Amazon India Launched

[crossbow]

Good news for us Indian peeps.

finally, http://www.amazon.in

- Though, as of now items are listed from third party sellers only and fulfilled by amazon.
- No international shipping started as of now as well.
- Only books and movies for now. Soon starting mobiles, cameras and stuff.

Some good deals in movies
http://www.amazon.in/Alien-Anthology...419192&sr=1-11
http://www.amazon.in/Pirates-Collect...419391&sr=1-64
http://www.amazon.in/Titanic-Leonard...419391&sr=1-70

[whitetiger]

the blurays r indian edition or uk or us ones

[divyansh]

Originally Posted by whitetiger

the blurays r indian edition or uk or us ones

Indian Ones , i searched for Kill Bill's Blu-Ray and the one being offered was by Eagle Home Video , Well , i closed the tab that very moment.

[crossbow]

No imports like junglee.
And Amazon cannot sell items itself, (mostly, afaik) due to some FDI regulation. So it's just similar to eBay where Third party sellers sell stuff.
Only difference is, Items which has "Fulfilled by amazon" tag will be packed and shipped by amazon. And returns will also be handled by amazon where "fulfilled by amazon" tag's there.

[srinivas1015]

This is not gonna be useful when it comes to Blu-rays though. It's just like FLipkart and countless other Indian sites.
However, it may be really useful when it comes to electronics.

Btw, is it advisable to buy music CDs in India? Also, which is better - CD or Vinyl?

[lgans316]

Looks like like a marketplace fulfilled by Amazon.

Die Hard 5 Steelbook is about 11 quid (850 INR) which is unbelievable.

[whitetiger]

Originally Posted by divyansh

Indian Ones , i searched for Kill Bill's Blu-Ray and the one being offered was by Eagle Home Video , Well , i closed the tab that very moment.

very funny divyansh

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by srinivas1015

This is not gonna be useful when it comes to Blu-rays though. It's just like FLipkart and countless other Indian sites.
However, it may be really useful when it comes to electronics.

Btw, is it advisable to buy music CDs in India? Also, which is better - CD or Vinyl?

Right now they're only selling books and movies. No music and no electronics. Even when they sell, I suspect they'll only sell mainstream goods already available in other retail outlets. Total crap IMO.

With regards to CD's v/s Vinyl, there's no absolute answer. There are those who will tell you that Vinyls ALWAYS sound better, but that's a lot of placebo effect. Most recordings these days are made digitally and compromises are made at the stage of mixing itself to appeal to the ipod crowd so the "superior" audio quality of vinyl becomes moot. Generally the recordings that sound better in comparison to the CD's are usually ones where you got an older pressing of the LP made from analog master tapes. But those are mainly available from second-hand shops, not the ones you get in retail stores.

Also Vinyls are a LOT of hassle: they are expensive, fragile, take up space and are very sensitive to dirt, moisture etc. They need to be cleaned before and after playing. Selecting tracks on an album requires you to know which groove corresponds to the track you want to hear. Unless you directly compare music you like on CD's v/s LP and yourself feel that the difference in sound is worth the hassle (and that you have enough music of your choice on LP where the sound difference is apparent), I'd advise you to stay clear.

[sanjay0864]

Originally Posted by srinivas1015

Btw, is it advisable to buy music CDs in India?

NO. It is not advisable to buy Indian CDs as they are crap in comparison to imported CDs.

Originally Posted by srinivas1015

Also, which is better - CD or Vinyl?

To me, vinyl is a lot of hogwash. The fact is that there is a certain type of music that does sound a wee bit better on vinyl. But the fact is, that for the vast majority of music, the CD is definitely better. Vinyl just does not have the dynamic range that CDs have.

[srinivas1015]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Right now they're only selling books and movies. No music and no electronics. Even when they sell, I suspect they'll only sell mainstream goods already available in other retail outlets. Total crap IMO.

