Received two of my four Chinese HDCD's...
Apr 28, 2004 at 5:57 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 26

TrevorNetwork

TrevorNetwork - Canadian Group Buy Coordinator
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Well I've received my "Nirvana - Greutest Hit", and "Nickelback - The Long Road". I am quite impressed by them. Although, they both have a nice looking cardboard cd holder/cover thing, they have a regular double-cd case inside. The internal CD inserts look a bit chintzy, but seemingly legitimate. The CD's play well, and sound quite good. I find it weird that they are marked "HDCD - 24bit/96KHz". I could have sworn HDCD was 20bit. <shrugs>. They were cheap, the external covers look quite cool, and they sound good. I could never tell if they're legitimate, but I think they are. To our Chinese / Hong Kong'ese (?) members, is there any easy way to tell?

Cheers!

Trevor
 
Apr 28, 2004 at 6:09 PM Post #2 of 26
Hi, you've got to be REAL careful with these Hong Kong/China discs. Many of these are copies and counterfeits, not real albums. Ever since Microsft introduced "HDCD" (they own HDCD now) in its latest version of it's software for copying CDs, people in China (who often does not respect copyrights) have been cranking out "HDCD" versions of many albums in an illegal manner. Look at the writing on the reverse. Are there mis-spellings? Is the packaging cheap? I've ordered a few CDs from Hong Kong/China off ebay, and they've turned out to be cheap knock-offs. Given that they're digital recordings, are they the same quality ultimately as I'd buy if I bought the legititimate domestic relese? I don't know. You make your choice, and you takes your chances.

Mark
 
Apr 28, 2004 at 6:16 PM Post #3 of 26
Other than a few misspellings on the Nirvana album, and the fact they share many of the same cover characteristics they both seem of high-quality. In the way that the external cover is very solid, and attractive. I have a feeling that in China misspellings are common even on legitimate products.
confused.gif
I have bought many products here in Canada manufactured in China with misspellings. They seem legitimate, but the fact that they have the same rear cover "style" hmmmm... If they are not legit, I suspect they've been manufactured by a well funded, and organized duping organization.

Trevor

<shrugs> Sound good to me. So, is there a way to tell for certain?
 
Apr 28, 2004 at 6:30 PM Post #4 of 26
majority of them are all HDCD. Packaging is top notch and other than the give away misspelling on certain albums you cant tell. The surest way to tell is by the CD itself, not a cheap CDR and it's properly printed.
 
Apr 28, 2004 at 6:30 PM Post #5 of 26
oh and strange bonus tracks and song mixes are a dead-giveaway too.


and yeah, i think you have the pirated version. There shouldn't be any spelling mistakes.
 
Apr 28, 2004 at 6:36 PM Post #6 of 26
a long while ago i bought a copy of radiohead the bends from hong kong and it has those pesky misspellings you guys are talking about, i never bothered to open it because i just got it for collecting purposes but i suspect it's bogus.
 
Apr 28, 2004 at 6:48 PM Post #7 of 26
Interestingly the Nickelback CD is perfect. The thing is though, it's a double CD (The Long Road isn't) and apparently they're labelled by Universal (They are labelled by Road Runner). Both are good quality though. I am going to compare the quality of my legitimate NA CD's to the Chinese CD's. Should I accuse the seller of being a pirate, and ask for my money back?

Trevor
 
Apr 28, 2004 at 7:02 PM Post #8 of 26
You can get legimate bad quality CD's from russia. They have printing license. Thers wrong tracknames even on legimate cd's.
 
Apr 28, 2004 at 7:07 PM Post #9 of 26
Quote:

Originally Posted by KJ869
You can get legimate bad qaulity CD's from russia. They have printing license. Thers wrong tracknames even on legimate cd's.


I can assure you, legitimate CD from HK, Taiwan and Singapore do not have printing mistakes and are top quality.
 
