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VHS, VCDs, and Laserdiscs in Southeast Asia

(rubenerd.com)
92 points mikece | 1 comments | 11 Jul 25 16:02 UTC | HN request time: 0.962s | source
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OneFriend2575 ◴[15 Jul 25 12:10 UTC] No.44570317[source]▶
Loved this, such a good reminder that for a lot of us in SE Asia, VCDs weren’t just a format, they were basically the bridge between VHS bootlegs and early DVDs. Karaoke, bootlegs, family movies… it was all mixed in.

What’s interesting is how much the timing of official releases shaped all this. If you had to wait months for a cinema run or home video, the “street version” was too tempting to pass up.

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justsomehnguy ◴[15 Jul 25 13:07 UTC] No.44570730[source]▶
> the bridge between VHS bootlegs and early DVDs

What about DivX/XviD?

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reaperducer ◴[15 Jul 25 13:47 UTC] No.44571135[source]▶
What about DivX/XviD?

VCDs had broad hardware support, and were more mainstream.

I used to travel around Southeast Asia a bit, and whenever I was in Hong Kong, I'd load up on VCD movies at mainstream stores like HMV.

I still have VCD copies of The Incredibles and On Her Majesty's Secret Service I bought at HMV.

replies(2): >>44571219 #>>44571314 #
1. ◴[15 Jul 25 13:56 UTC] No.44571219[source]▶