Yi's trip to HK: Need some buying advice...

[Yi-Long]

Ok, I'm almost off to HK, for my vacation. I'll be there for 9 weeks, and am planning on buying a lot of stuff that's cheaper over there, just so I can make my money back on the trip kinda...

I'm planning on buying stuff for my PC, for the 360 and PS3 (think joypads), a good quality digital camera, toys, stationary, shoes, etc.

Now, for shoes and stationary I dont need tips, but I'm thinking more about DVD's and stuff like that. Also, what good quality digital camera will be worth buying (budget of about 600 euro for a digital camera...)

List so far:
- Dual Shock 3 controllers for PS3. Probably half the price as here in Europe, where they havent even been released yet.
- Hard Gay Tomy figure.
- Ninja Gaiden Ryu figure
- Dragon Ball toys
- A HD cable for my old Xbox, so I can use it on a new HD tv. (which will be VERY difficult to find)
- Maybe a wireless LAN adapter for 360, as they're very expensive here in Holland.
- A new WACOM tablet. Not sure which is best for graphic design. I now have a Graphire 3 I believe.
- DVD's (need advice on that)
- A digital camera (also need advice on that)

For DVD's, I really wanna know what good japanese, korean, HK movies have come out that have received a worthy HK DVD.
Especially Korean and Japanese are hard for me, as I havent followed those markets closely, so i dont know which classics have come out that are worth picking up.

For Blu-Ray, have there been movies that have been released region-free!? If so, which ones? Am I right in thinking there havent really been released many REAL must-haves yet in HK!?

PS3 games are mostly region-free, right!?
For 360 I will have to search for a list about which games have been released in HK that are region-free and can be played on my euro 360.

The Digital Camera: I'm a real NOOB as far as camera hardware etc in concerned. I know how to take a nice picture, compositionwise etc, but when it all gets to complicated I go 'mehhh'.
So I need a good, but 'simple' camera.
I dont mean simple as in no functions, or a cheap one, but one that has easy to understand settings and does the work for me. I just wanna point and click, without going through 5 minutes of tampering first.
Is the Olympus E-510 any good!? Or the Nikon D60!?

Ow yeah, also thinking about picking up a new mouse and keyboard, but not sure yet. Dont know if it will really be much cheaper when I buy it in HK as opposed to buying it here in Holland.

Any help/advice/suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Updated list so far (23-4-08)

- Maybe I'll also buy a Gamecube Freeloader plus a few games, like Naruto 4, which is supposedly very good) Really depends on pricing and on which games are still available.

[EvaUnit02]

For DVD's, I really wanna know what good japanese, korean, HK movies have come out that have received a worthy HK DVD.
Especially Korean and Japanese are hard for me, as I havent followed those markets closely, so i dont know which classics have come out that are worth picking up.

Japan:- 5cm per Second, Paprika.

For Blu-Ray, have there been movies that have been released region-free!? If so, which ones? Am I right in thinking there havent really been released many REAL must-haves yet in HK!?

So, you've been avoiding the Hi-Def sub-forum then? The majority of catalogue title from the big American studios (bar Fox) are mostly region free.

List of region free BDs.

AFAIK all of the Deltamac BDs are region free. Their Infernal Affairs release is a turd though.

HINT: BROWSE THE STICKIES IN THE HD SUB-FORUM.

PS3 games are mostly region-free, right!?

Yeah.

For 360 I will have to search for a list about which games have been released in HK that are region-free and can be played on my euro 360.

Play-asia.com is the resource which you're after. Limit your search criteria to games in English.

Ow yeah, also thinking about picking up a new mouse and keyboard, but not sure yet. Dont know if it will really be much cheaper when I buy it in HK as opposed to buying it here in Holland.

The best mouse that I've ever used is the Razer Deathadder. Laser-engine mice are rubbish (Eg Logitech G5, G9, MS Sidewinder), the only good Logitech mice is the MX5xx series.


Any old keyboard will do though, although if you're after bling bling keyboards then there's the Logitech G15, G11 and Razer Lycosa.

[bradavon]

For news on HK BDs check out the first post here:

https://www.bulletsnbabesdvd.com/forums/ ... php?t=2657

The first line in fact. All HK BDs so far have been Region Free.

I'd PM Romero about Camera advice. Oh are you planning to actually have a holiday too?