With regards to CD's v/s Vinyl, there's no absolute answer. There are those who will tell you that Vinyls ALWAYS sound better, but that's a lot of placebo effect. Most recordings these days are made digitally and compromises are made at the stage of mixing itself to appeal to the ipod crowd so the "superior" audio quality of vinyl becomes moot. Generally the recordings that sound better in comparison to the CD's are usually ones where you got an older pressing of the LP made from analog master tapes. But those are mainly available from second-hand shops, not the ones you get in retail stores.

Also Vinyls are a LOT of hassle: they are expensive, fragile, take up space and are very sensitive to dirt, moisture etc. They need to be cleaned before and after playing. Selecting tracks on an album requires you to know which groove corresponds to the track you want to hear. Unless you directly compare music you like on CD's v/s LP and yourself feel that the difference in sound is worth the hassle (and that you have enough music of your choice on LP where the sound difference is apparent), I'd advise you to stay clear.

Originally Posted by sanjay0864

NO. It is not advisable to buy Indian CDs as they are crap in comparison to imported CDs.

To me, vinyl is a lot of hogwash. The fact is that there is a certain type of music that does sound a wee bit better on vinyl. But the fact is, that for the vast majority of music, the CD is definitely better. Vinyl just does not have the dynamic range that CDs have.

Thanks for the info. I have the Man Of Steel soundtrack on pre-order (CD) and I was wondering if going for Vinyl would increase the quality. After listening to scores/songs in a movie on a blu-ray disc, listening to the same movie's soundtrack on CD just doesn't feel the same.
I found this site a few hours ago which sells lossless music but they're digital downloads : https://www.hdtracks.com
I thought of cancelling my CD pre-order and going for that instead but I don't feel comfortable paying for digital content. The songs on Daredevil's soundtrack sounded bad after just listening to them on the blu-ray. But I had bought the CD in India so maybe the MOS soundtrack will sound a bit better as it will be imported?
What do you guys think? Atleast I don't have to worry about considering Vinyl anymore, thanks .

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by srinivas1015

I thought of cancelling my CD pre-order and going for that instead but I don't feel comfortable paying for digital content.

And A/V data on a CD/DVD/blu-ray is not digital? Physical fluff is fine, but if you want the better sound quality offered in a downloaded version, I don't think you should shy away from purchasing. After all the bulk of the price is for the content and not the price of the physical disc.

[srinivas1015]

Originally Posted by ravenus

And A/V data on a CD/DVD/blu-ray is not digital? Physical fluff is fine, but if you want the better sound quality offered in a downloaded version, I don't think you should shy away from purchasing. After all the bulk of the price is for the content and not the price of the physical disc.

It's just that digital downloads are usually DRM protected which often limits the way you can use them. That being said, there's no point in buying something that I might not be happy with.
Mrbrat_Boy and you import quite a bit of CDs, how do you guys feel about the way they sound?

IMO, scores should be included on the BD in lossless quality as a special feature. I'm glad Oblivion is doing that.

[mrbrat_Boy]

Originally Posted by srinivas1015

It's just that digital downloads are usually DRM protected which often limits the way you can use them. That being said, there's no point in buying something that I might not be happy with.
Mrbrat_Boy and you import quite a bit of CDs, how do you guys feel about the way they sound?

IMO, scores should be included on the BD in lossless quality as a special feature. I'm glad Oblivion is doing that.

Hi Srini

I think its more of a personal choice, what sounds good to you? I do buy all my CD's from India, there were in the past some companies that produced local Cd's for Bollywood that were far superior to their Indian counterparts, but they have all but closed doors and left us in the dark.

But i still say its a choice of what sounds good to you. I am for vinyl completely but not for the same reasons you have stated above. LP's cannot go further than stereo sound. The reason i have invested in LP's is that i found that the indian music companies were releasing soundtracks half-baked on CD. They did not include the entire soundtrack and hacked many songs to fit the cd. A terrible crime in my opinion. Case in point is the Razia Sultan CD. Sa Re Ga Ma released the soundtrack as part of a dual film disc: Razia Sultan / Pakeezah. The cd only included 6 tracks from the movie with all the tracks hacked to bits. Sound wasnt that great either. It was a mission but i managed to procure the LP of the same movie, Guess what... It turns out to be a double Vinyl set with exquisite musical pieces. It was an original pressing of the LP, released in 1981 and sounded 100 times better than the cd! Total of 12 tracks on the Vinyl with all the songs in tacked. So majority of the reasons i prefer the Vinyl over the CD is that the songs are not cut, sounds amazing (in stereo) and you get the complete album. There is too much fidgeting with CD's of older titles.

