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DVD woes. You wanna buy it? Too bad!

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I love DVDs. Luv um. They have tons of content, are fairly safe medium if you look after them and compact? You betcha! Luv um. They are perfect for TV shows. I burn through TV like the Dickens. If I like a show I’ll 24 four hour it, I once did all of Scrubs in five days. I have an embarrassingly large collection that I have cultivated and I can’t see a point when I’ll have enough.

Now here is what irks me. Regions. They are the devil. I can understand why localisation happens, and really that’s not my beef. I mean that’s what VLC and region free DVD players are for. My problem is when I miss out on content or shows that are available in some countries but I have the hardest time getting my hands on it here in the UK.

Case and point: The DC Animated Universe. Love the heck out of these shows, by far one of the best animated franchises I’ve ever seen. I own the complete Batman animated series, Batman Beyond, Superman, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited and the films. Great, right? Wrong. Do you know how much of it is available here in the UK? Batman Season one, Batman Season two and a smattering of the films from the rest.

Now(brace for hate) I’m of the opinion that excluding Mask of the Phantasm most of the Batman animated series before the Season Four shake up can be taken or left. His character is pretty one note until then and they start addressing his flaws in that season. So in my view the DVDs available here don’t even get to the good stuff. Anyway the shows were shown on UK television at the same time and in many cases (JLU Season two) a few months before the US, yet there is no drive to release them on DVD here and it grinds my nut.

Sometimes you can import what you can’t get here (Avengers with actual special features) but I have a hard time finding sellers that ship DVDs internationally. Luckily I have the ability and drive to travel and on those occasions that I’ve been in the US I’ve pick these up and any other shows that you can’t really get here. Venture Bros and Avatar being other examples. Another is King of the Hill. We only get seasons One-Five here. I know that in the US it isn’t much better but I’d still like the option to buy the rest. I’m not a fan of downloading, I prefer tangible media. I like to own a copy. What’s more when they do (if they do) eventually release a version for the UK market I’ve already got a copy so I can’t support the release here to ensure more seasons are available.

Now I understand that being in the UK this problem isn’t nearly are bad as it is in other countries. So what is this thread for? Well, my question to you is how do you (legally) get around this? How bad is it for you guys to get to the shows and films that you love and what shows are you jonesing for currently?

Me? Well I’d quite like to watch Kim Possible again.

*First world problem addressed
 

Combichristoffersen

Combovers don't work when there is no hair
DVD/BD regions can suck my ass. Due to there being various copyright holders and such, the first Addams Family movie will never be released on DVD/BD in Europe. And neither my laptop nor my PS3 are region-free DVD players (I guess I could flash the FW in my laptop DVD drive or something, but.. eh) so I can't buy the US version.

Fuck this shit.
 

Shiv47

Member
Honestly, in this day and age, if you have the inclination and the money, no legally released title is a problem. I say this as a US collector of course, but region free players are so easy to come by (some more expensive than others of course), and enthusiast sites make it easy to locate releases that might be limited to a given region. I have an Oppo region free blu-ray/DVD player, so literally nothing out there is beyond what I can play. It's just a matter of wanting it enough to order from the UK/Japan/France/wherever.
 

sangreal

Member
Honestly, in this day and age, if you have the inclination and the money, no legally released title is a problem. I say this as a US collector of course, but region free players are so easy to come by (some more expensive than others of course), and enthusiast sites make it easy to locate releases that might be limited to a given region. I have an Oppo region free blu-ray/DVD player, so literally nothing out there is beyond what I can play. It's just a matter of wanting it enough to order from the UK/Japan/France/wherever.

The OP's problem is not region locking, but how to get the content from other regions in the first place
 

jimi_dini

Member
My problem is when I miss out on content or shows that are available in some countries but I have the hardest time getting my hands on it here in the UK.

What?

You got a creditcard? Then here you go:

http://www.yesasia.com
http://www.buyoyo.com
https://www.amazon.com/?tag=neogaf0e-20
http://www.ebay.com
http://www.kimchidvd.com
http://www.ezydvd.com.au
http://www.devoteddvd.com.au

for importing BluRays from US, I'm personally using http://www.ebay.com/sch/blowitoutahere/m.html cheap prices and never had a problem. They also sell DVDs.

On top of that - use http://www.blu-ray.com to check for region free BluRays. Normally you can trust the info that is up there. For DVDs I see region locked discs as an non-issue. Most if not all Sony players for example can be unlocked via remote control code, even the BluRay players, although they will only unlock DVD region free. They will still be region locked for BluRays.
 
I'm not familiar with most of those sites. I'll give them a look. Naturally I'm hestitant to use sites I know nothing about. Obviously I use Amazon.com and eBay but often I'll get to the delivery address input and they won't ship.

I have a Sony bluray player and a couple of multiregional DVD players. And yes in my experience the blurays I've imported and most of my Warner Bros DVDs are region free.

Related to the annoying region/rights issue topic: I understand that the UK oddly had more WWE/WWF releases available than the US. My friend has what he claims is the most comprehensive Wrestling collection possible which includes stuff he's imported from all corners of the globe.
 

luxsol

Member
Well, my question to you is how do you (legally) get around this? How bad is it for you guys to get to the shows and films that you love and what shows are you jonesing for currently?

Whine and bitch.
Almost anything i want hasn't been released, too expensive, or in another language.

I'd love to see Justice League Unlimited put on BD, but the two volumes of JL on BD did so poorly, that they aren't going to put the rest of the series on BD. I like to remind people on various comic communties that they should buy up whatever stock that is currently out in stores (the Superman:MoS movie had WB re-release various DC cartoon series on disc) if they like the series at all. This would get stores to re-order more and may get WB to think about releasing the JLU series on BD.


I also silently curse all anime fans who pirate beloved series like Legend of Galactic Heroes, which means I'll never get an English dub for it. Ever.


I'm glad that Disney finally releasing the last volume of Greg Weisman's Gargoyles series. Enough fans demanded it and, after almost a decade, Disney finally gave in.
I'm also grateful that they released Patlabor OVA on BD. I was about to give in last year and pay that suckers premium for the "rare" DVDs, but then i heard about the BD release.
 
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