My Birthday Experience With Dvds
<div class="IPBDescription">Or how I got a knock-off.</div> For those who did not see, yesterday was my birthday. I'm now twenty-two years old. My family pooled their money and purchased a special gift for me: seasons six and seven of Stargate SG-1 on DVD. "Special" is definitely the right word for it, and I will explain why.
I'm sure many of the readers here know of Stargate SG-1's DVD box sets. If not, here are links to <a href='http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002KPHWO/qid=1112733814/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/102-3528210-5784949?v=glance&s=dvd' target='_blank'>season six</a> and <a href='http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00015HVI8/qid=1112733790/sr=8-3/ref=pd_csp_3/102-3528210-5784949?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846' target='_blank'>season seven</a> on Amazon.com. They retail for right around sixty dollars per season, are packaged individually in their own case, and then wrapped together in a protective cardboard decorative sleeve.
So when I saw the cases in my hands, I was shocked. These weren't the cases I would expect from MGM. They felt like shoe boxes almost. Very strange indeed. My mother, smiling ear to ear, gleefully told me "These are the Asian versions. That's why they have the Chinese all over them. But they'll work on our DVD player regardless." They told me they had purchased these from eBay, and that the seller, based in Hong Kong, promised that while these were packaged as Asian releases, they functioned exactly the same as the US and Canadian versions.
Alarm bells begin ringing in my head. This is not right. Asian DVDs playing on a Region 1 USA DVD player? No way. Not possible. Something had to be wrong. Worried that I was about to reveal that these DVDs were actually of a different region and would be unplayable, I slowly placed the disc in the reader and waited for the inevitable "DISC READ FAILURE" message to display.
I had to hold my mouth shut from plopping open when the MGM introduction movie started playing. What in the world? This works? But this was shipped from Hong Kong! I began playing an episode, and was surprised to see the subtitles were enabled by default, and were set to Chinese Simple. I quickly shut them off, noticing that English, Spanish, and French subtitles were missing from the menu of possible choices: only Chinese Simple and Chinese Traditional were available. Things were getting strange, and I was getting more and more suspicious.
It wasn't until I had time alone, away from the rest of the family that I finally discovered what was bothering me since I looked at the cases. I noticed key features were missing from the DVDs, such as insert liner notes, audio commentaries, additional language audio tracks, and the aforementioned subtitles. According to the product page for the US versions, the features that were missing from this "Asian release" were included on the US version. Why then did this "exactly the same as the US version" Asian release not include them? Why did the packaging for this Asian release say that these features were included as well?
I began investigating the packaging, as I had a nagging suspicion that something was awry. That's when all doubts were removed. Logos were missing or altered. Copyright dates were all wrong. The Chinese written on the packaging didn't match what was written in English. Credits were improperly written. Cases of Engrish were visible. Even the discs themselves had typographical errors, and were obviously burned DVDs with stickers stuck on the top of them.
My family gave me knock-off DVDs. These things are fake. I haven't told them, because I don't want to hurt their feelings. They were very happy to give them to me, and were even more pleased that they were able to get them so cheap. Now I can't purchase the real DVD box sets without offending them, unless I find a way to hide my purchasing them so they don't ever realize what happened. That's very unlikely, unless I were to hide the authentic season sets somewhere and leave their versions on my shelf.
The thing that really saddens me is that the signs of fraud were all there. I visited the eBay page for the products (<a href='http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=617&item=6376395677' target='_blank'>season six here</a>, and <a href='http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=617&item=6376395710' target='_blank'>season seven here</a>), and read the product reviews, and was able to tell almost immediately that these DVDs were bootlegs. <a href='http://us.yesasia.com/help/index.asp?q=171〈=en' target='_blank'>DVDs from Hong Kong are Region 3, not Region 1</a>. The seller won't sell to Hong Kong? Why is that? Perhaps because they won't work in Hong Kong? And then I saw the price they paid for shipping. $27 for the items, and $22 for shipping. $49.00 total for knock-off DVDs. Why didn't they see the fraud? "Asian releases"? Wha? The negative responses for the account state that this seller was distributing bootlegs - even some of the positive reviews state such.
I love my family. I am honored to be in a family that tries to make its members as happy as possible. But in the end, it's almost worse having fake DVD sets than none at all.