I have recently purchased a DVD-Audio of classical music and really enjoyed the DTS 4ch output. It was a really different listening experience.
I also see that Universal has released pure BD audios of some albums, i have placed an order for Bob Marley and the Wailers, waiting to hear what that sounds like.

I do enjoy my vinyls, but like Ravenus has mentioned, it is alot of work if you want to digitize the music. Lots of cleaning involved, but its worth it for me. There are some albums that i prefer the vinyls over the CD's and these were first issue of these albums. So yes, in terms of sound quality, i dont think LP"s are lacking in any way. Cd's are excellent and i believe they wont die out soon. Its just a matter of preference.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by srinivas1015

It's just that digital downloads are usually DRM protected which often limits the way you can use them.

I don't like DRM too, but HDtracks does not use DRM in their downloads, so you might want to check before you assume. iTunes, one of the biggest sellers of digital music downloads, does not use DRM in its mp3 downloads either.

That being said, there's no point in buying something that I might not be happy with.

Sez the guy who orders random movies so he can have better packaging for some other movies The way I see it, some people have a mental block to pony up money for something that is not delivered in a physical package. A friend of mine once said, "Why should I have to pay separately for downloads? I'm already paying for the internet connection, aren't I?"

As regards Indian CD's. I buy Indian music on Indian CD's because that's what is available. I prefer to have imported CD's where possible because Indian companies are very inconsistent and they do an annoying amount of chindi-chori in the quality of the packaging - poor quality booklets, typos, lousy cases where the CD groove easily breaks up or the plastic rots and forms "droplets" which that screw up the CD etc.

[sanjay0864]

Originally Posted by mrbrat_Boy

I do buy all my CD's from India, there were in the past some companies that produced local Cd's for Bollywood that were far superior to their Indian counterparts, but they have all but closed doors and left us in the dark.

Unfortunately with Indian music we are stuck with no option but to buy the crappy Indian CDs. In fact for this reason I have actually stopped buying Indian music CDs, except for a few rare releases a year. There was a time when one could buy Indian music CDs released overseas and they were distinctly superior to the crap released in India. The Lagaan CD I had bought from India sounded quite poor, but then I bought a Lagaan CD from the US and what a revelation it was. The music took on a new life altogether.

Originally Posted by mrbrat_Boy

The reason i have invested in LP's is that i found that the indian music companies were releasing soundtracks half-baked on CD. They did not include the entire soundtrack and hacked many songs to fit the cd....

It was an original pressing of the LP, released in 1981 and sounded 100 times better than the cd! Total of 12 tracks on the Vinyl with all the songs in tacked. So majority of the reasons i prefer the Vinyl over the CD is that the songs are not cut, sounds amazing (in stereo) and you get the complete album. There is too much fidgeting with CD's of older titles.

Buying CDs of old Indian albums is the most frustrating. More often than not, old albums released on CD do not have all the tracks for inexplicable reasons. My favorite song from Saagar, is not on the CD. Even the audio quality of old albums on CD is atrocious. I have actually burned some CDs from my own LPs and believe you me, other than some sound of knicks and scratches, they sound far superior to the CDs released by the audio companies. I am sure with access to professional Analog to Digital equipment and sound processing, one could put out much better CDs.

