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i just discovered that the OT special editions have been released on something called VCD, which is a video format on discs that work in your dvd player. does anyone know anything about this format? id love to have the trilogy on disc, but it seems like if it were really worthwhile, everyone would be talking about it, espeically since it has a 10 minute preview of Episode II on it. whats the catch?

nah, it's not that good; eg: you can't fastforward and stuff... so you have to see that preview!
and I've got it from Thailand, so the subtitles are in Thai, and that's not my strongest language!

hows the quality? i found the whole trilogy without any mention of subtitles for 20 bucks. its cheap, but i dont want to pay 20 bucks for sh!t

normally the quality is good, and if you have a dvd-player you can see it on your computer also

here are too much movies in that format. They were PIRATE material. the edition that has been put in VCD is the re-release of the SE of OT, what cames with a VERY LITTLE info about EP2 (there are NO ten minutes odf the movie or "behind the scenes", but interviews with the technical cast)

There are NO OFFICIAL release on VCD or DVD, so, the quality that you can expect of it, well, si "no official either...

the quality is not bad, mind you!
well, perhaps you should wait for the DVD, so you can have the extras!

i didnt realize it was pirated material. i just thought it was another format used by other countries. i guess ill wait for the dvd, but thats gonna be atleast 5 years

it is ... pirate? woops :-)

NOT PIRATE. QUITE LEGAL. HAVE TO BUY IN MAYLAYSHAH AND OTHER ORINTAL PLACES WHERE VCD IS A STANDARD

Oops. Sorry about the capitol letters.

no problem captain...

you are correct, if you buy it in a country where there are no copyrights (like Thailand, even Turkey) you are not braking the law

But then the import isn't legal, under international copyright law.

In any case, it still wouldn;t be DVD quality. Nor would it have all the great extras a proper DVD would have. So what's the point? We have the things on video as it is.

videos are more fragile...

and funny, here we can just import it

You can, but it's still illegal.

well, now, they can't check it...

It not illegal.

Video CD is a legitimate format.

Lucas produce the VCDs for that market. As long as cross border trading regulition are kept to then you can legal import and own VCD

cap, Lucas never ordered the production of the VCD, therefor it's illegal

Yes did. The Malayian market has them. You can even buy them through online and it is perfect legal.

you are very wong about this

and how come only THAT country has it?

ask everyone, you'll see that the VCD is only in the countries where there aren't copyrights and therefor it's not illegal THERE to make it...

Actually, no it is not legal at all. YOU are very wrong. And this is for two reasons:

1. I have seen NO evidence that GL ordered the production of them. Therefore the copies are illegal in the first place. Whether or not the countriesd they were produced in have copyright or not makes absolutely NO DIFFERENCE AT ALL. The copyright still holds opnce it enters a country where copyright DOES exist. So unless you are going to one of these countries to view the material, it is illegal.

2. There is no existing copyright for VCD Star Wars. So even if GL DID order their production, which I doubt, they still would not be legal here. No more legal than a pirate video copy.

Honestly, to think it is legal here just because it was legal in the country it was made is really dumb.

just a quick question; is a pirate video copy illegal?

Uh... yeah...

come on! I've put a "" there! I'm not THAT stupid... hmmm... wait, delete "THAT", that makes me stupid...

Well, none of it really matters that much anyway. I still don;t see WHY anyone would want it on VCD.

i wouldn't want it, my vhs versions are fine enough.

because the quality is better

Not on a monitor it isn't. VCD doesn't do it for me.

stupid Belgian technology again!

Video CD's and Super Video CD's can be played on most half decent DVD players. Just look for the symbol on the front of the DVD player when you buy it.

The format is a common, and LEGITAMATELY LEGAL, one throughout the eastern world, as I understand it. It is also becoming popular in the US and UK as well.

I also believe that Captain was correct on the legality of the OT on VCD as well. Lucasfilms released the Special Editions of the Original Trilogy on VCD in 1997.

Below are links to several sites that sell these VCDs.

http://www.movieparlour.com/vcd-display-movie-info.asp?id=20001018122727

http://www.videocds.com/action/star_wars_trilogy.htm

http://www.1vcd.com/ViewDetail.asp?VcdID=S10102

Perhaps you might want to re-examine your views gentlemen...

*starts jumping*
He called me gentleman!

Sorry, Ratcat, but I find it strange that in 1997 we were flooded with adds when the SE came, but I haven't heared about a VCD till my father bought it this year...
and why can you only buy it in countries in the East and online?

(hmmm, I'll see what the official site has to say)

My only comment on the legality is still that you cannot sidestep copyright laws by importing from countries with no copyright. And there is no way around that.

If they HAVE been released in the western world in VCD (which judging by those links that RC has provided they HAVE been, though they must have kept damn quiet about it... still, if I was wrong, I spologise) I am completely at a loss to work out why people were talking about importing them. That seems to invalidate the whole argument.

Meanwhile, I still don't like VCD format, even on a DVD player. A decent video and VCR is still better. CD's just don't hold enough data.

Yersott, why not just check out THIS LINK to TFN and see what the first and second prizes are in their 2001 Fanart competition...

As far as the quality issue goes, VCD uses the same number of scan lines as VHS. You will find that the quality between a VCD and a VHS is exactly the same. A standard 80minute CD can hold 800Mb of VCD data (Records at Mode 2, not Mode 1) which is ample.

A typical DVD movie comes in at about 1.4Gb.

yeah, a classic SW t-shirt... no problem with that

strange... never saw that t-shirt

I believe what you are trying to say is that you're wrong...

VCD are part of the first and second prizes for anyone who doesn't want to click the link.

I believe you owe Captain an appology....

I miss for one time and everyone got delousions of grandeur...

ok, CAPTAIN (as long as it's not ratcat ) I was wrong...

bad winner

I still don't understand why we were talking about imports if these things are freely available around here.

I wish you had been here for the start of this, RC. It would have made life a lot simpler.

Hey, I can't be here all the time ya know. I have this thing called a life that I recently discovered...

Better get used to it.

shit. . .

Finally someone discovered a life outside the computer besides me. Good job, RatCat.

li... life? what's that?

Something you must discover for yourself....

egoist

How do you figure that? Probably by not understanding the word you just used....

sorry there but it's the same as in my language...

if you don't want to share your descovery you are an egoist!

I'm touched Yers, you need ME to tell YOU haw to have a life....

And an egoist (assuming you mean egotist) doesn't do that at all. To be egotistical is to have a large ego or sense of self worth.

If that's what you believe of me then I have a name for you, clueless.

Closing.

Off topic and becoming insulting