I took several pictures for others to see what I saw. They're in the list below.<ul><li><b><span style='color:orange'>First, a general overview of the box shell</span></b></li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/boxfront.jpg' target='_blank'>Authentic Season Five box</a>.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/boxfront2.jpg' target='_blank'>"Asian Release" boxes</a>.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/boxfront3.jpg' target='_blank'>Strange tri-Stargate cover design</a>.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/7engrish.jpg' target='_blank'>Bad case of Engrish on the box front</a>. Actual quote is <i>At the Edge of the Universe Lies <b>a</b> Gateway to Adventure</i>.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/boxside.jpg' target='_blank'>I don't know what the Chinese says</a>, but it doesn't say <i>Stargate SG-1</i>. It has the words Star and Gate in it, but the rest are a mystery to me.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/copyrightflap.jpg' target='_blank'>Copyright information placed on a sticker used to hold both box flaps together</a>.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/boxback.jpg' target='_blank'>Do you see what's missing from this box</a>? Don't see it yet? Look closer. <a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/boxback2.jpg' target='_blank'>Here's a shot</a> of the authentic release with the <i>Asian release</i>. Where's the barcode?</li><li><b><span style='color:orange'>Next, some more unusual errors on the back cover of both boxes</span></b></li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/6credits.jpg' target='_blank'>Season Six credit spacing and sizing errors</a>. It's the same <a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/7credits.jpg' target='_blank'>on Season Seven</a>. Strange thing about this? Where's Corin Nemec? And how does one "Presonls" something?</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/anubis.jpg' target='_blank'>Season Seven's improperly placed Anubis graphic</a>; bust cuts off early.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/features.jpg' target='_blank'>Authentic release's Special Features list</a>. Each episode has an audio commentary. The authentic releases of season six and seven have this also. <a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/features2.jpg' target='_blank'>The audio commentary is gone</a>! Ironically, there is no French or Spanish Stereo Surround, nor subtitles of either language available either. Also note the "See inside for individual episode credits" comment at the bottom. There is nothing inside the box except the discs. <a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/individual.jpg' target='_blank'>At least when season five said it would be there, it was there</a>.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/region.jpg' target='_blank'>Uh oh! It says Region 3 on the box</a>!</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/canadianrating.jpg' target='_blank'>Why would a Canadian rating be on a Region 3 disc</a>? And why twice? <a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/canadianrating2.jpg' target='_blank'>And why different from the previous season</a>? And what happened to the US rating of "Not Rated", if the Canadian rating was needed to be on the Region 3 box?</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/cc.jpg' target='_blank'>Good thing they got permission to use the caption logo</a>. Too bad they never used it on the box, aside from where they're stating they got permission to use it.</li><li>Oh, it's good quality stuff here! <a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/highet.jpg' target='_blank'>Highet quality</a>!</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/dolbyare.jpg' target='_blank'>Dolby are trademarks, eh</a>? And <a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/dolbylicensing.jpg' target='_blank'>we obviously should sing about it</a>.</li><li>Time warp time! <a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/copyrightmgm.jpg' target='_blank'>Season five's copyright is 2001</a>. But season six and seven's copyright <a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/copyrightmgm2.jpg' target='_blank'>went back in time to 1999</a>!</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/metro.jpg' target='_blank'>Metro Goldway Mayer is a great studio</a>.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/tradmark.jpg' target='_blank'>Do not infringe on the Trad Mark, people</a>.</li><li><b><span style='color:orange'>Discs</span></b></li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/packagingint.jpg' target='_blank'>The interior of the knock-off DVD box</a>. Wow, great graphics.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/packagingint2.jpg' target='_blank'>Note the high-quality cases for this season</a>.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/dvddefects.jpg' target='_blank'>I'm afraid to try to see if this works</a>. <a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/dvddefects2.jpg' target='_blank'>This one too</a>.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/season6disc.jpg' target='_blank'>Season 6's DVD</a>. <a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/seven7.jpg' target='_blank'>Seaso - I mean Seven 7's DVD</a>.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/stickerdisc.jpg' target='_blank'>Hey, it's a sticker</a>.</li></ul>Thank you for reading.
I'm sure many of the readers here know of Stargate SG-1's DVD box sets. If not, here are links to <a href='http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002KPHWO/qid=1112733814/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/102-3528210-5784949?v=glance&s=dvd' target='_blank'>season six</a> and <a href='http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00015HVI8/qid=1112733790/sr=8-3/ref=pd_csp_3/102-3528210-5784949?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846' target='_blank'>season seven</a> on Amazon.com. They retail for right around sixty dollars per season, are packaged individually in their own case, and then wrapped together in a protective cardboard decorative sleeve.