[rajivnedungadi]

A technical glitch on amazon.in helped me save a good amount of Money

I ordered the following Blu Rays and got it at a throw away price

1. The Twilight Saga - Breaking Dawn - 1 - Rs.127/- (MRP 1299/-)
2. The Big Trail (John Wayne) - Rs.169/- (MRP Rs.999/-)
3. The Muppets - Rs.254/- (MRP Rs.999/-)
4. Resident Evil Retribution 3D - Rs.829/- (MRP Rs.1499/-)

Also ordered Looper BD (Rs.414/-) and Jerry Maguire BD (Rs.331/-) but they sent the DVDs, so I am going to return it for a refund

All items I received are authentic and genuine

[nrD]

Originally Posted by mrbrat_Boy

Hi Srini

I think its more of a personal choice, what sounds good to you? I do buy all my CD's from India, there were in the past some companies that produced local Cd's for Bollywood that were far superior to their Indian counterparts, but they have all but closed doors and left us in the dark.

But i still say its a choice of what sounds good to you. I am for vinyl completely but not for the same reasons you have stated above. LP's cannot go further than stereo sound. The reason i have invested in LP's is that i found that the indian music companies were releasing soundtracks half-baked on CD. They did not include the entire soundtrack and hacked many songs to fit the cd. A terrible crime in my opinion. Case in point is the Razia Sultan CD. Sa Re Ga Ma released the soundtrack as part of a dual film disc: Razia Sultan / Pakeezah. The cd only included 6 tracks from the movie with all the tracks hacked to bits. Sound wasnt that great either. It was a mission but i managed to procure the LP of the same movie, Guess what... It turns out to be a double Vinyl set with exquisite musical pieces. It was an original pressing of the LP, released in 1981 and sounded 100 times better than the cd! Total of 12 tracks on the Vinyl with all the songs in tacked. So majority of the reasons i prefer the Vinyl over the CD is that the songs are not cut, sounds amazing (in stereo) and you get the complete album. There is too much fidgeting with CD's of older titles.

I have recently purchased a DVD-Audio of classical music and really enjoyed the DTS 4ch output. It was a really different listening experience.
I also see that Universal has released pure BD audios of some albums, i have placed an order for Bob Marley and the Wailers, waiting to hear what that sounds like.

I do enjoy my vinyls, but like Ravenus has mentioned, it is alot of work if you want to digitize the music. Lots of cleaning involved, but its worth it for me. There are some albums that i prefer the vinyls over the CD's and these were first issue of these albums. So yes, in terms of sound quality, i dont think LP"s are lacking in any way. Cd's are excellent and i believe they wont die out soon. Its just a matter of preference.

Hey mrbrat_boy. I have a few Indian CDs that say that have DTS audio on them.
I'm not exactly a CD expert but would these CDs really have DTS (surround sound?) Or is that just hogwash?

[divyansh]

Originally Posted by nrD

Hey mrbrat_boy. I have a few Indian CDs that say that have DTS audio on them.
I'm not exactly a CD expert but would these CDs really have DTS (surround sound?) Or is that just hogwash?

You must be referring to YRF's Discs , Right? They were actually mixed and mastered in 5.1 in London , and then released on DTS Audio in these discs. So they are legit.

[mrbrat_Boy]

Originally Posted by nrD

Hey mrbrat_boy. I have a few Indian CDs that say that have DTS audio on them.
I'm not exactly a CD expert but would these CDs really have DTS (surround sound?) Or is that just hogwash?

Originally Posted by divyansh

You must be referring to YRF's Discs , Right? They were actually mixed and mastered in 5.1 in London , and then released on DTS Audio in these discs. So they are legit.

Hi guys

As far as i know, CD's output LPCM at best, but in stereo as well, not a 5.1 mix or higher. With some receivers you can choose the DTS codecs, but that doesn't mean the discs were created with DTS audio.

If the discs you are referring to are the DVD-Audio's of YRF films, then yes, these did include 5.1 DTS and MLP lossless codecs. but they definitely were not CD's. Which titles are these?

So looks like i have learned something, but i am not 100% sure if Yash Raj adopted this tech on these discs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5.1_Music_Disc

[nrD]

Originally Posted by divyansh

You must be referring to YRF's Discs , Right? They were actually mixed and mastered in 5.1 in London , and then released on DTS Audio in these discs. So they are legit.

Actually most of what I was referring to were Tamil CDs