Their Infernal Affairs release is a turd though.

I disagree. It's not HD wowness but still much better than the DVDs. The problem with HK BDs is they've all been Single Layer so far.

Don't pick up the HK Dragon Tiger Gate as Tai Seng USA are releasing their own superior Dual Layer BD in May. The rest should be fine, depending on price.

[Markgway]

Yi: Aren't you unemployed?

How can you afford a NINE-week vacation to HK and a list of gadgets and shit?

Most employed people couldn't afford that.

Have you been pimping out your sister again?

[Yi-Long]

For DVD's, I really wanna know what good japanese, korean, HK movies have come out that have received a worthy HK DVD.
Especially Korean and Japanese are hard for me, as I havent followed those markets closely, so i dont know which classics have come out that are worth picking up.

Japan:- 5cm per Second, Paprika.

Already have Paprika, might buy 5cm as it looks great. I'm a big fan of that director's first little movie that he made, of which I forgot the name at this particular moment.

For Blu-Ray, have there been movies that have been released region-free!? If so, which ones? Am I right in thinking there havent really been released many REAL must-haves yet in HK!?

So, you've been avoiding the Hi-Def sub-forum then? The majority of catalogue title from the big American studios (bar Fox) are mostly region free.

List of region free BDs.

AFAIK all of the Deltamac BDs are region free. Their Infernal Affairs release is a turd though.

HINT: BROWSE THE STICKIES IN THE HD SUB-FORUM.[/quote]

Thank man, that's comforting to know I should just avoid FOX then
Yeah, I've been avoiding the HD forum here, simply cause I havent moved on to HD yet, plus my memory sucks anyway...

PS3 games are mostly region-free, right!?

Yeah.

For 360 I will have to search for a list about which games have been released in HK that are region-free and can be played on my euro 360.

Play-asia.com is the resource which you're after. Limit your search criteria to games in English.

Thanks man, will do. Comforting to know all PS3 games have been regionfree so far. Maybe I'll pick up that golf game which they have also released in the west, but they gave it new voices and music. Depends on the price though. Too bad Ninja Gaiden Sigma is still censored in the HK release. Only NGSigma that's uncut is the USA release, so will probably pick that up once it hits budget this fall.

quote]Ow yeah, also thinking about picking up a new mouse and keyboard, but not sure yet. Dont know if it will really be much cheaper when I buy it in HK as opposed to buying it here in Holland.

The best mouse that I've ever used is the Razer Deathadder. Laser-engine mice are rubbish (Eg Logitech G5, G9, MS Sidewinder), the only good Logitech mice is the MX5xx series.


Any old keyboard will do though, although if you're after bling bling keyboards then there's the Logitech G15, G11 and Razer Lycosa.[/quote]

I'll look into the Razr, but TBH I really just want a simple looking mouse without too much weight and functions. I dont want to be clicking stuff on my mouse that Idont wanna click.
I'll look into the MX5 logitech series as well.

Keyboard isnt THAT important to me, as I usually adjust pretty quickly, although the Logitech Wave keyboard is supposedly very nice.

[Yi-Long]

For news on HK BDs check out the first post here:

https://www.bulletsnbabesdvd.com/forums/ ... php?t=2657

The first line in fact. All HK BDs so far have been Region Free.

I'd PM Romero about Camera advice. Oh are you planning to actually have a holiday too?

Their Infernal Affairs release is a turd though.

I disagree. It's not HD wowness but still much better than the DVDs. The problem with HK BDs is they've all been Single Layer so far.

Don't pick up the HK Dragon Tiger Gate as Tai Seng USA are releasing their own superior Dual Layer BD in May. The rest should be fine, depending on price.

Thanks man. I wasnt planning on picking up Dragon Tiger Gate as it doesnt really sound like a movie I would enjoy.

I wont PM Romero, as I'm not a big fan of PM's, plus the thread is here and if he feels like responding he undoubtedly will, and if he doesnt that's also ok.

[Yi-Long]

Yi: Aren't you unemployed?

How can you afford a NINE-week vacation to HK and a list of gadgets and shit?

Most employed people couldn't afford that.

Well... the planetrip only costs me 700 euro, and we stay at my girlfriend's grandma's house, so we only have to worry about food and transportation.

I'm pretty skimpy, I dont go out much, dont buy that much, so over the years you kinda save up some money.

