Electronics

Cheap Asian copies of big name brand hardware are commonplace, and it can be a good way to pick up functional machines for a low price. Though they may lack the full range of features and build quality (and warranty) of their real brand counterparts, they make up for it in price. These items can be found in high street shops, supermarkets, and specialist market areas in the major cities (such as MBK in Bangkok). DVD players (genuine brand or imitation) sold in Thailand are usually region free

Shops

  • '''CD Warehouse''' [http://www.cdwarehouse-asia.com] is the largest and most common (at least in Bangkok), with a large variety of music available. They carry a large selection of audio DVDs and a fair selection of movies.
  • '''Mangpong''' (Scorpion) [http://www.mangpong.co.th] are virtually everywhere and have a large selection of movies, but only a small selection of western music. Stock varies between shops so check around if there's something in particular you're looking for.
  • '''Big C''' [http://www.bigc.co.th] and most other large supermarket chains have cheap VCD/DVDs and electronics available.
  • Music

    CD Warehouse and Mangpong are the major chains that sell western music. Most major label releases are available for about 400-500 baht, roughly 40% less than they would be in England for example. The selections are not great for the more obscure items, but most chart pop/rock is available. Jazz also has quite a large following, with a reasonable selection. Imports (e.g. from Japan) are also reasonably priced.

    Video

    Video is where Thailand really shines for western visitors. DVDs and VCDs are extremely common in Thai shops (VHS are fairly hard to come by however), and are often exceptionally cheap. NB: most DVD players intended for the North America, Japan, S. Korea, Taiwan or Philippines markets will NOT play the PAL format used in Thailand. A few players such as those made JVC, Philips/Magnavox and CyberHome may have a conversion to NTSC. Otherwise, you will have to use a computer to view foreign DVDs.

    VCDs

    VCDs (the are the precursor to DVDs) are usually 2 CDs and have just slightly better than VHS quality audio/video (but suffer no wear through repeat playings). Almost every DVD player can also play VCDs, so can be a quick (and cheap) way to pick up that film you've fancied seeing, but can't justify the price of the DVD.

    Price is where VCDs really stand out. They can be had for as little as 50 baht, though range up to 400 baht (although at this price DVDs may be a better buy). The price is normally determined by who manufactured it and how old it is. There are a few major producers (and hundreds of smaller ones!).

    The VCD (and DVD) rental chain store Tsutaya (found in many malls) sells its used VCDs very cheaply (usually between 10 and 79 baht), and the selection is eclectic but good.

    '''APS''' are the cheapest and can often be found in the "bargain bins" for about 50 baht.

    '''Mangpong''' are good for recent blockbusters and horror films. They range for 59 to about 200 baht for the latest releases and offer a good selection. Generally you will only find them in Mangpong shops, but since these are so common (in most shopping centres) they are very easy to come by.

    '''CVD''' are the most expensive but also the most comprehensive of the producers. They make all the other major movies that Mangpong do not cover, and have a very large selection. Prices range from 100 to 450 (!) baht.

    '''Pacific''' - more blockbusters. Prices around 150 baht.

    One important thing to watch out for is the language - you don't want to pick up a movie dubbed in Thai by mistake. Mangpong and CVD are quite good at making this clear with "Thai Subtitle" clearly labeled on the front. Where this is not the case, there are a few other things to look out for - the following are good signs:

  • A sticker with "Soundtrack" is a good indicator
  • บรรยาอักษรไทย (pronounced "Ban yay akson Thai")
  • บรรยายไทย (pronounced "Ban yay Thai")
  • DVDs

    Prices range from 100 - 1000 baht. Thailand is in region 3, though region 1 & 2 imports can also be found in the larger stores.

    Like VCDs, DVDs can be primarily distinguished by who manufacturers them. Again CVD and Mangpong are the major producers, and again the prices for Mangpong are cheapest and CVD more expensive.

    Mangpong is especially good for cheap DVDs, often the counterpart to the VCD can be had for about 100 baht more (for example, the Lord of the Rings 2 DVD set can be had for 200 baht). CVD are the more expensive, generally between 500 and 1000 baht.

    Subtitles are not an issue with DVDs as they have multiple soundtracks.

    '''Movie Seer''' [http://www.movieseer.com/Index.asp?Channel=2] and '''Amorn Movie''' [http://www.amornmovie.com] are good sites for seeing upcoming and current DVD releases and prices.

    Software

    To meet the demands of the Thai market, software is very reasonably priced. Official versions are surprisingly cheap, probably to compete with widespread piracy sales at around 100-150 baht/disc, 200 baht for each dvd. Most recent PC games can be found for around 500-1000 baht, a good deal cheaper than they are in the West. Be careful when buying these legit copies, as they may not work on your computer when you get home, due to regional restrictions, in this case you may be better off getting a pirate copy to start with.