DVDs from BKK
 

I have never bought DVDs when in Thailand and don't know if there any problems bringing them back into the US. Does anyone have any experience on this? Do you just claim them like anything else with Customs?

Thanks.

Sandra

ttt

i would not claim them if they are counterfeit....also are they 100% compatible with usa standards??

A friend always seems to buy a few when in BKK. Some turn out to be OK and others are not any good. But, they are so cheap... and no, I'm sure he doesn't claim them on returning to the US.

i've bought a couple on suk, and i could play them on my dvd player.

i declared them on my customs form, and did not have a problem.

The DVD's are often region 0 which means they can be played anywhere but you should check if they are suitable (America is NTSC, region 1). Best place to buy is Mah Boon Krong (MBK), mainly on the 4th and 6th floor. Quality ranges from perfect to not perfect but that is the same with official disks anyway so no big deal.

They are pirate copies so are illegal. However people like myself forget to mention them to customs and even then, they look OK so customs people will usually ignore them.

Of course, piracy means that some stars might in the future not be able to earn $20,000,000 for a movie that was shot within 2 months which may cramp their lifestyle a little but I doubt that they will end up on Welfare.

Kaneda, loved your reply! My favorite dvd's from bkk are the kind that are shot from a camcorder in the movie theatre and you can hear the other people talking and cell phones ringing! That's more entertainment than the movie sometimes!

It's distressing to me that Fodorites would want to support DVD pirates. Please remember that there are many of us nonstars in the industry who depend on residuals and royalties to make a living.

Plus, whether you think film salaries are inflated or not, pirating is illegal - You probably wouldn't consider bringing back other kinds of contraband from foreign coutries.

Crosscheck...I totally understand where you're coming from. I have friends who are recording artists and non-recording artists, but who are in the industry and trying to make a living. Here in L.A. there are lots of folks...and many "little" folks...in the industry. Happy Travels!

The cheap DVDs that you get in Thailand (and Indonesia) are pirated and are illegal everywhere.

Regardless of how you feel about them ethically or morally, it is still illegal to buy them and still illegal to bring them into the United States.

Chances are you will never get caught buying or importing so the risk is low; however, you should be aware that there is a risk and detection may lead to getting on Customs' black list.

There is a practical question and an ethical question here.

The practical issue is whether you will have a customs issue if you bring home pirated DVDs. The answer is the same as with fake watches or handbags or similar trademark/copyright issues: you will not have a problem with a very small number of items, but your risk increases as the number of counterfeit items increase. Bring home 2 DVDs and a Rolex and no customs officer will bat an eye. Bring home a dozen of each and you're much more likely to have them confiscated. BHring home 50 of each and you start running the risk of some significant fines (if you haven't declared them on your customs form).

The ethical question is another thing, and that's a matter for each individual to address for himself/herself. The question is not black and white, just as whether buying clothes made for WalMart is not black and white.

(Personally, I completely discount the "illegal" argument; the ethical question seems far more relevant to me. I'd ask those who cite the "illegal" argument if they have ever, say, broken the law by exceeding the speed limit.)

I have to agree with rizzuto. Just about everybody and especially police off duty break the speed limit. Many people steal things from where they work. How many give accurate tax returns or pay for jobs in cash? We all pay enough of our money out to even those who don't deserve it and believe we should get some free rides. Someone goes to Bangkok, they've paid a lot of money to do so and it's not as though they go ten times a year to get all the latest movies. It's money off of the cost of a holiday.

It's the same as when British people go abroad for operations, for glasses, for cheap beer and cigaettes legally. It is taking money out of the British government's pocket but when maybe half our money goes to various taxes, why not?

The movie industry can make hundreds of millions profit on a film but that doesn't mean that they are going to cut down entry or DVD prices. As to salaries lower down, that is upto the companies (and unions) themselves. When a film makes a fortune, do any of them get even a dollar bonus? Because their salaries aren't top, does that mean every other job in America pays top salaries? Many smaller stars, etc spend much of their time "resting" (ie: sitting on their backsides waiting for a well paid job to come in).

