David's Helpful Tips

How do I play a Region 2 disc?
Almost all DVD players available in stores are Region 1 only for the U.S. and Canada. You can find players that do not have regional restrictions on the Internet for prices comparable to the Region 1's -- some even under $100! If you have a computer that plays DVDs, you can change the regional code a limited number of times, and Japanese DVDs, which are always mastered in high quality, look superb on a flat screen.

Why don't all Japanese DVDs have English subtitles?
For the same reason there are regional codes, copyrights. While some of the rights have reverted back to Toho, for example, many of their films are still under license to U.S. companies, which is why none of the Godzilla series has subtitles.

Why are things so expensive?
Japanese CDs and DVDs use the highest quality mastering techniques. I've compared several DVDs and the Japanese discs have richer color and a sharper picture. In fact, many recent U.S. DVD releases used the Japanese DVDs as their masters.

What does a copy guarded audio CD mean to me?
So far, I've not found any of these CDs unplayable on a particular unit, but if you try to convert the tracks to MP3 format or burn a copy you are bound to find that you can't.