Welcome to the dedicated thread for discussion of the Taiwanese Blu-ray releases of the Studio Ghibli Catalogue!
Why Bother with the Taiwan Releases?
We all know that the Ghibli Region-Free Japanese Blu-rays offer the best available audio-video presentations of each Ghibli film at exorbitant prices due to the strong Yen and the high RRP of Anime titles in Japan. Well, so long as you're not bothered about the English dubs for these films then for almost the entire Ghibli catalogue the Taiwan releases offer exact ports of both the Japanese transfers and the Japanese audio, with English subs at a fraction of the price (roughly 820TWD/$28/£17 before shipping).
So far all Taiwan Ghibli Blu-rays tested have the exact same encodes, the exact same Japanese audio options, and the exact same English subtitles (with the same translations) as their Japanese counterparts. Plus most of the catalogue has been confirmed as Region A&B compatible despite their cases often stating Region A only. The only exceptions are Nausicaa and Ponyo, which appear to be ports of their HK Blu-ray counterparts (which means only a 1080i transfer for Ponyo).
What Titles are Currently Available?
The Taiwan releases tend to follow around three months after the Japanese releases, with the exception of Grave of the Fireflies, which is still awaiting a Taiwanese release. (More on this in the next section)
Who Distributes these Titles in Taiwan?
I believe Disney hold the East Asian rights for the Ghibli catalogue, but Deltamac (Taiwan) Co. Ltd. is the sole distributor for Disney, Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox, MGM, Sony, Paramount, DreamWorks, and the BBC in Taiwan. This is why you'll find the Disney logo on the Taiwanese slipcovers of some of these releases. As far as I'm aware Disney do not own the rights to Grave of the Fireflies anywhere in the world, so unless Deltamac go after it themselves it will probably never be released as part of their collection.
Do we Know for Certain that the Taiwanese Releases Port Over the Presentations from the Japanese Releases?
The easiest way is to check the BDinfo scans of the Taiwanese discs. You can compare these readings with the information on the current JPN releases in the Ghibli Comparison Thread.
Here are the BDinfo scans that have been accumulated so far:
[1989] Kiki's Delivery Service:
[Show spoiler]
Code:
Total Video
Title Codec Length Movie Size Disc Size Bitrate Bitrate Main Audio Track
----- ------ ------- -------------- -------------- ------- ------- ------------------
00001.MPLS AVC 1:43:02 31,620,882,432 38,702,434,207 40.92 36.41 DTS-HD Master 2.0 2124Kbps (48kHz/24-bit)
Code:
DISC INFO:
Disc Title: KIKI S DELIVERY SERVICE
Disc Size: 38,702,434,207 bytes
Protection: AACS
BD-Java: No
BDInfo: 0.5.8
PLAYLIST REPORT:
Name: 00001.MPLS
Length: 1:43:02.676 (h:m:s.ms)
Size: 31,620,882,432 bytes
Total Bitrate: 40.92 Mbps
VIDEO:
Codec Bitrate Description
----- ------- -----------
MPEG-4 AVC Video 36410 kbps 1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
AUDIO:
Codec Language Bitrate Description
----- -------- ------- -----------
DTS-HD Master Audio Japanese 2124 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2124 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio Chinese 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
SUBTITLES:
Codec Language Bitrate Description
----- -------- ------- -----------
Presentation Graphics Chinese 28.321 kbps
Presentation Graphics Chinese 40.281 kbps
Presentation Graphics Japanese 25.602 kbps
Presentation Graphics English 34.209 kbps
[1991] Only Yesterday:
[Show spoiler]
Code:
Total Video
Title Codec Length Movie Size Disc Size Bitrate Bitrate Main Audio Track
----- ------ ------- -------------- -------------- ------- ------- ------------------
00001.MPLS AVC 1:58:48 32,349,302,784 46,406,491,174 36.31 31.98 DTS-HD Master 2.0 2101Kbps (48kHz/24-bit)
Code:
DISC INFO:
Disc Title: ONLY YESTERDAY
Disc Size: 46,406,491,174 bytes
Protection: AACS
BD-Java: No
BDInfo: 0.5.8
PLAYLIST REPORT:
Name: 00001.MPLS
Length: 1:58:48.287 (h:m:s.ms)
Size: 32,349,302,784 bytes
Total Bitrate: 36.31 Mbps
VIDEO:
Codec Bitrate Description
----- ------- -----------
MPEG-4 AVC Video 31980 kbps 1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
AUDIO:
Codec Language Bitrate Description
----- -------- ------- -----------
DTS-HD Master Audio Japanese 2101 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2101 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio Chinese 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / Dolby Surround
SUBTITLES:
Codec Language Bitrate Description
----- -------- ------- -----------
Presentation Graphics Chinese 37.160 kbps
Presentation Graphics Chinese 53.221 kbps
Presentation Graphics Japanese 35.347 kbps
Presentation Graphics English 32.954 kbps
[1995] Whisper of the Heart:
[Show spoiler]
Code:
Total Video
Title Codec Length Movie Size Disc Size Bitrate Bitrate Main Audio Track Secondary Audio Track
----- ------ ------- -------------- -------------- ------- ------- ------------------ ---------------------
00000.MPLS AVC 1:50:50 34,860,662,784 34,984,972,384 41.93 32.92 LPCM 2.0 2304Kbps (48kHz/24-bit) DTS-HD Master 5.1 3981Kbps (48kHz/24-bit)
Code:
DISC INFO:
Disc Title: WHISPER_OF_THE_HEART
Disc Size: 34,984,972,384 bytes
Protection: AACS
BD-Java: No