The last few months have been pretty expensive though, and after my holiday I will also have to buy a new TV and a 360 and PS3, so yeah... it's pretty expensive at the moment. Sadly, everything seems to come at the same time now, but oh well... after that I can go a long time (hopefully) without any major investments. A TV should last 4-5 years, my new PC that I bought 2 months orso ago should also last me 2-3 more years, etc etc.

Also, I'm thinking of pcking up a good camera in order to maybe do some freelance photography once I get home, so I can work around my sickness/illness, so I can be self-employed kinda, without too strict deadlines and stuff to worry about.

Finally, family of my best friend (who live in HK) are now looking for a good chinese doctor who might be able to help me with my stomachproblems, so hopefully that will be of help, cause western doctors havent been able to find anything yet.

Have you been pimping out your sister again?

My sister isnt worth paying attention to, let alone spending a cent on her. Havent had contact with that lying ho for many years, and not intending on changing that either...

Nope... I've been moonlighting as a male stripped/hitman lately, to make a few extra bucks.

[gasteropod]

What Yi really meant to say is, 'I'm a drug dealer'.

[EvaUnit02]

Ah, so you're unemployed because medical reasons? Are you on some kind of government-funded sickness benefit?

[Yi-Long]

What Yi really meant to say is, 'I'm a drug dealer'.

Nah... I would never want to do anything like that. I'd like to kill drug dealers though...
I dont feel much for dealing with untrustworthy scum, at inconvenient times...

[Yi-Long]

Ah, so you're unemployed because medical reasons? Are you on some kind of government-funded sickness benefit?

Yeah, i finished school and got my diploma, and then first priority was to fix my health problem cause TBH no boss would hire me in my current condition. So been to the doctor a bunch of times, to specialists, to the hospital, etc.
Cant really find any physical reason, nothing really in my diet either, and they tried seeing if it was maybe psycho-somatic, but also nothing really there.
Could be chronic, but I really dont know to be honest.

The sickness benefit is slightly higher than normal benefit, in order to pay for medical expense and diet etc, but it really isnt very high at all, so obviously I'd prefer to just get better and find a nice paying job as a graphic designer.

[bradavon]

To clarify the BD25 problem (i.e - Single layer) I mentioned above. As a rule of thumb, it's only a major concern if it's a BD25 and MPEG2 compression.

MPEG4 compression (i.e - AVC or VC1) and a BD25 "should" be okay, even if the BD25 has space hogging uncompressed PCM (although PCM on a BD25 is never a good idea). For those who don't know, to put that in perspective: Redbook (Audio) CDs also use PCM and can only store 12 tracks compared with hundreds of MP3s on the same sized disc.

Really when using BD25s you need to be using MPEG4 and either TrueHD or DTS-HD instead of PCM though, both offer equal lossless quality at a fraction of the disc space.

The simple reason why Sony's USA Terminator BD "visually" sucks is because it breaks all 3 rules: A BD25, uses MPEG2 compression and has PCM (thankfully Sony no longer do this). There is never any chance to give a decent bitrate with all those three on one single layer disc, hence why it looks basically the same as the DVD.

Well... the planetrip only costs me 700 euro, and we stay at my girlfriend's grandma's house, so we only have to worry about food and transportation.

That's a good price. You'll also save a packet on accommodation costs. I bet HK isn't cheap, probably less than Japan but more than the Chinese Mainland.

Also, I'm thinking of pcking up a good camera in order to maybe do some freelance photography once I get home, so I can work around my sickness/illness

Would you buy a Digital SLR or Compact?

Fair enough you don't want to PM Romero but you could just pop him a quick PM to get his attention to this thread. I'd also ask over at:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=80

The mods do actually moderate there, but unlike say DVD Forums they're a fair bunch so you shouldn't have any trouble with them.

Personally I'm a fan of Compacts with decent (optical) zoom lenses. My current Ricoh fits in my pocket but has a 7.1x Optical Zoom (which is a lot for a compact, the majority are 3x/4x) which is equivalent to 28-200mm on the old fashioned 35mm cameras. The 28mm part is important as it means you can get a wider shot than the vast majority of cameras (which start at 35mm).

It's also 7MP too. The battery life is also amazing to, average 350-400 shots before it needs recharging. I went for it as it's powerful but I can also fit it in my pocket (crucial for nights out).