Like many countries in Asia, you can buy a huge selection of pirated goods there. You can buy clothes, bags, etc made at the same sweat shops as the big names who rob us with huge mark ups. A Rolex watch costs $20,000, how does it differ from a watch that costs $100? People are robbed everyday because upto 99% of the cost of a product is the name. Is anything done about that?

So, the whole movie industry loses maybe a few million dollars in a year because of pirated DVD's sold to people who would probably have waited till the movie came on TV anyway rather than pay full price. They can lose twenty times that in one bad movie.

travelduo. I find Bangkok dealers tell me if the film is a poor copy (filmed in someone's lap) so I'll wait for a good copy to come out if I have time.

It's a pity the movie companies don't have the same honesty. I wish I had a pound or even a dollar for every OFFICIAL DVD I've bought which freezes, dissolves into pixels or even just won't play. It's OK Amazon and movie companies telling us to return them if they don't work and they'll send a replacement (which will hopefully be better) but it costs money to do so and I've talked to people who have received no replacement DVD's and the companies have denied receiving them even when the Post Office has a signature and claims they have. As I said, I wish the movie companies were as honest as the pirates.

rizzuto,
I find it a bit naive to compare supporting organized DVD piracy to speeding. The Walmart analogy is probably more accurate.

kaneda,
I am sorry that you are disappointed in the quality of the legal DVDs you have purchased. But I don't think that justifies supporting criminal activity that is costing the movie industry $6-25 BILLION a year (MPAA estimates).

Furthermore, conterfeit DVD production and distribution has been linked to organized crime and even terrorism. (There is a greater profit margin in pirating DVDs than in dealing drugs.)

Here is an excerpt from a BBC interview on the subject:

http://tinyurl.com/2ypykp

Is it a victimless crime?

Not according to UK authorities, who say DVD piracy is a lucrative part of a wider network that involves criminal gangs, drug dealers, people smugglers, paedophile rings and even terrorists. They say it is an easy way for gangs to raise funds for their other criminal activities. Gangs can earn 10 euros (£6.65) for each euro invested in piracy, and a kilogram (35 ounces) of pirate DVDs is worth more than a kilogram of cannabis resin, according to authorities.

Do pirate DVDs fund al-Qaeda?

The authorities are a bit vague on this one - they say terrorist groups do sell DVDs in the UK and take the profits out of the country to fund their activities, but are wary of giving specific information. In the UK, police do say paramilitary groups sell 80% of counterfeit goods in Northern Ireland. And in 2003, Interpol warned that counterfeiting was becoming "the preferred method of funding for a number of terrorist groups" and there were enough examples "for us to worry about the threat to public safety".

I'll tell you a couple of reasons why l buy pirated DVD copies in Thailand.

Too many times l've bought or watched legal made in Thailand DVDs only to find they have had complete scenes removed by the Thai censor or parts where someone is smoking or holding a gun are pixellated. The good quality pirated copies are made in Malaysia and at least when you buy them you get to see the whole movie, not what the Thai censor permits and before you ask l'm talking about regular Hollywood movies not XXX :)

Another reason is if you want to see a Thai movie with English subtitles. You can often see Thai movies at the cinema with subtitles but when they are released on DVD it's rare to find any, this is a decision by the distributors of the DVD, not an oversight. The only way to get most Thai movies with international subtitles is to buy a version that has been copied from a DVD released outside of Thailand.

I often wonder about the amount of money the movie industry says piracy costs them. While l might buy 10 copy DVDs at 100 baht each there is no way l would buy the same 10 movies at 400+ baht each, l'd either watch them at the cinema or wait for them to be screened on cable one day rather than pay 400 baht. It's no wonder most Thais buy VCDs instead of DVDs as for many Thais the cost of one legal DVD is at minimum a days salary.