Hi Steve!

Thanks for the reply!

A couple of follow up questions if you don't mind.

Regarding the FMC showings; can I assume these would only include the Fox produced Chans, or did FMC show the Monogram ones as well?

Regarding Panasonic DVD burners; are these PC based burners? (I don't think I've ever heard of Panasonic as a Maker of PC based DVD burners.) If so, can you point me in the direction of where to find some information as to what makes them better burners?

Trading is an interesting idea, unfortunately I have nothing to trade as I am brand new to collecting the Chan films and currently own none, but thanks anyway.

I'm still hoping to hear more from others on this board, but it does seem very quiet here. Perhaps I just need to allow a little more time. Again, thanks Steve, and thanks too to Mike for his reply.

Sincerely,

Doug D.

You are correct doug in your assertion about FMC
only airing the Fox entrys, as that stands to reason.
Many of the Monograms used to show up on TNT,TBS,and
of course TCM. but since the 2003 Debaucle, where a
small minority of angry asians seemingly pulled off
the impossible and got virtually all the networks to
put a [permanant?] hiatus on airing any CC film, We
are not gonna have the option of recording fron TV.
If I were you, Id buy the Chanthology set [6 DvD]..
Then buy the bulk from Andy@OldtimeUK..You'll have all
the films to enjoy...If they're really your thing,
refine later, with higher grade copies. As to your
other Query...Sorry Im not much of an expert on DvD
recorders...yet

Hi Doug,

Panasonics are tabletop (hook to your TV) burners. They do not make PC based burners. I don't have a PC burner, but have been advised that Plextor makes a good burner.

You might try out the DVD recorder forums at www.avsforum.com for more information.

As far as trading, I didn't say it very well, but a lot of folks will trade for non Chan material if you have something they are interested in.

Steve

I'm new here too, but I couldn't help but jump in with my two cents worth. Please forgive me if I ramble on a bit.

I have been collecting Chan movies for a while now, and short of the wonderful quality of the films aired on Fox, I have been quite happy with the quality of Tory's. But like you, I kinda object to paying $10 or more for a B&W B flic even if the quality is exceptional. Still, given the abysmal quality of some others, one simply must make a choice.

An alternative certainly is to trade movies with other collectors. E.G. I just discovered Mr. Moto. I would love to swap some CC copies for Mr. Moto copies, if anyone is interested ;)

I have been making my own DVDs for a while now, and while am far from expert, I think I can offer some commentary on the topic. All DVDr's are not created equal, even using the same media, and the same source material.

wrt the issue of compression, I will first state that the quality of playback at a given compression rate is largely determined by the sampling rate of the original material, and the quality of the original encoder. Second, low action B&W films do not require nearly as many bits as modern color action flics. So three CC movies on a DVDr (about 3.5 hrs or material) does not scare me too much if I do it myself, but I do not routinely trust others to deliver at this grade.

All I can advise is to buy one and view it and see if it is acceptable. It *might* be just fine, or it might not.

I have been recording old westerns lately from the satellite for my own amusement. I find that putting four one-hour movies on a DVDr at a very low bit rate using my equipment, produces playback on my 100" projection system that is almost indistinguishable from the original airing. This is at a rate under 2 MBit/s, using B&W source material that doesn't have a huge amount of action.

On the other hand, my daughter has a standalone DVD recorder (A panasonic I think, but I'm not sure) and putting more than one such movie on a disc with it results in digital artifacts and tiling. I find it acceptable for color action movies only at the highest encoding rate it will manage, and then I notice slight artifacts on fast motion.

From this experience I would NOT buy a standalone DVD recorder. I have seen output from two of them (I have a friend who has one too, a different brand/model from my daughters) and they are both severely wanting.

One more data point, I have a cheapie Adaptec AVC-2200 encoder that I use to digitize VHS tapes. It produces output at a rate of around 5 MBit/s that is clearly inferior to my quasi-homebrew off-air system recording at <3.5 MBit/s. It's ok for making DVD copies of my VHS collection (soon to be sold as scratch tapes at the local flea market ;) but if I were recording a higher quality source, I wouldn't use it. It's acceptable, indeed better than the standalones, but far from state of the art.

So in the end it depends on just how serious you are about getting quality movies vs. how much you're willing to spend. If you routinely spend $20 for hollywood's latest action flic, then $10 for a good, clean copy of a Chan film does not sound so bad. But if you're planning on buying them in lots of 40 or so, that's still a lot of money ;)

Cheers,
Nathan