Note: I write this article from an American perspective, but the facts stated in this guide will definitely be of use to fans not living in the USA.

Introduction:

Nowadays, the options available to the Asian Cinema fan are legion. When the bug bit me many years ago, Jackie Chan films were easy enough to find, but other offerings weren’t so easy to come by. Collecting Asian films is still a quest, but things have gotten so much better. I can walk into a Walmart here in little ‘ol Monticello, Arkansas USA and pick up a copy of Ong Bak (an action/Martial Arts film from Thailand starring the one man special effect, Tony Jaa) for crying out loud! Satellite systems and digital cable services are giving consumers large numbers of channels, some of which fill their time slots with an amount of Asian Cinema never before seen.

However, obstacles still remain. Few Asian films will be offered wide releases in US theater chains. Studios in the US are not willing to risk a lot of money on films that do not feature big names that are recognized by American households. Fans of Asian Cinema in the USA are then confronted with the DVD market to satisfy their cinematic cravings. This too presents some problems. Some studios are content to buy the rights to certain films and sit on them or (just as bad) release hacked up versions with few to no extras. Sometimes these releases are stripped of their original languages and poorly dubbed into english at times altering the intent of the film makers.

Yet another option exists. Thanks to the internet, fans of Asian Cinema are presented with a vast, global marketplace where they can buy or rent DVD releases of films from all over the world. There are, in fact, many websites devoted to film fanatics looking for DVDs that are outside of the mainstream. This world of possibility is what I seek to address in this article. I hope to guide the newcomer to the Asian Cinema scene in the peculiarities that you may encounter while purchasing DVDs to satisfy your cinematic curiosity.

What the heck is a Region Code?

Region Codes (aka Regional Lockout) on DVDs are ignored by a lot of people. They go to a store, buy a DVD, and play it in their DVD player. The DVD just works. However, if you are going to buy DVDs from different countries (such as the Asian region of concern), Region Codes make the simplicity of the above activity break down. This being the case, you need to know what Region Codes are, why they may be an obstacle to you, and how you can circumvent them.

Every DVD you own has a Region Code. This Region Code corresponds to a specific region of the world. If you try to play a DVD with one Region Code on a DVD player that has a different Region Code, it will refuse to play the DVD. For example, DVDs and DVD players in the USA are coded with Region “1”. If I bought a DVD player here in the US, I wouldn’t be able to play DVDs with a DVD region code other than “1” (except “0” but we’ll get to that later). The reason for the existence of Region Codes is money. The companies that own the legal rights to sell the content on the DVD stand to make more money by catering releases to specific markets or selling the rights to another company that intends to distribute the DVD in a particular region. A list of DVD Regions and their corresponding region codes are listed below.

DVD Region Codes:
0 – “All Region” Playable in any player
1 – Bermuda, Canada, United States and U.S. territories
2 – The Middle East, Western Europe, Central Europe, Egypt, Greenland, Japan, Lesotho, South Africa and Swaziland
3 – Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea and Taiwan
4 – Central America, the Caribbean, Mexico, Oceania, South America, Australia
5 – The rest of Africa, Former Soviet Union, the Indian subcontinent, Mongolia, North Korea
6 – Mainland China
7 – Reserved for future use
8 – International venues such as aircraft, cruise ships, etc.

The above image is of icons for the different regions. These appear on the back of DVD boxes. A DVD that is “All Region” will look like those above except that it will have a “0” or “ALL” printed in the middle.

The above map of the world color codes areas according to their region code.

The above images were taken from the DVD Region Code Wikipedia entry.

How do you get around Region Codes?

If you own a computer, there are a variety of software options that will allow you to play DVDs from any region on your computer. One of the most popular of these is the open source program, VLC player (VideoLan.Org ). DVDs, VCDs, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, Divx, mp3, ogg, and many other forms of media can be played with VLC player. It’s free and open source, so it is constantly being updated to play new video codecs. It also boasts compatibility with a wide variety of platforms. VLC player can be installed on Microsoft Windows, MacOSX, many flavors of Linux and Unix, and there’s even a version for the PocketPC. Watching DVDs on the computer may not be the best option for most, however. For example, you may have a nice TV (or HDTV) with a nice surround sound system. It would certainly make for a better viewing experience with friends than crowding around your small(ish) computer monitor!

Another option is to seek out DVDs that are region free (Region Code “0”). These DVDs can be played on any DVD player no matter what Region Code was assigned to the player. Hong Kong (HK) is one of the main sources of “All Region” DVDs. Due to the nature of Hong Kong, most of the DVDs there have been released to be as compatible as possible. HK has a long history in cinema, and they have a large catalog of DVDs available on Region Free DVDs.

