Quoting Battling Butler:

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Quoting Unicus69:

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Welcome to the world of Ascended_Saiyan JonM.  In his world he knows more than anyone.  He has better knowledge than you do because he has visited the area.  The fact that you actualy LIVE in that area means nothing. 

Yes, and he's absolutely sure that Germany will be victorious over the Allied and Russian scum. 

Well yes, he visited there once while playing Risk with his Great Aunt Mabel...so he is an expert.

Quoting Mark Harrison:

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I know it seems funny to pick on him.  But you guys are just making yourselfs look foolish.  He's got an IQ of 132.  He must be right.

     

One thing I've found to be true is that intelligence doesn't equal common sense 

Quoting Mark Harrison:

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I know it seems funny to pick on him.  But you guys are just making yourselfs look foolish.  He's got an IQ of 132.  He must be right.

Yeah right... I've got it measured at 148 and I don't know squat about these things 

Quoting JonM:

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Granted, within those areas you will find traders who specialise in Indian produce of all descriptions. There you will find a healthy amount of VCDs, I am sure, but they will be limited number, specialist labels, possibly imported, more than likely bootleg.

Of course, VCDs are more than likely bootleg.  I haven't heard of many (if any) movie studios releasing movies on VCD.  That automatically means they would not generally be in "proper stores", but they still aren't hard to find.  You seem to agree that one could buy these VCDs where I said you could.  Thank you for confirming that for me.

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The reason is, the average British Indian will go to HMV, Virgin or whoever in any part of the country and buy the DVDs, just like anyone else!

That seems to be very true.  I don't believe anyone is talking about or doubting DVD sales (definitely not me).  But, you have confirmed that people can get VCDs where I said they could.  That's all we are going for here.  Do you recognize CD players that are also MP3 and VCD players in "proper stores" there (I can't remember if I saw that on some of the CD players out there or not)?

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Bollywood titles are freely available in the popular formats, of which VCD certainly isn't. My Indian neighbours would not drive all the way into Leicester just to get a crap VCD!

Of course, Bollywood titles are freely available in DVD in "proper stores".  VCD is for those that don't want to pay that price for DVD titles.  Just like bootleg titles are popular in the US, so are VCDs in other parts of the world.  Are bootleg DVDs as popular as DVD sales in a "proper store"?  Definitely not, but they are popular none the less.  In your particular case, there is some distance involved.  If you have to travel a great distance to get to a store, this obviously changes the equation.

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Good for you if you want to travel to somewhere like Leicester and experience authentic Indian culture. Their Diwali celebrations are incredible, for instance.

Sounds like fun!  I might just do that.

Quoting Rifter:

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Quoting Lithurge:

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Quoting Mark Harrison:

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I know it seems funny to pick on him.  But you guys are just making yourselfs look foolish.  He's got an IQ of 132.  He must be right.

     

One thing I've found to be true is that intelligence doesn't equal common sense 

You bet.  I'll take a guy with an 80 IQ and plenty of street smarts any day over a so-called genius!

I guess personal attacks from from the Peanut Gallery will help people understand the real differences between Blu-ray and HD DVD, right?

I could follow the same lowbrow tactics some of you guys use, but someone has to be civil in this circus.

Quoting Ascended_Saiyan:

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Of course, VCDs are more than likely bootleg.  I haven't heard of many (if any) movie studios releasing movies on VCD.  That automatically means they would not generally be in "proper stores", but they still aren't hard to find.  You seem to agree that one could buy these VCDs where I said you could.  Thank you for confirming that for me.

Come on Ascended!!
This way any wrong can make a right!

We are talking about availability in "proper stores". Then again still VCD isn't a popular format in Europe, 'cause a lot of people nowadays easily make a DVD from their downloaded/rented/loaned (that is why I don't loan my DVDs) movies.

The only bright thing I see coming soon concerning High Definition DVD is LG's Dual Format high def players!!!  Perhaps then I will upgrade, but then again perhaps not!!!  In the last couple of years I have purchased several Denon DVD players as well as the Denon 3805 a/v receiver.  This year I have been eyeing a 1080p HD-TV as a possible upgrade.  I had/have been considering the high def DVD formats but then I recently caught up with the entire HDMI 1.3 upgrade coming soon (Available now perhaps?) and honestly I am not in the mood to upgrade my A/V receiver anytime soon just so I can have the benefit of Dolby Digital TrueHD. 

Honestly as an average US consumer, I believe I will wait for all this crap to settle itself out before I begin throwing my hard earned money into some new technology that is still upgrading hardware connections so late in the game.  Hopefully the best format wins (and by best I mean quality and affordability).

Quoting JonM:

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Just to clarify, you said you bought them while you were here. I haven't seen VCD on sale anywhere since the late 90s. I agree it's possible. I just think anyone buying VCD for any reason is being ripped off.

I generally agree with you (I just wouldn't say "for ANY reason").  I do it when I'm overseas and I that's the only way I can see that particular movie.  It allows me judge whether I want the movie or not.  It also serves as a reminder to search for a LEGAL DVD copy of that title.  It's next to impossible to find those in the US.  After coming back to the US, it's ease to forget those titles otherwise.  It's not like I'm preventing movie studios from getting their deserved money for titles I want to see.

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And I don't know anyone who does. People who don't want to pay full DVD price, pay pirate DVD price. Not VCD!

I find that if a tourist can find these things without effort, it's popular ("popular" in the way I mentioned in my previous post).

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I don't know about CD players that can handle VCD; that seems absurd. You can buy DVD players at under £20. Nobody is bothering to sell hybrid CD players.

I said that because I've bought these CD/MP3/VCD players w/ remote and car adapter in a few countries (usually about $30 US).  I even bought one in the Kuwaiti airport before flying to London.

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A film on a disc, not a format.

Actually, a disc with nothing recorded on it is still a format, but know where you are going with this.

I think we have been off subject for a while now.  Let's get back to Blu-ray vs. HD DVD, shall we?