I want to be educated!!

[akira]

I see and hear phrases like "bootleg" or "R1-rip" or even "import" when it concerns dvds and I was wondering what it all means (although I do have a fairly good idea...not a total moron,lol) especially when it concerns anime. What should I know and how does any of this information affect any purchases I may wish to make and what should I look for when buying anime dvd??
Any help would be appreciated!!
Thanks!

[AnimeInMe]

Most, well all of the anime sold here comes from Hong Kong (HK) rips or "illegal" copying of some sort of the original thing, bootleg is a fancy term used to describe it (comes from the time in America where alchohol was outlawed and people smuggled it in their boots) So it's all pirated stuff but for the most part fine quality for a awesome price. So us cheap non rich status people can afford anime much faster in large quantities. Also I personally think smaller box sets are great space savers.....

[AnimeInMe]

Oh and R1 refers to the (Region 1's) which is the US dvds that are sold here for the high prices in like Best Buy or somewhere, each continent basically has its own little special dvd region which should only be read on those regions dvd players, but the HK rips can usually be played on any region dvd player which makes it even better

[Japschin]

The imports are from HK and generally companies like FX rip them from the R1s (US releases).
When buying imports, to make sure, you can read the reviews on the sets you are interested in. The reviews tell you the quality of the imports.

What you should look for? Eh.....well, guess it depends on your budget. If you are loaded with cash you may want to get the R1s, however, imports are pretty economic. You can buy double or triple the number of import sets for the same amount of money you spend on 1 complete set of R1 series.

For me, imports are for me to test out anime series before deciding whether I like it well enuff to get the R1s.

My DVDs

[Vicious]

Originally posted by Japschin

For me, imports are for me to test out anime series before deciding whether I like it well enuff to get the R1s.

I'm with you on that. alot of times I'll buy a series and then if I like it enough, I'll wait until I can get a good deal on the R1's for it. I actually have the Tylor HK's that he wants, but can't get rid of them until TRSI comes out with their new Tylor box sets.

Hopefully you've read the FAQ since that answers some of your questions. But since noone ever does read it, here's a link

http://www.import-anime.com/forums/showt...eadid=2560

And actually here's the FAQ from AN forums. they help clear up even more of your HK questions.

http://arcticnightfall.com/boards/showth...hreadid=29

Also, here's a map to help you with the regions in case you wanted to know

http://www.animeondvd.com/reviews/index.php

Read the FAQ and then let us know what specific questions you might still have.