[bradavon]

When are you off to HK? 9 weeks, crikey, why so long?

If I was in the Far East for 9 weeks, I'd want to travel to more than just one country.

[Yi-Long]

To clarify the BD25 problem (i.e - Single layer) I mentioned above. As a rule of thumb, it's only a major concern if it's a BD25 and MPEG2 compression.

MPEG4 compression (i.e - AVC or VC1) and a BD25 "should" be okay, even if the BD25 has space hogging uncompressed PCM (although PCM on a BD25 is never a good idea). For those who don't know, to put that in perspective: Redbook (Audio) CDs also use PCM and can only store 12 tracks compared with hundreds of MP3s on the same sized disc.

Really when using BD25s you need to be using MPEG4 and either TrueHD or DTS-HD instead of PCM though, both offer equal lossless quality at a fraction of the disc space.

The simple reason why Sony's USA Terminator BD "visually" sucks is because it breaks all 3 rules: A BD25, uses MPEG2 compression and has PCM (thankfully Sony no longer do this). There is never any chance to give a decent bitrate with all those three on one single layer disc, hence why it looks basically the same as the DVD.

Myeahhhhhhh.... that's all too technical for me.
I'll just read some reviews and hope for the best
Thanks though...

Well... the planetrip only costs me 700 euro, and we stay at my girlfriend's grandma's house, so we only have to worry about food and transportation.

That's a good price. You'll also save a packet on accommodation costs. I bet HK isn't cheap, probably less than Japan but more than the Chinese Mainland.

Yeah, it's a very good price, so my girl did very well.
Personally, I'd like to just rent an appartment though, when we're there, so we'd have some more privacy and I can just walk around the house naked etc...

Also, I'm thinking of pcking up a good camera in order to maybe do some freelance photography once I get home, so I can work around my sickness/illness

Would you buy a Digital SLR or Compact?

Fair enough you don't want to PM Romero but you could just pop him a quick PM to get his attention to this thread. I'd also ask over at:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=80

The mods do actually moderate there, but unlike say DVD Forums they're a fair bunch so you shouldn't have any trouble with them.

Personally I'm a fan of Compacts with decent (optical) zoom lenses. My current Ricoh fits in my pocket but has a 7.1x Optical Zoom (which is a lot for a compact, the majority are 3x/4x) which is equivalent to 28-200mm on the old fashioned 35mm cameras. The 28mm part is important as it means you can get a wider shot than the vast majority of cameras (which start at 35mm).

It's also 7MP too. The battery life is also amazing to, average 350-400 shots before it needs recharging. I went for it as it's powerful but I can also fit it in my pocket (crucial for nights out).

I already have a pretty damn good compact camera, but it's a few years old. I'm very satisfied with the quality usually, but if I am gonna upgrade I might as well do it in HK and take advantage of the slightly lower prices, plus I'll be able to do lots of photography there...

I'm looking at SLR's at the moment. Seems like the best choice if you're gonna upgrade.

[Yi-Long]

When are you off to HK? 9 weeks, crikey, why so long?

If I was in the Far East for 9 weeks, I'd want to travel to more than just one country.

We'll leave early may, till early july.
I initially thought we'd just be 5 weeks, as usual, but my girlfriend has had a long stressfull year at work, so she has now quit her job, and wants some time off and then take her time to take a nice vacation and after that take her time to find a good job again. She has a pretty high diploma, but before she just used to take the first OK-sounding job that came her way, so she was working beneath her level, which isnt good.

We're thinking of maybe visiting Cheng Du cause my friend is studying there, or maybe make a trip to Japan or Korea... as it's all quite affordable when you book in Hong Kong.
300-400 euro for the whole trip (plane + hotel for 4 nights orso)
Only thing I'm worried about is that it might be some organized grouptour, which wouldnt work out very well with my medical condition, cause you'd always be on a strict schedule etc...

[bradavon]

Myeahhhhhhh.... that's all too technical for me.
I'll just read some reviews and hope for the best
Thanks though...

Fair enough, to keep it simple:

Single Layer + MPEG2 Compression = BAD

And as none of the HK BDs use MPEG2 (but are BD25s) they should be fine, if not amazing.

Just like a 2.5Hr-3Hr movie on a Single Layer DVD generally isn't a good idea, which I presume you already know. Otherwise it's generally okay, roughly speaking.