So when I saw the cases in my hands, I was shocked. These weren't the cases I would expect from MGM. They felt like shoe boxes almost. Very strange indeed. My mother, smiling ear to ear, gleefully told me "These are the Asian versions. That's why they have the Chinese all over them. But they'll work on our DVD player regardless." They told me they had purchased these from eBay, and that the seller, based in Hong Kong, promised that while these were packaged as Asian releases, they functioned exactly the same as the US and Canadian versions.
Alarm bells begin ringing in my head. This is not right. Asian DVDs playing on a Region 1 USA DVD player? No way. Not possible. Something had to be wrong. Worried that I was about to reveal that these DVDs were actually of a different region and would be unplayable, I slowly placed the disc in the reader and waited for the inevitable "DISC READ FAILURE" message to display.
I had to hold my mouth shut from plopping open when the MGM introduction movie started playing. What in the world? This works? But this was shipped from Hong Kong! I began playing an episode, and was surprised to see the subtitles were enabled by default, and were set to Chinese Simple. I quickly shut them off, noticing that English, Spanish, and French subtitles were missing from the menu of possible choices: only Chinese Simple and Chinese Traditional were available. Things were getting strange, and I was getting more and more suspicious.
It wasn't until I had time alone, away from the rest of the family that I finally discovered what was bothering me since I looked at the cases. I noticed key features were missing from the DVDs, such as insert liner notes, audio commentaries, additional language audio tracks, and the aforementioned subtitles. According to the product page for the US versions, the features that were missing from this "Asian release" were included on the US version. Why then did this "exactly the same as the US version" Asian release not include them? Why did the packaging for this Asian release say that these features were included as well?
I began investigating the packaging, as I had a nagging suspicion that something was awry. That's when all doubts were removed. Logos were missing or altered. Copyright dates were all wrong. The Chinese written on the packaging didn't match what was written in English. Credits were improperly written. Cases of Engrish were visible. Even the discs themselves had typographical errors, and were obviously burned DVDs with stickers stuck on the top of them.
My family gave me knock-off DVDs. These things are fake. I haven't told them, because I don't want to hurt their feelings. They were very happy to give them to me, and were even more pleased that they were able to get them so cheap. Now I can't purchase the real DVD box sets without offending them, unless I find a way to hide my purchasing them so they don't ever realize what happened. That's very unlikely, unless I were to hide the authentic season sets somewhere and leave their versions on my shelf.
The thing that really saddens me is that the signs of fraud were all there. I visited the eBay page for the products (<a href='http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=617&item=6376395677' target='_blank'>season six here</a>, and <a href='http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=617&item=6376395710' target='_blank'>season seven here</a>), and read the product reviews, and was able to tell almost immediately that these DVDs were bootlegs. <a href='http://us.yesasia.com/help/index.asp?q=171〈=en' target='_blank'>DVDs from Hong Kong are Region 3, not Region 1</a>. The seller won't sell to Hong Kong? Why is that? Perhaps because they won't work in Hong Kong? And then I saw the price they paid for shipping. $27 for the items, and $22 for shipping. $49.00 total for knock-off DVDs. Why didn't they see the fraud? "Asian releases"? Wha? The negative responses for the account state that this seller was distributing bootlegs - even some of the positive reviews state such.
I love my family. I am honored to be in a family that tries to make its members as happy as possible. But in the end, it's almost worse having fake DVD sets than none at all.
