THIS is a little known fact - not all DVDs you buy are of the same quality.
Like any other manufactured product, a combination of low quality materials, in this case video and audio sources, can be used to make that blockbuster movie DVD you just paid full price for.
Which is why that copy of Kill Bill or The Forbidden Kingdom on DVD differs in quality if you buy it from Hong Kong, China, United States or locally.
In other words, think of a DVD as a mere vessel. You can use your phone to film a clip and burn it onto a DVD but it does not mean that the clip is now of DVD video quality.
It is the lack of knowledge and transparency that agents of the dark are taking advantage of.
Pirates have been known to download movies and TV shows, burn them on a DVD disc and sell them as the real thing.
More recently, some online sellers are passing off regular DVDs as the more expensive and higher definition Blu-ray, complete with the trademark blue coloured packaging of the real deal.
The problem is that the video within is not the high-definition quality that Hollywood has produced.
Truth be told, what these pirates are doing is something some international DVD manufacturers have been doing for the last few years - passing off low quality video content as DVDs.
Because there is no universal recognised resolution or standard in DVD video, the manufacturers are free to do as they like.
Cost has been cited as one of the main reasons some locally produced DVDs are inferior in quality. After all, why pay US$10,000 (S$14,000) for high quality materials when you can get lower grade ones at a fifth of the price?
No doubt, DVD manufacturers will trot out this reason a lot this year using the tough times as an excuse to cut costs.
Unfortunately, there is no way for consumers to know the difference just by looking at the packaging or the disc.
This is also the reason DVD buffs like me constantly buy United States DVDs, which are recognised for their high production quality.
The movie fan in me is also glad that Singapore allows parallel imports of home video titles, offering consumers a wider selection.
I want the option of getting a US DVD at a higher price, rather than be given a product of a lower grade at a cheaper price.
Without competition from parallel imports, there is nothing to stop shady DVD distributors from cutting corners and placing inferior products on the shelves.
However, it is in this current downturn that video licensees should strive to work harder to have special features and 5.1 audio tracks as the norm in DVDs to make consumers buy local.
The higher import prices mean consumers will be swayed to buy the cheaper local version if the quality is good enough.
Otherwise, they can easily turn to piracy and the local video market has no one to blame but itself for not offering consumers a good product to turn to.
Let's face it - between buying a cheap but low quality legitimate DVD and a cheaper low quality illegitimate DVD, the choice in this downturn is moot.
sherwinl@sph.com.sg
This story was first published in The Straits Times Digital Life.