I'm looking at SLR's at the moment. Seems like the best choice if you're gonna upgrade.

When it comes to cameras, size really does matter, so yes SLRs are best. A decent size lens is why Camera Phones will NEVER work. MP3 Phones are a good idea though.

That said, they are big, so I prefer Compacts myself. SLRs IMO are just too much hassle to lug around.

[saltysam]

Don't pick up the HK Dragon Tiger Gate .

The HK Dragon Tiger Gate has an awesome transfer.

[Yi-Long]

Myeahhhhhhh.... that's all too technical for me.
I'll just read some reviews and hope for the best
Thanks though...

Fair enough, to keep it simple:

Single Layer + MPEG2 Compression = BAD

And as none of the HK BDs use MPEG2 (but are BD25s) they should be fine, if not amazing.

Just like a 2.5Hr-3Hr movie on a Single Layer DVD generally isn't a good idea, which I presume you already know. Otherwise it's generally okay, roughly speaking.

Yeah, for normal DVD's, I pretty much know the drill
I usually avoid DVD5's.

I'm looking at SLR's at the moment. Seems like the best choice if you're gonna upgrade.

When it comes to cameras, size really does matter, so yes SLRs are best. A decent size lens is why Camera Phones will NEVER work. MP3 Phones are a good idea though.

That said, they are big, so I prefer Compacts myself. SLRs IMO are just too much hassle to lug around.

Yeah, the lugging around is also a concern for me, so that's why I'm still a bit in doubt etc. I'll just write up some good camera's which would be worth buying, and then when I'm in Hong Kong I'll just check out the prices etc, to see if they're nicely priced and if they seem like a good deal.

It's annoying though, cause some cameras come without a lens I believe, and some dont have a thingy to put them on, and there's all that other crap you apparently have to worry about, like weatherproof, balancing, etc etc...

[bradavon]

The HK Dragon Tiger Gate has an awesome transfer.

Thanks. That's just a general comment based on the fact the USA version released next month is unusually not a port of the HK Disc and will be:

BD-50 Dual-Layer Disc
Cantonese PCM 7.1 Surround

• Audio commentary
• "Making Of" Featurette
• 8 Additional Featurettes
• Deleted Scenes
• Premiere Footage

The HK BD only has the "Making Of". Of course it could just be a BD50 because of the PCM (and therefore the same transfer) instead of TrueHD + DTS-HD MA but there's nothing to say that is the case.

I just meant now I'd personally wait for the (likely) superior BD. I wasn't saying the HK BD isn't also good.

It's annoying though, cause some cameras come without a lens I believe, and some dont have a thingy to put them on, and there's all that other crap you apparently have to worry about, like weatherproof, balancing, etc etc...

I like taking decent shots (i.e - I always use both hands and take a few seconds to compose the shot) but don't have much interest in working out all the intrinsic details.

I tend to leave my camera's White Balance for example on Auto but do adjust it's ISO setting manually as it's Auto setting tends to veer to much to the higher values, which means too much grain.

[Shingster]

he HK Dragon Tiger Gate has an awesome transfer.

Are you talking about the HK DVD? If so, wtf? The HK DVD has a crap trasnsfer choc full of compression artifacts.

[Yi-Long]

If it's any comfort, I wasnt planning on picking up Dragon Tiger Gate anyway, on ANY medium...

[saltysam]

he HK Dragon Tiger Gate has an awesome transfer.

Are you talking about the HK DVD? If so, wtf? The HK DVD has a crap trasnsfer choc full of compression artifacts.

? i've never had the HK dvd.i'm talking about the blu-ray.i think tigercage has it as well.

[Yi-Long]

Nice! I was looking to find info on american bookstores in Hong Kong, and especially for comics and stuff, cause there are a couple of books coming out soon that I'm interested in picking up, and I came across this handy page on some forum
http://www.geoexpat.com/forum/thread3564.html

...which has some adresses, and also says that buying the comics there is cheaper than ordering through Amazon.com (although with the current low dollar, I'm not sure if that still holds up...)

[Shingster]

i've never had the HK dvd.i'm talking about the blu-ray.i think tigercage has it as well.

I was gonna say!

[Godzooki]

i've never had the HK dvd.i'm talking about the blu-ray.i think tigercage has it as well.

I was gonna say!

Aye the BD transfer is one of the best i have seen and the dvd is a turd.