Japanese DTS-DVDs????

[june]

Hello All,

A brought a Japanese DTS-DVD of True Lies & Armeggddon at a flee market in Philly. Is their a web site to rent or buy Japanese DTS-DVDs?
I'm a huge surround sound person & these two DTS-DVDs @#%*rocked my system. And the picture quality was much sharper than regular DVDs I've rented or bought.

[audioqueso]

Is there a website to rent Japanese or Region 2 DVDs? A place to rent Region 2, no because it's actually illegal to sell or market anything other than Region 1 in the US. Half of my collection of DVDs I purchased from Japan because half of my family requires Japanese subtitles. With American movies, I have actually found that the Region 2 versions are actually inferior with the picture quality. I didn't find much different in sound quality, but a couple of DVDs that come to mind instantly is Saving Private Ryan DTS, Pearl Harbor, The Lion King SE. I have a DVD from Japan and one from the states. It started out with Saving Private Ryan. I thought it was just my eyes, so I compared the two of them. Played certain scenes back and forth, and found that there are a lot of negative artifiacts in the Region 2 version. I tested out a few other DVDs, and found it disappointing, but not surprising. I found no differences in the audio. So I ripped some audio from both DVDs and looked at the audio spectrum, but found no real difference. Perhaps some DVDs that are produce in Japan (and not just converted) might be better, but I haven't seen any in my collection. Just FYI.

[Kevin D]

The real question is are the discs you bought region 2 or region free? If they're region free I would suspect bootleg DVD's. A lot of the bootlegs I've seen have the regular dolby track converted to DTS in an effect to make the bootleg's more 'rare' and desirable.

Kevin D.

[Brandon B]

Is there a website to rent Japanese or Region 2 DVDs? A place to rent Region 2, no because it's actually illegal to sell or market anything other than Region 1 in the US.

I am fairly sure that is not true in the case of mail or online order of discs which do not have a region 1 counterpart for sale by a different company in the U.S.

Just do what I do. Go to Japan every month or three and buy them while your here. Er, there.

BB

[Chris D]

One question about these DVD's - is the sound quality really and better, any cleaner? Or is it just louder, etc?

(i.e. DTS is not always better than DD, if it is not encoded right)

[Brandon B]

As with anything in life, it varies from case to case. Some DVDs are far superior in the Japanese version (i.e. any of the asian films like Hero that Miramax has decided to butcher), but it is by no means automatic.

BB

[audioqueso]

Just do what I do. Go to Japan every month or three and buy them while your there.

BB

Exactly what I do.. but I only go maybe once every 4-6 months. :B

But in regards to "discs which do not have a region 1 counterpart" being legal for sale in the US, no, that is still not legal. The vending of any DVD outside Region 1 in the US is illegal. Trust me, I've already done my homework. It's not illegal to own, but they can not be sold in the US. And most (I can't say all since I don't know them all) places like yesasia and cdjapan are not based in the US, and there is no fine line about internet sales.

[Brandon B]

OK. The outside US internet places are what I was thinking of. I just remember some online place getting hit with a cease and desist by a distributor here in the US shortly after they signed a deal to distribute some titles has region 1 which were previously only available as imports.

BB