Hi Aunt Ling: To answer your question; no, it's not my portable player. My little 7" Mintek plays all my new movie dvds crystal clear. The poor quality is definitely in the Chan dvds. I wish I could give you the suppliers name. However, I no longer have the web-site marked and there is no identifying address on the packaging. I do know that there is an annoying blurb at the start of every movie that reads "Digitally Mastered By JeffreyAB" This is on every movie, including my SHERLOCK HOLMES set. I will admit that these dvds are better than nothing; but, just one step up. They are milkly, like a copy of a copy would be on vhs tape. That's why I'm looking forward to getting the new Chans. How great it will be to see the films the way they were meant to be seen many years ago. I'm also going to get the new SHERLOCK HOLMES sets. I'm sorta waiting till Christmas on them though, just in case.
I'm sure there will be someone who can tell you who the supplier was on my Chan dvds, by the JeffreyAB identification. But, I can assure you, you won't want this set. Can't really remember; but, I don't think they were inexpensive. Cheap, but costly, if my memory serves me correctly. Just wish I'd had someone to advise me on the different dealers before I bought these.
By the way, I'm glad you're planning to change over to dvd, too. I have really enjoyed mine. I held out for a long time because I had so many vcrs and video tapes. Of course, I hung on to my Sony betamax and my beta tapes as long as I could years ago, as well. I really do prefer the dvd technology, though, and when you go on vacation, packing entertainment just doesn't take anywhere near as much space.
Lots of luck on your new Chans, Aunt Ling. When you get ready to buy, may they all be on sale, and may they all be crystal clear. Or should I say, DIGITALLY clear.......Sandy

Dear Sandy,

It was a great pleasure having you as an important part of our Chat/Viewing last night. Above all, I am very happy that you had a good time!

Of course, the "Charlie Chan Chanthology" will offer the best quality possible, DVD or otherwise. The set you purchased - was it from the gentleman in England? I have that one, and I have been, overall, very happy with it, qualitywise. If your set of Chan DVDs isn't of the greatest quality, perhaps they will at least he "watchable" so that you may still wish to take them with you on those trips you mentioned. (Actually, I have thought of getting a portable DVD player, myself.)

It is good to hear that you are purchasing one of the "Chanthology" sets, though. Besides getting the best quality copies possible, we are also showing the rest of the world that there is a demand for these movies, which could possibly have a farther-reaching effect than anyone knows. I am even considering buying one more to give to our local "Mom and Pop" video rental just to make sure that Chan will continue to be around for everyone to enjoy.

Thank you, again, Sandy!

Sincerely,
Rush

Dear Rush,
Thankyou, for you kind words.
I ordered the Charlie Chan Chanthology offered at Amazon.com. It's not supposed to be available until July 10th, I think. Is this the same Chanthology that you already have from the gentleman in England? If so, how did he make it available before Amazon.com can? And, I'm sorry; but, I don't know who this gentleman from England is. Will you please give me his website so I can visit and look around?
I sure hope you're right about the farther-reaching effect of showing the world there is a demand for these movies. With all the movies being distributed today, it just doesn't make sense to withhold something for which you know there is a market. There's plenty of garbage available out there that no one should be interested in; and, yet, poor Charlie is being hidden away like something that's tainted. What a waste and a shame..........
And yes, I will be taking my poor quality set of Chans with me on our next trip. In fact, we'll be leaving the last of this month for a week in Missouri, so I won't be home to watch CC with y'all on Monday the 28th.
Hey Rush, TYSM for the picture of your beautiful little Sarah. And, what a thoughtful gift, the Chan bib. That's something you couldn't buy in any store. So unique!
Gotta run,now.
Best wishes for a great week to you and yours.
Sandy

Hi Sandy,
Many people on the Chan boards have been burned by Jeffrey AB. He has been shut down several times and can no longer sell his products on ebay. Rush purchased some very inexpensive Chan dvds from the UK and seems very happy with them. In fact I just realized that I copied a quote of Rush's as follows:

The best deal that I have found thus far comes courtesy of Old Time Radio U.K. (http://oldtimeradiouk.playntradeonline.com) where you can purchase the ENTIRE Charlie Chan series (minus the "lost" films, of course, but "Eran Trece," the Spanish language version of the lost "Charlie Chan carries On" and the pre-series "Behind That Curtain" are included) for only $140! This comes to just $3.33 per movie, and the postage - from England - is FREE! There are 42 films compiled three to a disk on 14 disks. I have found the quality to be very good, overall, easily matching, at least, and in a number of cases, surpassing the quality of Charlie chan movies that I have purchased from other dealers. There have been a couple of flaws, including the darkness of "Shadows Over Chinatown" and a couple of instances of audio difficulties, but these I discount due to the very reasonable price of the set. . . . We are not trying to promote an particular seller or sellers here a the Charlie Chan family Home. Rather, out goal is to allow as many persons as possible the opportunity to collect, and thus watch, Charlie chan movies at reasonable prices.

Sincerely,
Rush Glick

Sandy, I had just paid over $400 for my set before the UK set was "discovered, " so this is a really great deal! ~Mrs. P

Hi Sandy,

Yes, JeffreyAB is persona non grata in Chan land. Poor product and arrogant seller. Fortunately I never bought his product, but I read his many self aggrandizing posts on the other Chan board.

I have heard uniformly positive comments about the UK seller. However, please realize that these are not commercial quality DVDs and are not licensed by the studio. I don't have a problem with that, just pointing it out so you don't think you're getting something you're not. Andy (the seller) seems like a nice guy, and he's responded to my e-mail inquiries promptly and honestly.

I do encourage everyone to buy the Chanthology though. These are bona fide, legitimate DVDs issued by the rights holder. I've read that the advance copies sent to reviewers ("screeners") look fantastic. We need this to sell for two reasons:

a) make Fox look even more foolish for not releasing their films

b) incenticize Warner Brothers to release the 11 Monograms that they control so that we can finally have decent copies of them

At $45 - $48 per set, these are quite affordable and are actually cheaper per unit than what many grey market sellers sell theirs for.

Steve

Great post, Steve! Yes, Sandy, what Steve said!

My thanks to everyone of you for your good advice and information. I think y'all are swell!

Sandy,

If you are still reading this thread, I'll throw my two cents in as well.

1) Of course, what everyone has said about Jeffrey is 100% accurate. Definitely a "no-no" for any of us here.

2) There has, unfortunately, been other Chan dvd sellers that haven't panned out well for certain folks either, so be very careful and selective.

3) Like Rush and others, I can vouch for the England sets from Andy. They are, by far, the best deal going. You will pay anywhere from $10 to $20 per movie with most of the other Chan sellers on the internet. Don't get me wrong, some of them are great people (I've dealt with a couple myself), it's just that to the best of my knowledge there is very little difference in the quality they offer versus what Andy in England offers.

As Steve stated, none of them can offer you a great quality product (other than a studio like WB or Fox), so my personal suggestion is to go with the least expensive set you can find. And that is definitely going to be Andy's.

4) As Rush and others have said, I'd strongly encourage everyone to support the CHANTHOLOGY that is coming out. It could mean the difference between more Chans on dvd in the future or none at all in the future!

Gary

Dear Gary,

Well said, sir! The best recommendation for ANY seller is good old "word of mouth." And I, as have you and others, encourage EVERYONE to consider purchasing the "Charlie Chan Chanthology" set that MGM Home Entertainment will be releasing on July 6.

Sincerely,
Rush