RoboCop 2 on VCD.
-
RoboCop 2 on VCD.
Why VCD? Because VCD is the MiniDisc of video formats—technically obsolete, mostly overlooked in the West, but massive in Asia.
It’s the format that defined movie nights in Hong Kong, Manila, and Jakarta. Laserdisc, DVD, and Blu-ray all outclass it, but none of them capture that distinctly low-fi, pan-Asian, living-room energy.
There’s a charm to watching RoboCop 2 with all the pixelation and compression artifacts, like you’re time-traveling back to a 1998 apartment in Singapore.
Sometimes the “worst” format is the most evocative.
-
RoboCop 2 on VCD.
Why VCD? Because VCD is the MiniDisc of video formats—technically obsolete, mostly overlooked in the West, but massive in Asia.
It’s the format that defined movie nights in Hong Kong, Manila, and Jakarta. Laserdisc, DVD, and Blu-ray all outclass it, but none of them capture that distinctly low-fi, pan-Asian, living-room energy.
There’s a charm to watching RoboCop 2 with all the pixelation and compression artifacts, like you’re time-traveling back to a 1998 apartment in Singapore.
Sometimes the “worst” format is the most evocative.@atomicpoet did you find this in a cardboard box next to a rack of bootleg purses
-
@atomicpoet did you find this in a cardboard box next to a rack of bootleg purses
Allan Chow I live in Richmond, BC, Canada – the most Asian part of North America.
The closest shop to me that sells vinyl has more city pop than classic rock.
There are more bubble tea shops than coffee shops. And by the way, my wife refuses to say “boba” because it’s Taiwanese slang for “big breasts”.
Thrift shops here are absolutely littered with discarded Asian stuff from yesteryear. I sometimes buy VHS tapes just to watch Hong Kong TV shows in the hopes there are commercials.
Anyway, there are lots of VCDs there. Many of them are Hollywood films with Chinese subtitles at the bottom. And of course, I would never have it any other way.
-
RoboCop 2 on VCD.
Why VCD? Because VCD is the MiniDisc of video formats—technically obsolete, mostly overlooked in the West, but massive in Asia.
It’s the format that defined movie nights in Hong Kong, Manila, and Jakarta. Laserdisc, DVD, and Blu-ray all outclass it, but none of them capture that distinctly low-fi, pan-Asian, living-room energy.
There’s a charm to watching RoboCop 2 with all the pixelation and compression artifacts, like you’re time-traveling back to a 1998 apartment in Singapore.
Sometimes the “worst” format is the most evocative.@atomicpoet I have exactly one movie in that format (Ninja Scroll). It appealed to my then lack of DVD player and that I could hope to keep a copy of the contents on my hd. I like that digital lofi is getting some love now. Mavica jankiness.
-
@atomicpoet I have exactly one movie in that format (Ninja Scroll). It appealed to my then lack of DVD player and that I could hope to keep a copy of the contents on my hd. I like that digital lofi is getting some love now. Mavica jankiness.
𝚝𝚓𝚠 VLC is the way to go if you want to watch VCDs because most new DVD and Blu-Ray players aren’t backwards compatible anymore.
-
𝚝𝚓𝚠 VLC is the way to go if you want to watch VCDs because most new DVD and Blu-Ray players aren’t backwards compatible anymore.
@atomicpoet I totally forgot about how they used to be backwards compatible. Even at the time it seemed like I was a weirdo for wanting a vcd at a time when dvds already existed.
-
@atomicpoet I totally forgot about how they used to be backwards compatible. Even at the time it seemed like I was a weirdo for wanting a vcd at a time when dvds already existed.
𝚝𝚓𝚠 My first connection to them was the CD-i, which were could play them with a Digital Video Cartridge. Didn’t own one but thought it was cool.
Then it became the thing you’d find at night markets if you couldn’t afford a DVD.
Believe it or not, you can still buy new VCDs on Asian storefronts.
