Forum - View topicAnime VCDs
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ThatMatt
Posts: 162 |
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I was looking to get some imported anime DVDs (because of subtitles) when I stumbled upon anime VCDs. Apparently they're CDs that play videos. There extremely cheap, but then a few questions popped up in my head. 1) Hows the quality? and 2) Do they have a region code? Any input or discussion is welcome.
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Tiresias
Posts: 353 Location: Illinois, USA |
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As a general rule, any "Imported" anime, DVD's or VCD's are illegal bootlegs. If you don't care about supporting the true creators and licensors of anime, that's the route you want to go. However, if you don't want your money to go to Taiwanese and Hong Kong gangs/mafia, stay away from them.
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Randall Miyashiro
 Posts: 2451 Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park |
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VCD is an older MPEG 1 format that looks really awful. I believe the horizontal resolution is about 200 lines which is less than half of DVDs and is around on par with standard VHS.
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ThatMatt
Posts: 162 |
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Oh, my bad if that came out wrong. I'm not looking to import licensed anime, Id just buy it here. I meant unlicensed anime, just to clarify.
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Tiresias
Posts: 353 Location: Illinois, USA |
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It's still bootlegs, and still illegal. The Japanese companies that put the capital into creating the works see nothing of the profit. The only way to legally get imported anime is to buy straight from a Japanese source, or there are a few companies stateside that sell true imported Japanese versions. Be aware though, you'll only get a Japanese audio track and no English subs, they just aren't out there. Also they usually only come with 2 episodes per disc and will run you around $50 each.
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Rakushun
 Posts: 116 Location: Hawaii |
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The visual quality on VCDs can vary greatly, but as a general rule will never match a properly-made DVD. It shouldn't be a big deal for many anime made in the 70s, because the quality is already very rough and grainy. But for most anime you're looking for, you'll want DVD quality.
VCDs do not have a region code. You should watch out that you do not buy alternate formats like SVCD and UMD by mistake. |
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ivorymoose
 Posts: 240 |
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That is really rubbish! You sound as if you know the details of business arrangements between the Japanese producers and their Asian partners very well to make this statement. I own legitimate VCD box sets because in my home country, most people buy VCD boxsets and not DVD boxsets. Just like there are DVD bootlegs, there are also VCD bootlegs. VCD quality isn't good, nothing like DVDs. You would want to own DVDs instead of VCDs if you can afford it. VCDs were popular before DVDs came into the market. Original VCD boxsets are not cheap although they are still cheaper than DVDs. I strongly recommend you buy DVDs because the quality is so much better. |
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fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
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Umm, I would think that the imported DVDs/CDs being imported through Kinokuniya and Sanseido are the real thing, since they are Japanese companies and the items have their producers logos on it and everything. how on earth did you come to that conclusion? 
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Nerv1
 Posts: 601 |
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I've actually borrowed legit a Chinese VCD release of Yugioh GX. The picture quality was pretty good,but the picture did tend to get a bit blocky but overall, the vcd had pretty good quality (except for the chinese dub, it was horrible). If you want to find legit anime VCD's, the legit ones usually have a company logo near the bottom. Also, you should be able to find legit anime vcds at YesAsia.com
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namelissis
 Posts: 219 |
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Oh, cm'mon, before there was DVD's, VCD was where we watch anime... Not all VCD's imported are bootlegs or in our term, pirated! I have a chance to watch Magic Knight Rayearth, and the quality was good...
As for the region issue, I dont know how it works there in the U.S.... As far as I know, Japan VCD's of anime are not bootlegs, but as for Chinese VCD(talk about patriotism), erm, most probably this are the pirated... Pirated VCD = never mind buying to the power of very poor quality! But as of now, I would recommend you go for DVD's. DVD's have more memory capacity rather than VCD. DVD(4.7GB) > VCD(800mb). Also, anime in DVD's are of good quality. But for those who are still using VCD or a Pentium 3 CPU, who only play VCD's, buy VCD in trusted stores... Note: If you are going to watch an anime movie, you might as well go for VCD because it would be more practical, but if you're going to buy a series, just go for DVD's... |
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EVA fiend
 Posts: 314 Location: Somewhere in the UK. |
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I have a huge pile of anime & Hong Kong TV soap operas on VCD. All of them were cheap, & all of them are legit. They have no subtitles, no audio options, & all are dubbed into Cantonese.
The quality of these VCD's is poor when compared to the DVD standard, with obvious pixalation, especially if viewed on a big TV. Also, due the the formats size limitations, stuff like the soap operas I own have had the OP & ED themes chopped out or shortened. As for extras, they don't really have them, & there's no region code on them either. Personally, I'd stick to DVD. The visual quality of VCD just doesn't compare to DVD. |
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AirCooledMan_2006
 Posts: 594 Location: Delaware, U.S. |
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Not all VCDs are illegal. Odex, a Singapore-based company, makes legit anime VCDs (With their own English dubs). |
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 9902 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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Tiresias, I have to tell you that your knowledge on anime piracy is still in the pre-millennium era. Just look at the replies because of your comment:
VCD didn't get a good foothold in US and Japan because VHS players were so common in American and Japanese homes back then, and there were better contemporary optical formats (e.g. LD) for techno-savvy and finicky people. However, for countries where VHS players were not as dominant, VCD and its players were quickly adopted because of its cheaper media, more compact media and player, can be played on computers (which was an important factor for students living in cramped dormitories, where most of them have computer(s) instead of TV/VCR sets), and durability against humidity. Back to the original topic: like Rakushun said, the quality is nowhere as good as a properly-encoded DVD, and the worst examples of VCD can be worse than VHS tapes. However, they are still available in many Asian countries for reasons I've mentioned a year ago. Even in the era of HD DVD and Blu-ray, big and renowned licensors in Taiwan still pump out VCD releases for most of their newest and most popular titles e.g. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Some VCD even contain dual audio by using different spoken languages in each audio channel i.e. one language at left and another at right, making both of them mono. While this might not be tolerable by hardcore fans, those VCD were not intended to be sold to them from the first place. Now if I can find the complete four VCD set of ONE released by Muse... even their company HQ has no stock anymore. 
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10円
Posts: 605 |
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At this point I'm surprised anyone is still trying to hock VCD's. I mean, who's still trying to sell VHS anymore?! In any case, I can see why some folks equate VCD's with piracy. I mean, we all saw the transition period when shoestring pirates were selling VCD downmixes of DVD content minus the quality picture and extras, and that lasted for years. So, don't cop an attitude just because your country was once awash in legitimate VCD's. In North America VCD was virtually stillborn and was relatively unknown until piracy brought it to the forefront in the Western world. I've bought commercial titles and created home-made S/VCD's and all I can say is "don't bother." The quality is crap, even with SVCD, and the menu system makes even bad DVD menus look good. For a while I just thought it was bad mastering, but once I dug around in the S/VCD specs I realized that most flaws were inherent in the design itself. S/VCD was apparently only meant to satisfy two requirements; be very cheap to produce, and require only very simple hardware to play. Anything beyond that was just icing on the cardboard cake.
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dormcat
Encyclopedia Editor
Posts: 9902 Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan, ROC |
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First, "we all" is an over-exaggeration and over-generalization. Furthermore, methinks a more positive and constructive attitude would be "do not call a format illegitimate just because most media in this format in your country are bootlegs." The world is much bigger than "land of the free, home of the brave." 
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