You can also find DVD releases from HK for movies that were not made there. For example, the Japanese film “Swing Girls” was recently released on DVD in HK. It had already been released in Japan on DVD, but it was as a Region Code “2” release. The HK version allows anyone to watch the film so long as they have access to a DVD player. If you decide to wait for a Region Free release in HK of a film from another territory, you may be in for a long wait (it might not even be released there). This may be an intolerable situation many a Asian Cinema fanboy (or girl) craving for the latest hot release.

This leads me to the best option. If you are really serious about getting into the Asian Cinema scene, I highly suggest that you start looking for a DVD player that is or can be made “Region Free”. The whole Region Code system relies upon DVD makers and DVD player manufacturers to make discs and players that adhere to the system. Just as there are DVD makers that “defeat” the Region Code system by making region free DVDs, there are players available that will play DVDs from any region. These “Region Free” (aka “All Region” or “Multi-Region”) players can be purchased from some of the same online retailers you buy your DVDs from (HKFlix.com and YesAsia.com for example). They can also be obtained from online electronics stores and from auction sites such as eBay.

These players come in various levels of quality. Any features you can find on any normal or high end DVD player can also be found on these All Region players. Unfortunately, there are also players of rather dubious quality, so it would be wise to carefully shop around.

You can also use certain key combinations, entered via a remote, to “unlock” certain players. It may well be that the player you already own can be unlocked by utilizing one of these key combinations. The combinations can be found on various DVD forums (Like Nerd-Out.com . Check out their message forum. VideoHelp.com is also a good source.) and websites.

This leads us to a possible cheap solution to getting a workable “All Region” player. If you can’t find a hack for your current player (or you don’t have a DVD player), you could run up to your local electronics superstore and write down the names and models of a select number of cheap DVD players in stock. Look up those players on the internet to see if you can find any key codes that will unlock these players. If you find a match, then you’ve got yourself a cheap solution! I have a friend that managed to get a $40 dollar multi-region player this way (It’s actually a pretty good player too!).

NTSC and PAL

Note: There is another standard called “SECAM”, but since it is not used in Asia, it strays from the focus of this article. So I left it out.

The next sticky situation we’ll discuss, that you may have never encountered before, is the potential problem of NTSC (National Television System(s) Committee) and PAL (Phase Alternating Line, Phase Alternation by Line, or Phase Alternation Line). Both of these acronyms represent two different analog TV systems used to display a picture on a TV screen.

I won’t get into the histories of these conflicting standards. If you’re interested, just Google NTSC or PAL and research the seedy histories to your hearts content.

NTSC displays images at 30 fps (frames per second). Conversely, PAL displays images at 25 fps. Like the Region Code problem, the problem of NTSC/PAL reveals itself when we look at the regions that these standards dominate. Check out the map below to see where the different video standards are used (taken from the NTSC entry at Wikipedia ).

As you can see, NTSC is used in USA, Canada, Korea, Japan, and in a few other places (predominantly in the Americas). PAL is used in Great Britain, many European nations, China, Thailand, quite a few nations in Africa, the Middle East, and in Australia.

The problem with NTSC/PAL is that a PAL signal will not play on a NTSC TV and vice versa. This is a problem for Asian Cinema fans living in the USA. While our NTSC TVs will have no problem playing signals coming off of Korean, Japanese, and Hong Kong DVDs, we are going to be out of luck if we want to view DVDs that are manufactured in Thailand and China.

How do you get around the NTSC/PAL problem?

A simple way is to look for another release of that same movie in a different country that employs a different standard. The problems with this method are many, however. The DVD may have less extras, substandard transfer, larger price tag, or may not include english subtitles. This situation can work to your favor, but it is fraught with peril.

Once again the computer comes to the rescue. If you own a computer, then you can once again use one of many handy little programs that will allow you to play DVDs. It doesn’t matter if they are NTSC or PAL. VLC Player and many other software DVD players will play the video properly.

The best option is to buy a “Region Free” player that includes a NTSC/PAL converter. These are not hard to find, and the price doesn’t seem to fluctuate too much between those that have a converter and those that don’t. Some online retailers are willing to add these converters to their DVD players for a small fee.

It is also possible to buy NTSC-PAL (or PAL-NTSC) stand alone converters, but it is a much more economical option to simply buy a DVD player that also has a converter.

What’s A Bootleg?

Note: Once again I am speaking from an American perspective. Any comments I might make in this section relating to “legal” and “illegal” practices may not apply in your country. It would be wise to seek out what your government defines as “piracy”.