BDInfo: 0.5.8
PLAYLIST REPORT:
Name: 00000.MPLS
Length: 1:50:50.644 (h:m:s.ms)
Size: 34,860,662,784 bytes
Total Bitrate: 41.93 Mbps
VIDEO:
Codec Bitrate Description
----- ------- -----------
MPEG-4 AVC Video 32922 kbps 1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
AUDIO:
Codec Language Bitrate Description
----- -------- ------- -----------
LPCM Audio Japanese 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
DTS-HD Master Audio Japanese 3981 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3981 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio Chinese 384 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 384 kbps / Dolby Surround
SUBTITLES:
Codec Language Bitrate Description
----- -------- ------- -----------
Presentation Graphics Chinese 26.264 kbps
Presentation Graphics Chinese 40.677 kbps
Presentation Graphics Chinese 41.245 kbps
Presentation Graphics Chinese 36.981 kbps
Presentation Graphics Japanese 27.442 kbps
Presentation Graphics English 29.288 kbps
Total Video
Title Codec Length Movie Size Disc Size Bitrate Bitrate Main Audio Track Secondary Audio Track
----- ------ ------- -------------- -------------- ------- ------- ------------------ ---------------------
00002.MPLS AVC 1:30:51 29,099,243,520 48,513,143,429 42.70 33.59 LPCM 2.0 2304Kbps (48kHz/24-bit) DTS-HD Master 5.0 3731Kbps (48kHz/24-bit)
Code:
DISC INFO:
Disc Title: FROM UP ON POPPY HILL
Disc Size: 48,513,143,429 bytes
Protection: AACS
BD-Java: No
BDInfo: 0.5.8
PLAYLIST REPORT:
Name: 00002.MPLS
Length: 1:30:51.362 (h:m:s.ms)
Size: 29,099,243,520 bytes
Total Bitrate: 42.70 Mbps
VIDEO:
Codec Bitrate Description
----- ------- -----------
MPEG-4 AVC Video 33587 kbps 1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
AUDIO:
Codec Language Bitrate Description
----- -------- ------- -----------
LPCM Audio Japanese 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
DTS-HD Master Audio Japanese 3731 kbps 5.0 / 48 kHz / 3731 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS Audio Chinese 768 kbps 5.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
SUBTITLES:
Codec Language Bitrate Description
----- -------- ------- -----------
Presentation Graphics Chinese 25.174 kbps
Presentation Graphics Chinese 37.630 kbps
Presentation Graphics Japanese 24.266 kbps
Presentation Graphics English 29.102 kbps
Where can I Purchase Taiwanese Blu-rays?
The easist place is YesAsia, but they tend to charge a premium on their Taiwanese discs. E-bay too has one or two importers offering Taiwanese releases with varying prices.
The cheapest prices come direct from Taiwan etailers themselves, but there aren't many out there that ship internationally. Here are a few that do:
1. JSDVD Mall: The most popular and widely-used Taiwanese-based etailer online, mostly because of their English-friendly site. They offer good prices and strong service, but their shipping process is unconventional and can be a little confusing for newcomers! You also need to pay attention to their international shipping charges as Taiwanese etailers categorise their shipping by weight rather than the number of discs. This means that you will pay a high price for ordering titles one at a time, as the cheapest shipping option is for a 500g shipment at 320TWD/$11 for US shipping and 420TWD/£8.90 for UK shipping, with shipping to European destinations often falling somewhere inbetween. A 500g shipment will cover up to 3 Ghibli Blu-rays, which means it really pays to order these titles in batches of 6 or more and go for the 1kg and higher shipping options to take advantage of the shipping discounts they offer.
2. Five Music: Their website has no English language options, but they do have a fully translated page explaining the ordering process and international shipping costs here. Their shipping process appears to be more conventional than JSDVD Mall, but their shipping costs seem comparable with the biggest savings coming when you're placing small orders of one or two titles.
3. books.com.tw: Another widely-used Taiwanese etailer, but you'll have to rely on Google Translate to navigate this site and figure out how to order. (If anyone can explain the ordering/shipping process then please let me know in this thread!)
4. PChome: Again you'll have to rely on Google Translate to figure out how to order, but they do appear to ship internationally.
Can you Explain the JSDVD Mall Shipping Process?
Basically you order your titles like any other etailer, but during the checkout stage you won't be presented with any shipping options. Instead you have to checkout as normal then wait for them to calculate the weight of your order and subsequently contact you via E-mail with the cost of your shipment and a link to your online account where you can enter a second checkout process for the shipping charges. At this stage you have the choice of EMS or Airmail shipping, with the latter option being the slightly cheaper and slower option - but it's still pretty fast!
The Cases for these TW Releases State Region-A or Regions-A/C Only?
That's correct, but I currently own 6 TW releases (Kiki's Delivery Service, Only Yesterday, Whisper of the Heart, Howl's Moving Castle, Arrietty, From Up on Poppy Hill) and they all play fine in my Code-Free player when it is set to Region B mode!
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