Apr 28, 2004 at 7:07 PM Post #10 of 26
I'm so guilty of buying bootlegged stuff it's not funny. But I live in Bangkok and it's practically de riguer. But the curse (of the RIAA) and the blessing (for poor folks) is that a digital file is a digital file is a digital file (sorry Virgina Woolfe). So, I guess, let your conscience be your guide. Personally, I let my ears decide. And they're very greedy...
eek.gif
 
Apr 28, 2004 at 7:31 PM Post #11 of 26
Quote:

Originally Posted by markl
Hi, you've got to be REAL careful with these Hong Kong/China discs. Many of these are copies and counterfeits, not real albums. Ever since Microsft introduced "HDCD" (they own HDCD now) in its latest version of it's software for copying CDs, people in China (who often does not respect copyrights) have been cranking out "HDCD" versions of many albums in an illegal manner. Look at the writing on the reverse. Are there mis-spellings? Is the packaging cheap? I've ordered a few CDs from Hong Kong/China off ebay, and they've turned out to be cheap knock-offs. Given that they're digital recordings, are they the same quality ultimately as I'd buy if I bought the legititimate domestic relese? I don't know. You make your choice, and you takes your chances.

Mark



Wow, I don't think anybody else can generalize one race of people better than you just did. Just because you read on the news a bunch of CD counterfeiters are Chinese, you go on to assume all Chinese are no good copyright crackers. Mean while, you go on to contradict yourself by buying a number of cheap copied CDs from Steal N Sell, aka, We Sell Illegal Movies and Music, aka eBay. Yes, I'm sure you only buy CDs from Tower Records where they only sell 100% authentic CDs at MSRP prices just like all the other White Americans in the USA.
 
Apr 28, 2004 at 7:51 PM Post #12 of 26
It's not unusual to have printing mistakes on legitimate CDs from HK, China, or Taiwan. I have over 300 legit CDs and approximately 50 SACDs from these areas, and mistakes do happen. And not just in English either, mistakes occur in Chinese as well.

The thing with buying CDs from those areas is to do your research....go to the labels' local website and check. Bonus tracks are not unusual and same with alternative packaging (to make the legit CD different from the pirated CD). Don't assume whatever is released in North America will get the same treatment overseas.

So, is your Chinese Nirvana CD anything like this legit Taiwanese version?
 
Apr 28, 2004 at 9:41 PM Post #13 of 26
Quote:

Wow, I don't think anybody else can generalize one race of people better than you just did. Just because you read on the news a bunch of CD counterfeiters are Chinese, you go on to assume all Chinese are no good copyright crackers. Mean while, you go on to contradict yourself by buying a number of cheap copied CDs from Steal N Sell, aka, We Sell Illegal Movies and Music, aka eBay. Yes, I'm sure you only buy CDs from Tower Records where they only sell 100% authentic CDs at MSRP prices just like all the other White Americans in the USA.


LOL, it has nothing to do with racism, but with experience. I've ordered 5 CDs that are from China/Hong Kong, and all but one was clearly a counterfeit, and I'm suspicious about the one that looks legit. If you've been paying attention, you would know that the Chinese are in fact notorious for bootlegging Western goods (including CDs). The authorities there don't do much to stop the perpetrators, either. It's a major problem. I'm not saying that all Chinese/Hong Kong Cds are fake (duh!) just cautioning to be careful.
 
Apr 29, 2004 at 3:33 AM Post #15 of 26
Hey Trevor, I was going to recommend a Nirvana disc on your great sounding cds thread. Didn't know you were a fan. I mean c-pop, and Nirvana? That's pretty eclectic. So the thing is, get the In Utero cd. It is one of my fav. sounding rock cds. The In Utero songs on the greatest hits are nice sounding - they have a rich midrange, and polished treble, but the album versions sound more in your face - especially the Steve Albini mix of Penny Royal Tea. Guitars are mixed way up, and reverb is a bit crazy too.
 

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