I took several pictures for others to see what I saw. They're in the list below.<ul><li><b><span style='color:orange'>First, a general overview of the box shell</span></b></li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/boxfront.jpg' target='_blank'>Authentic Season Five box</a>.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/boxfront2.jpg' target='_blank'>"Asian Release" boxes</a>.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/boxfront3.jpg' target='_blank'>Strange tri-Stargate cover design</a>.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/7engrish.jpg' target='_blank'>Bad case of Engrish on the box front</a>. Actual quote is <i>At the Edge of the Universe Lies <b>a</b> Gateway to Adventure</i>.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/boxside.jpg' target='_blank'>I don't know what the Chinese says</a>, but it doesn't say <i>Stargate SG-1</i>. It has the words Star and Gate in it, but the rest are a mystery to me.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/copyrightflap.jpg' target='_blank'>Copyright information placed on a sticker used to hold both box flaps together</a>.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/boxback.jpg' target='_blank'>Do you see what's missing from this box</a>? Don't see it yet? Look closer. <a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/boxback2.jpg' target='_blank'>Here's a shot</a> of the authentic release with the <i>Asian release</i>. Where's the barcode?</li><li><b><span style='color:orange'>Next, some more unusual errors on the back cover of both boxes</span></b></li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/6credits.jpg' target='_blank'>Season Six credit spacing and sizing errors</a>. It's the same <a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/7credits.jpg' target='_blank'>on Season Seven</a>. Strange thing about this? Where's Corin Nemec? And how does one "Presonls" something?</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/anubis.jpg' target='_blank'>Season Seven's improperly placed Anubis graphic</a>; bust cuts off early.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/features.jpg' target='_blank'>Authentic release's Special Features list</a>. Each episode has an audio commentary. The authentic releases of season six and seven have this also. <a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/features2.jpg' target='_blank'>The audio commentary is gone</a>! Ironically, there is no French or Spanish Stereo Surround, nor subtitles of either language available either. Also note the "See inside for individual episode credits" comment at the bottom. There is nothing inside the box except the discs. <a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/individual.jpg' target='_blank'>At least when season five said it would be there, it was there</a>.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/region.jpg' target='_blank'>Uh oh! It says Region 3 on the box</a>!</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/canadianrating.jpg' target='_blank'>Why would a Canadian rating be on a Region 3 disc</a>? And why twice? <a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/canadianrating2.jpg' target='_blank'>And why different from the previous season</a>? And what happened to the US rating of "Not Rated", if the Canadian rating was needed to be on the Region 3 box?</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/cc.jpg' target='_blank'>Good thing they got permission to use the caption logo</a>. Too bad they never used it on the box, aside from where they're stating they got permission to use it.</li><li>Oh, it's good quality stuff here! <a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/highet.jpg' target='_blank'>Highet quality</a>!</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/dolbyare.jpg' target='_blank'>Dolby are trademarks, eh</a>? And <a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/dolbylicensing.jpg' target='_blank'>we obviously should sing about it</a>.</li><li>Time warp time! <a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/copyrightmgm.jpg' target='_blank'>Season five's copyright is 2001</a>. But season six and seven's copyright <a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/copyrightmgm2.jpg' target='_blank'>went back in time to 1999</a>!</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/metro.jpg' target='_blank'>Metro Goldway Mayer is a great studio</a>.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/tradmark.jpg' target='_blank'>Do not infringe on the Trad Mark, people</a>.</li><li><b><span style='color:orange'>Discs</span></b></li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/packagingint.jpg' target='_blank'>The interior of the knock-off DVD box</a>. Wow, great graphics.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/packagingint2.jpg' target='_blank'>Note the high-quality cases for this season</a>.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/dvddefects.jpg' target='_blank'>I'm afraid to try to see if this works</a>. <a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/dvddefects2.jpg' target='_blank'>This one too</a>.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/season6disc.jpg' target='_blank'>Season 6's DVD</a>. <a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/seven7.jpg' target='_blank'>Seaso - I mean Seven 7's DVD</a>.</li><li><a href='http://www.flagmandesign.com/files/stargate/stickerdisc.jpg' target='_blank'>Hey, it's a sticker</a>.</li></ul>Thank you for reading.
Comments
Are you meaning tell eBay?
Ah, I see. I thought about that myself, but I don't think it will help. I've told them many times of the possibilities of fraud, and they still seem pretty oblivious to the vast amount of thieves trying to peddle their wares on the Web. While I can understand this instance would greatly affect them and their perception of eBay and other Internet sales, I don't know if it really would be worth it.
Yes, but that doesn't mean they're legal in the United States, hehe.
FBI investigators are known far and wide for their tact in situations such as these.
Nor are they in Canada, but they're cheap! <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Wink!
And honesty is the best policy - but I can see being in that kinda tight spot not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings. If it were me I don't know if I would tell my family or conceal it.... guess it would depend on my mood....
Good Luck...
On the bright side, they do work don't they? Better than nothing I guess.
They got me one or two movies from a friend at work but I point blank refused to watch them, add them to my DVD shelf or even enter my bedroom in the slightest <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
They still buy them for themselves though ><
Let's put it this way... it's the thought that counts. If you get a pirate or bootleg instead of the real deal the thought was 'hey this is cheaper' :/
GrayDuck, I don't know if I can report the fraud to eBay, since I'm not the one who made the purchase. I should be able to, but I don't know if it's worth the trouble. The main reason is that if we were to get any sort of money refunded, my parents would be tipped off right away that something was up.
Don't get me wrong; I'm not lying to my family. It wasn't until later in the day that I finally realized that these were definitely fakes. Beforehand I had a sneaking suspicion, but kept it to myself.
