I was looking at YesAsia's 3 for 8.99 DVDs and I was wondering... are they official DVDs or they're just bootlegs..? I don't mind buying Japanese DVDs since I have an all region DVD player but I do mind spending over 200 dollars on four movies. XD

And if they are official, what is the quality, language the menus are in, and how are the subtitling?
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Hmm, I would think that they're legitimate DVDs, 'cause Yesasia would be in deep trouble if they knowingly sold bootlegs... Still you can never tell...

Since it is relatively cheap, that does make it rather suspicious, but maybe worth the risk just to try... You might inquire with Yesasia as to their return policies... Or even ask them directly about the quality and legitimacy of the discs... Doesn't hurt to ask.

I highly doubt YesAsia would sell bootlegs... if they did, they'd probably be sued and shutdown long ago. I really like their site and think their shipping prices are great, especially to Hawaii.

Quality, Language, and Menus are specific to the DVD producers and so this may vary.. YesAsia simply stocks the products and sells the 'retail' product.

You can always e-mail them too, and ask, they are usually fast in responding to messages.

It's really hard to believe they are official, as the dvds have 'Hong Kong version' and 'Taiwan version' at the title name. Taiwan has 'boxed sets' of Japanese drama series and they don't seem to be licensed as well. Moreover some of them are region free which is even more unlikely to be official.

I've always thought that if it had "Hong Kong" or "Taiwan" or "<country name here>" + "Version", means it is suppose to be sold specifically or specially made for that country... probably because subtitling or dubbed audio was created especially for that country.

And not because it was a bootlegged version from Taiwan or Hong Kong. I doubt they would stock items that they purchased from some bootlegger in one of those countries and sell it as retail. But, I've never purchased a Taiwan/HongKong version before, main reason is because I don't understand the subtitling or dubbing provided in that set.

I've purchased overseas music cds and they are packed or has more extra items that come with it than the original releases. All the products I've purchased from YesAsia has been professional high quality products. But since my purchases were more geared towards Korean, Japanese, and a few Chinese products... I can not vouch entirely for those <country> + Version products.

But IMHO, they are legit company and you should not worry about their products being non-retail.

They have nice customer support, so use it if you are feeling fearful for a certain product. I'm sure they'll enlighten you with the details and maybe you can share that newfound knowledge with all of us.

-T

Ladymercury wrote:

I was looking at YesAsia's 3 for 8.99 DVDs and I was wondering... are they official DVDs or they're just bootlegs..? I don't mind buying Japanese DVDs since I have an all region DVD player but I do mind spending over 200 dollars on four movies. XD And if they are official, what is the quality, language the menus are in, and how are the subtitling?

they're official. Overseas versions are original and official. Overseas version is distributed by the same company as the Japanese company or a company that has copyrights and affiliations with the Japanese company. like for example: SMAP concerts have a Japan Version and an Overseas Version. the Japan Version is distributed by Victor Entertainment and the Overseas Version is distributed by JVC (which has the license and the right to produce and distribute). and yes, there is a big difference in price. like a Japan Version VHS concert will sell at $80 USD and the Overseas version concert VCD will cost $20 USD.

Mohou Han the movie (starring Nakai Masahiro) Japan Version DVD will cost about $60 USD, while the Overseas Version DVD will cost $20 USD and the Overseas Version VCD will cost $8 USD.

All these versions are original and official. If you are afraid for authenticity, you can check the outer box to see if there are any discrepancies in spellings of names, titles, wordings. Also can tell if bootleg, bootlegs do not have IFPI with number. especially on the disc, the original and official release will have an IFPI marking and number and sometimes even have the company/distributor's name on it (on the disc, put the disc (the metal side) to the light and you will see it).

Overseas versions usually have Traditional Chinese subtitles (sometimes have English subtitles). Quality -- this depends on who is the distributor. Most of the quality that i have encountered are really good. the picture and sound quality is really good. but it depends on the distributor.
Overseas Versions are meant to be sold in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but these sell in the US as well. If you see Hong Kong Version, that means the distributor is Hong Kong and was meant to sell the DVD in Hong Kong. Same goes for Taiwan.

the worst versions are the one that are marked "China Version"
China versions are the worst quality in terms of everything... from packaging to the disc quality. really bad. the picture and sound quality is awful. don't ever get China Version.

Hong Kong Version, Taiwan Version are really good quality.

stay away from China Version!!!

Hmm, thought this thread was sorta interesting, so I bumped it.

OK. I'll help. I buy lots of stuff from different vendors like CDJapan, YesAsia and assorted not so famous ones. Recently I tried this vendor and found him very reliable. I've bought about 5 movies from him now. The price is right and the movies never took more than 2 weeks from Hong Kong I think (to me in Los Angeles). And one movie, Densha Otoko, would not play the last 5 minutes, I sent it back and got an almost immediate replacement. Don't let the prices fool you. They are in Hong Kong dollars ratio about 7 to 1 American dollar. And their shipping price is incredibly low.
So far the movies have been brilliant sharp colors with execellent translations. Although they are distributed from Hong Kong, I don't know who makes them.

http://www.dddhouse.com/v3/index.php