I agree with what you said about supporting ATV. But, the thing with youtube is that they wouldn't have the entire episode or even half a episode shown, so what I was telling others is that the direct TV broadcasted ending of MDWAV3 and the VCD version ending are both available on youtube. Both of them are less than 15 minutes. It only gives the ones that either purchased the VCDs or watched only the broadcasted version to see the different endings. I don't believe people who have watched the broadcasted version is willing to buy the whole boxset for only 15 minutes of footage. And I think people who did buy the VCDs overseas but missed the broadcasted version can really see the different ending only through the internet.
So far, I have watched all three vampire series broadcasted on my local TV station in America. Indirectly, that is a way to support ATV, since the local TV station has to bargain with ATV with broadcasting rights. I write to the station often if I hear that the next installment is out to make sure that they buy it directly from ATV. I think that is way more effective in making sure ATV stays afloat than just ATV sales. Remember, ATV is not the dealer that sells their VCDs directly. It helps to buy VCDs, but it does not have as much of a direct effect on the ATV station. The profit goes mainly to the dealer and VCD manufacturers, and local distributor.
Seriously, I think ATV needs to sub their dramas to expand its own market. You can't seriously expect only cantonese people to support the station overseas, when there are so many more mandarin speaking people. And everyone knows their dub sucks, as wusiaobo points out. Moreover, TVB puts their hit drama on DVDs with various options. I move around a lot, so portability is a big issue in my life. The shipping cost to the consumer can be so much lower if ATV format vampires in DVDs. They know it's a hit, their cast and production can be great, but their sales management really pushes consumers away. I wanted to buy the boxset for a long time, since I am making English subtitles for all three series. But I am still unwilling to pay so much for the shipping cost, and the ridiculous VCD format. I am still waiting for someone to go back to HK and bring me the VCDs, but wouldn't that be a burden to my friend?
It's not about supporting ATV or not... It's not about willing to pay or not, but I am concerned whether or not I will be satisfied with what I pay for.