DVD Testing, Subang Style

Another reason why staying in Subang can be very interesting:

As I was finishing up dinner the usual DVD/VCD sellers came around peddling their wares from table to table. Me being me, I of course called the bloke over to look at what he had, and soon after the requisite "ini clear ka?" came out of me gob.

I was already expecting him to say something along the lines of "don't worry boss (in Malaysia almost everyone's a boss), you can always return it" or some such thing when instead he just grinned, tugged his knapsack open and pulled out a portable DVD player with a TFT monitor attached.

I spent half a minute collecting my jaw off the floor while he busied himself setting the player up with the Shrek 2 DVD (which I eventually purchased, since my mental faculties were still all over the floor at this point) and when the dust had settled, I just remember thinking one thing, as I clutched his mobile number (which the guy had slipped into the DVD sleeve) we DVD viewers here have it too good, sometimes.

Here we are, already paying a fraction of the price of original DVDs and we can still afford to be choosy with our pirated purchases. I won't go into detail on the pros and cons of this "agreement" (since that's been done with to death and all) but heck, you know you're spoilt when you're browsing review sites and comparing anamorphic vs. pan-and-scan picture quality and special features for the versions of the DVDs you're going to buy the pirated versions of.

Still, I guess this is something to write about, since this whole testing business isn't even done by most vendors with actual premises, let alone so-called licensed establishments (yes, Speedy, I mean you!). So at the end of the day, I went home 10 bucks poorer, but with something to write about (and a DVD to watch).

Not a bad deal, if I may say so meself. Kinda makes the assorted bullshit at the office today a little more bearable.

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Coming soon: Collateral and Butterfly Effect reviewed, The Sad State of Affairs Regarding University Elections, and How Stupid People Delegate Jobs, all in some form or another!