolvcd.com/
(based in Malaysia)
shipping: fixed flat-rate of $7.00 for every 10 VCDs
Sensasianhttp://www.sensasian.com/
(based in Malaysia)
Airmail (TNT International Mail): a flat charge of $1, plus $2 per item (1 item is $3, 2 items is $5, 3 items is $7, 4 items is $9, etc.)
ZoomMoviehttp://www.zoommovie.com/
(based in Penang Island, Malaysia)
"flat international shipping rate at US$6.99"
Apparently Defunct Sites
DVDs only
Asian Expresshttp://www.asianxpress.net/
(based in Woburn, Massachusetts) [rather expensive]
flat rate of $5.00 for shipping
Buy Rare DVDshttp://www.buyraredvds.com/defunct?
(based in Colorado) [very good prices]
Media Mail 1 item $1.95, each additional item $0.25,
USPS Priority Mail + Delivery Comfirmation (2 to 3 days): 1 item $4.95, each additional item $0.25
H.K. Moviehttp://www.hkmovie.com.hk/DVD/defunct?
(based in Hong Kong)
postage is US$7 for first disc, then US$3 for each additional disc
DVDs and VCDs
Coolashophttp://www.coolashop.comthis site seems to be defunct
(based in Hong Kong)
Air Mail by Weight: 0.17kg (1 pc) $3.33, 0.34kg (2 pcs) $6.03, 0.51kg (3 pcs) $8.59, 0.68kg (4 pcs) $11.80, 0.85kg (5 pcs) $14.49, 1.02kg (6 pcs) $17.05
Registered Air Mail: 0.17kg (1 pc) $5, 0.34kg (2 pcs) $7.69, 0.51kg (3 pcs) $10.26, 0.68kg (4 pcs) $13.46, 0.85kg (5 pcs) $16.16, 1.02kg (6 pcs) $18.72
Courier Service: 0-1.0kg (1-5 pieces) $23.08, 1.0-1.5kg (6-9 pieces), $26.92, 1.5-2.0kg (10-12 pieces), $28.85
852star.comhttp://www.852star.com
(based in Kowloon, Hong Kong)
Airmail (3-6 working days) free; Speedpost (14 working days) 1-11 pieces $18.00, 12+ pieces free
Get VCDshttp://www.getvcds.com/
(based in Malaysia)
$8.95 flat shipping charge per order; has THE RING subtitled, as well as the British documentaries Cinema of Vengeance,
Death By Misadventure: The Mysterious Life Of Bruce Lee, Top Fighter and Top Fighter 2: Deadly Fighting Dolls -- all in English!
3D Expresshttp://www.3d-express.com/this site seems to be defunct
(based in Hong Kong)
Registered Air Mail: 1-3 items $8, plus $2 per additional item; item prices are good
Video CDshttp://www.videocds.com/chinese.htm
(based in Malaysia)
"Shipping Charges are Flat Rate at only US$ 6.99 for anywhere in the world and any quantity"; has THE RING subtitled in English
VCDs only
Absolute Musichttp://absmusic.com/defunct?
(based in Malaysia)
1-5 items with jewel case $7.50; 1 item without jewel case $3.00, 2+ items without jewel case $7.50);
has THE RING subtitled in English
Absolute VCDhttp://www.absvcd.com/
(based in Malaysia)
shipping: fixed flat rate of $7.00 for any quantity (FedEx Express Delivery for 2 or more items)
You will need a sound card and Windows Media Player. The latest
version of Windows Media Player (Version 7) can be downloaded for free
off the World Wide Web from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/
by entering the product name "Windows Media Player" and selecting your operating
system.
Windows Media Player will play most VCDs, but there are a handful that
will only play in a DVD-ROM, and a very small amount that will not even
play in a DVD-ROM but must be played in a DVD player. That said, many DVD
players cannot play VCDs at all. Buying and playing VCDs can be dicey. It
requires trial and error to see what equipment will be able to run them, but
if you have something to play them on, they are a terrific alternative to
the more costly DVD format.
Windows Media Player Version 7 is 340k in size, and in many ways is
less user-friendly than Version 6 (which is only 5k in size!), so I suggest
using Version 6 if at all possible.
Here's how to play a VCD in your PC's CD-ROM drive . . .
you will see a box that says LOOK IN: at the top and
FILES OF TYPE: at the bottom
where it says FILES OF TYPE, change the selection to the D: drive
(or wherever else you have your CD-ROM installed) and double-click
on the D: drive
you will see a folder called MPEGAV
double-click on MPEGAV
where it says FILES OF TYPE: "Media files (all types)" will be
selected.
change the selection to "All files (*.*)"
you will see a file called either Avseq01.dat or Music01.dat
double-click on Avseq01.dat (or Music01.dat)
a box called OPEN will come up
click on OKAY
the movie will start
right-click on the movie screen itself (or click on View on the menu
bar)
choose ZOOM and select 200% (or double-click on the menu bar to get
an almost-full screen-sized image)
if you don't see the slider control, double-click on the menu bar
(which will expand the image to almost full screen) and at the bottom,
you'll find the slider control, along with the play and pause buttons
NOTE: sometimes, there will be more than one .DAT file. There might be,
for example, Music01.dat and Music02.dat and Music03.dat. Usually, this
is because the opening credits are in a different file or some such. The
one you want will probably be the highest numbered of the three files.
WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER VERSION 6.4.07.1112 VIEWING TIPS:
If you right-click on the movie screen itself (or click on View on the
menu bar) and select Full Screen, the image will be bigger than if you
double-click on the menu bar, but the image will be slightly cropped. The
slider control will disappear after about 4 seconds, and if you want it back,
simply jiggle the cursor.
To get out of Full Screen mode, either use the ALT + TAB key combination
(this will give you the same image size as if you double-clicked on the menu
bar), or right-click on the movie screen, choose ZOOM and select 100% or 200%.
Left-clicking on the screen will toggle between Play mode and Pause mode.
IF THERE ARE TWO LANGUAGE TRACKS ON THE VCD (OFTEN, CHINESE VCDs HAVE
MANDARIN ON ONE CHANNEL AND CANTONESE ON THE RIGHT CHANNEL), HERE IS WHAT
TO DO:
When you are watching the movie, you will hear two sets of dialog
running at once
right-click on the movie screen itself, select OPTIONS, and click
on it
a window will come up
select the PLAYBACK menu tab by clicking on it
change the VOLUME slider to MAX
change the BALANCE slider to either L (for LEFT) or R (for RIGHT)
depending on whether you find Cantonese preferable to Mandarin,
because these are the two languages that tend to be on VCDs from
Hong Kong
IF THERE IS ONLY ONE LANGUAGE TRACK ON THE VCD, THIS IS WHAT YOU DO TO
MAKE SURE YOU GET STEREO SOUND:
When you are watching the movie, if you will hear only one
soundtrack, and the sound seems sort of flat, it might be because
the PLAYBACK controls are set all the way to the LEFT channel or
all the way to the RIGHT channel
right-click on the movie screen itself, select OPTIONS, and click
on it
a window will come up
select the PLAYBACK menu tab by clicking on it
change the VOLUME slider to MAX
move the BALANCE slider to the center if it is not already there
IF YOU NEED TO USE YOUR REGULAR VOLUME CONTROL,
THIS IS HOW TO GET TO IT:
right-click on the Volume control in your system tray (the icon
will look like a speaker). If you don't have the Volume control
icon in your sys tray, click on START, then choose PROGRAMS, then
choose ACCESSORIES, then choose ENTERTAINMENT, then click on
VOLUME CONTROL. If you don't find it there, even, click on START
then choose FIND then choose FILES OR FOLDERS then type in the
box VOLUME then double-click on the VOLUME CONTROL icon. Presto!
double-click on WMPLAYER.EXE or otherwise open Windows Media Player 7
click on FILE, select OPEN and click on it
you will see a box that says LOOK IN: at the top and
FILES OF TYPE: at the bottom
where it says FILES OF TYPE, change the selection to the D: drive
(or wherever else you have your CD-ROM installed) and double-click
on the D: drive
you will see a folder called MPEGAV
double-click on MPEGAV
where it says FILES OF TYPE: "Media files (all types)" will be
selected.
change the selection to "All files (*.*)"
you will see a file called either Avseq01.dat or Music01.dat
double-click on Avseq01.dat (or Music01.dat)
a box called OPEN will come up
click on OKAY
the movie will start
Note: sometimes, there will be more than one .DAT file. There might be,
for example, Music01.dat and Music02.dat and Music03.dat. Usually, this
is because the opening credits are in a different file or some such. The
one you want will probably be the highest numbered of the three files.
IF THERE ARE TWO LANGUAGE TRACKS ON THE VCD (OFTEN, CHINESE VCDs HAVE
MANDARIN ON ONE CHANNEL AND CANTONESE ON THE RIGHT CHANNEL), HERE IS WHAT
TO DO:
When you are watching the movie, you will hear two sets of dialog
Go into Media Player Version 7 and make it full size.
In the top right corner, you will see a pulldown menu that probably
has All Audio selected. To the left of this are three round icons.
If you place your cursor over them, yellow boxes describing what
they are will appear.
Choose round icon that looks like a skyline. It is the graphic
equalizer.
Click twice on the round graphic equalizer button and you will see
at the bottom of the screen ten equalizer sliders and a balance
slider.
Move the balance slider bar all the way to one side and you will
hear one language on the VCD. Slide it all the way to the other
side, and you will hear the other language on the VCD.
IF THERE IS ONLY ONE LANGUAGE TRACK ON THE VCD, THIS IS WHAT YOU DO TO
MAKE SURE YOU GET STEREO SOUND:
When you are watching the movie, if you will hear only one
soundtrack, and the sound seems sort of flat, it might be because
the PLAYBACK controls are set all the way to the LEFT channel or
all the way to the RIGHT channel
Go into Media Player Version 7 and make it full size.
In the top right corner, you will see a pulldown menu that probably
has All Audio selected. To the left of this are three round icons.
If you place your cursor over them, yellow boxes describing what
they are will appear.
Choose round icon that looks like a skyline. It is the graphic
equalizer.
Click twice on the round graphic equalizer button and you will see
at the bottom of the screen ten equalizer sliders and a balance
slider.
move the BALANCE slider to the center if it is not already there
IF YOU NEED TO USE YOUR REGULAR VOLUME CONTROL,
THIS IS HOW TO GET TO IT:
right-click on the Volume control in your system tray (the icon
will look like a speaker). If you don't have the Volume control
icon in your sys tray, click on START, then choose PROGRAMS, then
choose ACCESSORIES, then choose ENTERTAINMENT, then click on
VOLUME CONTROL. If you don't find it there, even, click on START
then choose FIND then choose FILES OR FOLDERS then type in the
box VOLUME then double-click on the VOLUME CONTROL icon. Presto!