I have ranted about how VCDs are bad, but a new reason has popped up. Piracy is very high with Video CDs around and if we want to preserve our entertainment industries we have to fight the pirates. Many are pressured into Pirate films, some receive them without knowing it. Here are the major reasons we have to stop piracy:

1. Industry will die from it. Hong Kong may not have movie studios by the next Chinese New Year unless we stop buying them. Also the high price of piuracy has upped the price of films. DVD cost so much beacuse so many copy protection features are enabled on the dang things. VCDs are rising in price tahnks to piracy and it becomes a Catch-22. You have a choice between a higher priced original and a lower priced pirate. You take the pirate and the original goes up another dollar. It may help to actually get the original and lower the cost.

2. Quality interferes with judgement. Many people think VCDs are crappy beacuse they get the pirate versions by mistake. In all truthfulness, an original film may have the best quality. Many versions of Star Wars Episode One exist and some places do not tell which one you get. After all we may want it so bad we just buy it for the lowest price only to get the popcorn boxed, camcorder sound, "enhanced" version.

3. The originals may have something the pirates do not have. The original copy of A Bug's Life has a new cartoon with it while the pirates do not. An original You've Got Mail from Singapore has the theatrical trailer(commercial) and a "making of" featurette. More movies on VCDs are getting bonus material like DVD but so many people want the film early that they refuse to wait for the final release. I have many pirates from Thailand(I did not buy them, my aunt did as a gift for me) and some of the original version have great bouns features. I did not get the music video with Armageddon or the full credits with Lethal Weapon 4 because of this. Some may say "Buy the original then" but that would make me look bad and my aunt would hate me. This may be my chief reason for DVD, NO PIRATES AVAILABLE IN THE STATES(easily that is).

My last comment was long as I was hoping the idea of free stuff on a disc would sway some away from pirates. I ask that we all stop arguing over DVD, VCD, SVCD, DVCD, etc. and just try once a month to buy or rent an original quality film. Thank You.

-- The Lone Ranger (rutger_s@hotmail.com), June 23, 1999

Answers

All I can say is,I do not care where it comes from,whoever has the lowest price gets my business

-- shane shoemaker (shaneshoemaker@yahoo.com), October 11, 2001.

As long as it's watchable i like it...y'know, not all movies are camcorder rips (most of em are, usually in asia countries, but i make my own vcds from stuff i download so i don got any of those) some are dvd rips (which look great) or tv rip (which look very good) or maybe vhs rips (which dont look all that great but they do the job, some of em are surprisingly good actually) So there...

-- cartoonfan (sorrytodothisbecauseitcreatestechnicalproblemsbutihonestlydonthaveanemailaccount@sorry.com), December 17, 2002.

As long as it's fuckable i like it...y'know, not all holes are dry sliver rips (most of em are, usually in asia countries, but i make my own holes from stuff i download so i don got any of those) some are butt reps (which feel great) or gay rep (which feel very good) or maybe fat girl reps (which dont look all that great but they do the job, some of em feel surprisingly good actually) So there...

-- Mywrist S. Tired (idneverwanttobeeseeninpublicwithwhatihump@sorry.com), December 17, 2002.