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DVD’s Handling Tips:
HOLOGRAM STICKER REMOVAL
Almost all Hong Kong DVD's, especially those from Mei Ah and Universe, have special hologram stickers in order to prove they aren't pirated. Whilst being a good idea in theory, these stickers are also a pain, as removing them often leaves a residue on the case.
To remove the residue, take a longish piece of sellotape and roll it into a small ball.
Using the "ball", rub it over the remaining pieces of sticker.
As you do this, the "ball" should pick up the sticky bits, and restore your case to its former glory!
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
This guide was created to help those of you who are having trouble pronouncing the often confusing Chinese names featured on the site.
NG - This is pronounced as in singalong. Try taking the si off the beginning of the word to get the NG sound.
TS or TZ or Q - This is pronounced as in its, but without the i. A simpler way to pronounce it is like the letter j.
AI - This is pronounced as in eye.
AU - This is pronounced as in cow.
E - This is pronounced as in fairy.
EI - This is pronounced as in day.
EUI - This is pronounced like her evening (don't pronounce the r)
I - This is pronounced as in see. If it's followed by K it sounds like more like the word sick.
IU - This is pronounced a bit like through, but you can get closer to the sound by saying see you very quickly.
O - This is pronounced as in thaw.
U - This is pronounced like a cross between too and cooks.
UE - This is pronounced as in tune.
UI - This is pronounced as in the term phooey.
Please note: Words which end with an A, as in Andy Lau Duk Wa, are pronounced as in are. In all other cases, A is spoken as it would be in English.
For example:
Tsui Hark = TS + UI + Hark (Rhymes with bark).
Yeung Chi-King = Y+EU+NG (said as one word) + CH+I (rhymes with tree) + King.
Yuen Biao is slightly more difficult as this is the Mandarin version of his name, but AO is exactly the same as AU.
So, Yuen Biao = Y+UE+N+B+I+AU
This is by no means an in-depth explanation of the ways to pronounce the different names, but it's a good introduction to the general sounds which you'll encounter.
QUICK DVD START
One of the most annoying aspects of DVD's are the copyright warnings which appear upon starting the disc. To make matters worse, these warnings are often unable to be fast-forwarded, leaving you to sit through them each time you insert the disc.
In order to avoid this, follow the steps below:
1) Open the disc tray, and the place the DVD onto it.
2) Making sure you have your DVD remote to hand, close the tray and continuously press the "STOP" button.
3) In almost all cases the disc will stop spinning, and your TV will let you know the DVD is no longer loading. At this point press your "MENU" or "TITLE" button. This should take you directly to the discs main menu, by-passing all of the copyright info. etc.
The trick to making this work is to very quickly and repeatedly press the "STOP" button as the disc's tray is closing.