Piracy is something that the Asian Cinema fan will inevitably run into. DVDs are a compelling money maker for those willing to circumvent the law for several reasons: DVDs are relatively cheap to manufacture, they contain data which can be copied with little to no loss in quality, and they are subject to certain artificial boundaries (Region Codes) which stifle certain demands of consumers. The DVD market is worth billions worldwide. There are many that are willing to flaunt the law in order to get a small piece of that big pie.

A “bootleg” is an unlicensed release of (in this case) a DVD. These copied DVDs show up in markets around the world. They have (a lot of the time) nicely printed covers and printed discs. To a layman, they are indistinguishable from the genuine article. Bootlegs can be found very easily on the internet. I will not name any websites by name, but I will just say that auction sites are rife with bootlegs.

So, why should you avoid bootleg copies of DVDs? For one, they are illegal and could potentially get you into trouble with the law. Secondly, bootlegs are generally of inferior quality to their official releases. Bootleggers sometimes have to cram data onto a smaller sized disc, which causes the video quality to degrade. Third, it is well known that organized crime is involved in mass producing some of these pirated DVDs. It is then possible for you to be giving your money to some pretty seedy individuals. Fourth, sometimes these discs come with very poor subtitle translations. Apparently, some subtitles are run through online translation systems and then copied and pasted into subtitle tracks. These subtitles can be totally incomprehensible. Fifth, if you pay for these items and the items are not delivered, who will you complain to? Selling and buying bootlegs are both illegal activities. Lastly, if you like box sets or limited edition DVD sets, you will not find any bootlegs that would match up to special releases from legitimate DVD manufacturers.

The poor quality of the case sleeve on the DVD above is a tell-tale sign of a bootleg. The dead giveaway, though, is the fact that the online retailer that sells this has his email address printed on the disc!

As damning as some of the above negatives are, Bootlegs still have a few qualities that will keep them around for a long time to come. For one, they’re cheap. Real cheap. One big reason that they sometimes appeal to Asian Cinema fans is that some films can only be purchased with english subtitles on the black market. Sad as it is, some studios do not see any profitable reason to include english subtitles on their releases. The black market then becomes a place where an english speaking fan can pick up a copy of a much wanted film.

So, how can you tell a bootleg from the real thing? Some pirated DVDs are very well done and can be hard to spot. However, there are some giveaways. First, you should be wary of very cheap releases on auction sites. If it is a new release and costs $3, then it is probably an illegal copy (this doesn’t apply to Thai DVDs, which are dirt cheap). Secondly, the appearance of these DVDs can give their origins away. Inkjet printed covers and messy or incorrect labeling are good indicators. Also, if the email address of the guy selling the DVD appears on the packaging, it is safe to assume it is a pirated disc (You laugh, but this actually happened to me several years ago.). Another indicator would be that the movie is available on all the legitimate DVD retailers with a region code (like “3” for example), but it shows up as “All Region” on an auction site. Chances are somethings fishy about it.

The above Returner boot sports some crappy printing on the sleeve and disc, and it actually has the wrong synopsis and cast info on the back!

To keep yourself from mistakenly buying bootleg DVDs, you should purchase your DVDs from reputable online retailers that specialize in Asian Cinema. Be especially careful of auction sites. Even if the seller claims that it is not a copy, is sealed, and is an official release, he could easily be lying.

One final note. Not all piracy of Asian films is done with physical copies of DVDs. Downloading DVD rips or video files of films is also an illegal activity. Be careful.

Rundown of Regional Characteristics

In this section, I would like to run through some of the distinguishing characteristics of the different film markets that you will be getting your Asian Cinema fix from.

Hong Kong

This is the golden place from which classic martial arts films have sprung! Hong Kong films spread all across the spectrum of genres creating films that have a unique HK feel to them. The are not currently producing as many films as they have in the past, but there are still great personalities there slugging it out until the slump is over.

The DVDs you will get from here are pretty cheap, typically costing $10-15 (US) (but they do range in price from less than $10 all the way up to $20). The DVDs from HK are NTSC with a Region Code of “0” (All Region, sometimes they have Region “3” codes). It’s pretty rare to find a DVD from HK without english subtitles. This is largely due to the fact that Hong Kong was under the control of the British for many years. In addition to english subtitles, DVDs from HK usually have both Simplified and Traditional Chinese subtitles along with Cantonese and Mandarin soundtracks.

Japan

Japan is typically known by the general public in the US for their films involving samurai and ninja. However, the variety of films made in Japan is much more broad. Comedies, Dramas, Romances, Action, Horror, SciFi and Adventure movies are made there as well. The Japanese excel at making quiet films that take their time in unfolding in unexpected ways. This can be a bit of a change from the noisy whizz-bang type of films in the west, but many find them to be a refreshing one.