As for my feelings, I'm bummed out by this. My family is pretty open with each other, and while I want them to know, I also know this would tear them up pretty badly. They don't enjoy being ripped off, and they really don't enjoy finding out something they bought for their kid is "broken". It's happened in the past with one sibling or another, and they still mention the instances, years later.
Geminosity, I too feel very uncomfortable putting them on my shelf. It feels... wrong. I know my parents made the purchase because they could get what I really wanted for a whole lot cheaper than normal: they wouldn't have purchased the DVDs at full price.
Shoebox, I too don't buy much off eBay, because of problems like this. The things I have purchased have been odd and unwanted enough that people wouldn't bother scamming them (mostly out of print books, odd old toys).
DOOManiac, I now know how accurate and timely your advice is.
In the end, I think I'll probably let them in on this when I get around to purchasing the authentic box sets. Either that, or I'll just quietly swap them and wait for them to inquire on their "Asian Release" versions, hehe.
*Lend* them to a friend, wait a week, then say that the friend gave them back to you in a public place, you put them down and forgot about them for 10 minutes or so, came back and they were gone.
Now you can buy new ones.
*Lend* them to a friend, wait a week, then say that the friend gave them back to you in a public place, you put them down and forgot about them for 10 minutes or so, came back and they were gone.
Now you can buy new ones. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Not a bad idea at all. I'd do it.
*EDIT*
Personally though, I'd make sure the friend covers for you. Just to cover all ends.
2 months later, use plan A to ditch the old ones.
And don't bother with tellin FBI. They won't do a thing. If you are really wanting to let an agency know, PM me. Maybe I can talk to my dad (Fraud Supervisor for ICE <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->) and see what he says, when he gets back from his trip.
Oh, btw, he got the family the following from when he was in China:
Star Trek:TNG set [all seasons] (MINE!)
James Bond Anniversary set (MINE!)
Sex and the City (moms...)
V-Gundam (MINE!)
CSI Collection
Troy (when it was still in theatres)
King Arthur
and much more (the stack of DVDs is a foot tall).
That was only DVDs. He also got a lot of products. CHEAP SILK TIES!!! w00t!
And theres a funny case he worked on. If its over and done with (I'll check with him), I'll see if he'll share it online.
japanese and korean have intermediate r/l
therefore it is impossible to confuse l/r in chinese and engrish is not the term. although some dialects lack r and presumably speakers of said dialects will be unfamiliar with reproducing the r sound
indeed. it has been the case for a good while now that one can get games and dvds for el cheapo in china, on the order of 50c to a few US dollars at most
duped by old skool salesmanship
They got me one or two movies from a friend at work but I point blank refused to watch them, add them to my DVD shelf or even enter my bedroom in the slightest <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
They still buy them for themselves though ><
Let's put it this way... it's the thought that counts. If you get a pirate or bootleg instead of the real deal the thought was 'hey this is cheaper' :/ <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
agree re: cheap. dvds are priced way too high for my tastes. i appreciate the amount of effort goes into making a movie and bringing it to market, and the talent that goes into <i>good</i> movies, but sad to say, as a student i simply cannot afford that ****. many works are interesting but not that great and hardly deserving of their official us prices
japanese and korean have intermediate r/l
therefore it is impossible to confuse l/r in chinese and engrish is not the term. although some dialects lack r and presumably speakers of said dialects will be unfamiliar with reproducing the r sound <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yes yes, Japanese are the founders of Engrish. Still, the translation error was similar to Japanese errors, and I like "Engrish", so I used it.
The foremost authority on Engrish (Engrish.com) says this about Engrish:
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Q. What is Engrish?
A. Engrish can be simply defined as the humorous English mistakes that appear in Japanese advertising and product design.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
So yes, you are correct that Engrish <b>started</b> with Japanese translation errors. However:
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Q. Is Engrish found only in Japan?
A. No, Engrish can be found all over the world, but the vast majority of the really funny and creative Engrish is from Japan. The webmaster has seen many examples of Engrish from around the world, but most are not fit for Engrish.com (ie – they are not funny enough). People are invited to send in Engrish from other countries (including the US) - if some really good examples come in, Engrish.com will be happy to post them. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The term "Engrish" has blossomed to any type of grammatical or typographical error that <b>looks</b> like Japanese translation errors.
Well what's your problem then.
Well what's your problem then. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Oh man. That changes everything. If it ain't broke don't fix it, meds.
Well what's your problem then. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I shall bootleg my next game, I'm sure it's no different.