Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon All Region DVD.

[SuperFreaky]

What do you guys think of this DVD??

is it a legal copy??? Anybody know if it will work with a Philips DVD711 ?? How do I tell if it will work in my DVD player (they mention a few on the site it won't work in).

seems like a good deal to me... any thoughts?

 

[Supradude]

looks legit to me

 

[b0red]

wow! All regions?!?! Someone buy it and report!

 

[konichiwa]

Been discussed on DVDTalk.com for awhile, supposedly it is legit and it is all region.

 

[DefRef]

Wild. It's dubbed, too?

I'll wait for the Academy Award Edition this summer.

 

[deftron]

I think it acually a pressed DVD silver.
[copied DVD]

Yes, they work in most any DVD player, but,
as far as I know they are just only able to press single layered DVDs,
so some movies are re-encoded to fit.

I dont think it's a legal copy.

 

[poop]

I doubt the validity of most all-region DVDs. Especially CTHD going for $15.99.

If it is too good to be legal, it probably isn't.

 

[AlphaIVT]

getvcd.com

 

[konichiwa]

Look at the link, Alpha. It's a DVD.

 

[loogie]

considering the movie was out this past summer in china...I don't doubt that this is the real thing.

 

[AlphaIVT]

thats what you may think

 

[SuperFreaky]

Well, I just bought a copy... I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Any guesses how long it will take to get here?

 

[fir3wir3]

this damn movie.

 

[SuperFreaky]

Well I found the scoop on DVDtalk.com for anyone who's interested, here's a review posted by one of the users in this thread

edit : in summary
It IS a bootleg (90% sure)
It IS a DVD (100% sure)
Great quality, but doesn't work in all DVD players
The company selling it IS actually nice to deal with (not necessarily legal)

The Wait Is Over

I've got good news and I've got bad news. The bad news is basically what you have probably already noticed. This "All Region" DVD does NOT play on all players. I have both the Toshiba SD-4205 and the Pioneer DV525 and it has problems on the Pioneer.

Here is a list of confirmed players this DVD does NOT work well with (based on experience and list on http://www.GetVCDs.com

Pioneer DV-525
Pioneer DV-636
Philips DVD 860

If anyone else gets this DVD and finds any problems, please update the list here.

I found only one problem on my Pioneer. If I watched the movie that was fine but if I used the Scene Selection the picture would pixelate and lock up.

Now for the Good
This one appears to be "official".

I say it appears "official" because the Language and Subtitle options are different from the Hong Kong release. I wouldn't think that someone would go through the trouble of adding new Subtitles for a bootleg... especially not this quick.

Here is a comparison:

Hong Kong Version - Languages
Mandarin
English
Cantonese
Thai

Malaysian Version - Languages
Mandarin
English
Cantonese

Hong Kong Version - Subtitles
Chinese (Traditional)
English
Korean
Thai

Malaysian Version - Subtitles
Chinese
Malaysian
English

The Audio and Video is superb. Is it 16:9? Well, I couldn't tell ya... I don't have a Widescreen TV and the DVD Cover says nothing about this. Does the Hong Kong version say anything on the Cover? Anyone?

Speaking of the cover....

Well, it appears to be an exact replica of the Hong Kong version but instead of the big Region 3 symbol on the front (bottom right) it just has a logo for "Digital Cinema Sound" and then the all familiar DVD Logo. On the back is the "All Region" symbol and something you will all want to see... YES, it is NTSC.

I have not yet watched the DVD all the way through but flipped through several scenes to see the quality and then I messed around with the Special Features and Languages/Subtitles.

This is an excellent Transfer both in Video and Audio. The Subtitles are handled very well as well (okay that didn't sound like good english but you know what I mean). Subtitles are optional so don't worry about that. If you turn on Subtitles, they appear in the black bar area of the screen at the bottom (except when the subtitles span two lines... kinda dips into the picture).

The Audio is really great. I have the VCD and while the Audio is good, you have to turn the balance to the left or right to even out the spoken language (Mandarin and Cantonese) so that just ruins the sound. Well there is no such problem with the DVD. If you want Mandarin, select it, if you want Cantonese, so be it. And all in Dolby Digital 5.1

What about the Extras?
Well, they are all there... except for the Commentary. That is very odd. The Commentary is listed in the Special Features Menu but is totally inaccessible. Oh well. But everything else appears to be there.

Special Features
Theatrical Trailer
A Conversation with Michelle Yeoh
Music Videos (English or Mandarin)
Photo Montage
Talent Files

DVD Presentation and Menu
I have never seen the Hong Kong version so I don't know if this is the same or not.

The DVD Starts with a Dolby Digital Promo clip. This is kinda neat (but nothing compared to the DTS promos we have all seen)

Before the Main Menu loads you see one of the fighting scenes from the movie which can be irritating becaus no matter what, if you hit the Menu button on your DVD Player it goes through this sequence first. Cool but annoying after a while.

The Menu is pretty clean... nothing fancy. For those of you wondering, all the Menu Selections are in English. Thank You! The Selection Icon is a Chinese Symbol though.

All in all, if it works in your player this is a great DVD. I can't wait to watch it all the way through.

I plan on taking it to my brother's place maybe Wednesday to check out on his Panasonic A-120 (I think). I'll let you know if it works on that.

When I get a chance I'll check into the DVD more on my Pioneer to see if the problems I encountered are strictly through the Scene Selection.

If you were waiting for this review to pick it up I would say go ahead. If you can't play a Region 3 DVD, don't really want the VCD and can't wait for the R1 release then go for it. This is an excellent DVD.

I hope this review has been helpful.

If you purchase the "All Region" DVD, please post back here what DVD Player it did or did NOT play on.

Okay, I better go... I already missed "Everybody Loves Raymond".