Buying DVDs straight from Japan can be a very expensive proposition. You can expect to pay from $20 all the way up to $50 and beyond! The Japanese are known to make expensive, quality special edition sets with unique cases and extras thrown in. DVDs made there often times have standard (cheaper version with a few less extras) and limited editions (much more costly, but it will have more discs and extras). NTSC with a Region Coding of “2” are the usual specs for Japanese DVDs. Unfortunately, discs from Japan don’t always come with english subtitles. There is, in fact, a long list of past films that have not been released with english subs yet.

South Korea

Movies from South Korea have matured quite a lot in the past few years. They are sometimes credited with making movies that borrow a lot from Western films and give them something added to make them fresh again. Romantic comedies are made by the bucket load here, but they make films that run the gamut of genres. Korean films (even the bad ones) have a professional look and consistent quality of production.

The DVDs that you will get from here will run you $22-$30 (US). Editions with fancy cases that sometimes include booklets (with photos or storyboards printed in them), postcards, and other goodies are not uncommon. It isn’t outside of the norm for certain cast and crew members to randomly sign these sets. If your lucky, you could wind up with a set that includes a signature by your favorite director or actor (although their handwriting could be so bad that you might never know who signed it)! Region Coding of “3” and NTSC are the common specs for these DVDs. DTS audio tracks can be frequently found on the special edition sets. Also, if you buy your discs directly from South Korea, expect to pay quite a bit for the shipping charges. These DVDs typically come with english subtitles. It is a rare exception to see a Korean DVD without them.

Thailand

With the success of directors like Wisit Sasanatieng (Tears of the Black Tiger) and Pen-ek Ratanaruang (Last Life in the Universe) and the excitement martial artist Tony Jaa (Ong Bak) has caused, many fans have turned their eyes upon the developing Thai film market. Thailand is a small country and has been unable to support a very large film industry. Because of this, there are a lot of films made cheaply with a lot of local humor and a bit of action thrown in. But recently there have been some strides made due to ambitious individuals and some financial help from the outside. The recent trend in Thailand is toward horror films.

Thai DVDs are typically Region Coded “3” PAL. The cost of these DVDs is very small, ranging from $3 but hardly ever going above $15. Unfortunately, you tend to get what you pay for. Thai DVDs vary in quality of packaging. It isn’t common right now to get a Thai DVD that is just thick printed paper folded with a plastic piece glued to the paper to mount the DVD in. However, there are some pretty nice releases from there. They just aren’t as nice as the DVDs you’ll get from just about everywhere else. Another caveat with Thai discs is that recently a minority of them have included english subtitles. The reason for this is probably due to the costs associated with adding such a feature.

Oh yeah? Well what about VCDs?

Oops! I almost forgot to talk about this!

VCDs (aka Video CDs) are compact discs with MPEG-1 videos on them. The display resolution is much smaller than a DVD. In fact, it is one quarter of the resolution of your TV (VCDs are 352×240 while your TV is 720×480 NTSC). VCDs can be played in both your computer and most DVD players. The advantages of VCDs over DVDs is their cost (super cheap!) and their lack of Regional Lockout (you can play them on any DVD player that plays VCDs).

VCDs have several disadvantages to DVD. They have a lower resolution, so the picture quality is not as good as a well encoded DVD will be. VCDs don’t usually have high quality surround tracks. They typically don’t include the extras material that DVDs do. VCDs also don’t have chapter selections, so you have to fast forward to a section. In addition, they are split into two discs because of the CDs limited storage capacity (movies are usually split so that the first disc ends about midway through the film). The subtitles included on these discs are “burned in”, meaning they are not selectable. The subtitles are often rendered all white causing them to be difficult to read during scenes where the background is white.

One peculiarity you will run into with VCDs is that sometimes multiple languages are isolated into the left and right stereo channels. For instance, a lot of Chines VCDs have the Mandarin soundtrack in one of the channels and the Cantonese language track in the other. The upshot of this is that, when you play it, you will hear both of the languages babbling through your speakers unless you turn one of the channels off. Most DVD players will allow you to isolate just one of the channels and software like VLC player will allow this as well on your computer.

I would advise purchasing DVDs as opposed to VCDs, however there are some movies that are available on VCD but are not yet available on DVD.

Conclusion

Getting into Asian Cinema can in can involve some hoops to jump through, but most of these obstacles can be overcome. I’m of a strong mind that all of the effort is worth it. After you deal with it for a while, it will come second nature to you. I hope that this article has helped you to better understand the DVD market as it relates to Asian Cinema.

If I have made any errors or if you think certain facts should be included in this article, please let me know!