View Full Version : Disillusioned with DVD
I'd reached the stage with VHS where I had completely stopped buying pre-recorded tapes - due to poor picture quality, cut versions of films, etc.
Things looked much better with DVD - better picture & sound, deleted scenes included on discs, etc.
But lately I'm getting fed up with the same problems that I was finding with VHS - especially with regard to cut versions.
I know that some people buy R1 or R4 discs, but until I can do this completely legally and from a shop rather than over the internet, I'm not really interested in this.
I won't be buying nearly as many discs next year.
Any thoughts?
Originally posted by hello
I know that some people buy R1 or R4 discs, but until I can do this completely legally and from a shop rather than over the internet, I'm not really interested in this.
Any thoughts?
You will never be legally allowed to do this.
You and I all small fish in a big pond, and the distributors couldn't give a flying one if either of us stopped buying DVD's tomorrow, as there's always a new customer just around the corner who's stupid enough to pay full retail price for discs. :(
Pretty sure I'm not the only one who'll find your reason for not buying R1 or R4 over the net a weak one as you can buy both, particularly R1 titles from UK based suppliers, e.g. Play, *********, Future Entertainment, etc. Indeed ********* are increasing their R4 titles, so again you have a UK based supplier. R4 titles also seem to suffer less with cuts, assuming the disc has been remastered for Australia & New Zealand, e.g. True Lies, Buffy S3.
sidebog7
26-12-2001, 14:22
You have two options:
1) Use the internet to import from other regions.
2) Live with cut versions of films
As you don't want to use the internet (although I'm not sure why you are so reluctant) you will have to put up with films being cut as the BBFC is not going anywhere for a while.
hello - I think there are one or two R1 shops that do sell R1 stuff in the UK but be prepared to pay extremely high prices.
I use the Internet all the time to buy DVDs. In fact, I haven't bought from the High Street for quite a while. :)
dangermouse
26-12-2001, 14:52
If you only shop on the UK high street you are going to pay higher prices for mostly worse quality products.
One of the best things about the internet is that it means the public no longer have to put up with sub-standard selections and can spend their money easily overseas.
With internet stores you have a greater choice which are legal to buy at cheaper prices.
So why on earth would you only want to get your discs from the UK shops is quite beyond me.
Originally posted by Paul490
hello I use the Internet all the time to buy DVDs. In fact, I haven't bought from the High Street for quite a while. :) Me nither :p, unless of course there doing one of those 'buy one get one half price'
Yep.
And on the Internet you can buy DVDs extremely cheaply, and the discs will arrive quickly - depending on our lovely Royal Mail of course. :D
If you don't want to use the internet, why not phone the companys instead and order your discs ?
Originally posted by hello
I'd reached the stage with VHS where I had completely stopped buying pre-recorded tapes - due to poor picture quality, cut versions of films, etc.
Things looked much better with DVD - better picture & sound, deleted scenes included on discs, etc.
But lately I'm getting fed up with the same problems that I was finding with VHS - especially with regard to cut versions.
I know that some people buy R1 or R4 discs, but until I can do this completely legally and from a shop rather than over the internet, I'm not really interested in this.
I won't be buying nearly as many discs next year.
Any thoughts?
Yep - you are totally insane! :nuts:
jroadley
26-12-2001, 16:07
Originally posted by hello
I know that some people buy R1 or R4 discs, but until I can do this completely legally and from a shop rather than over the internet, I'm not really interested in this.
I'm stunned at that comment, I've done all my Christmas shopping on the web this year, Argos, Mothercare, Drinkstuff, CD-Wow you name it all these sites offer SSL shopping and are far far cheaper than high street shops (And there's no crowds!)
Please tell us all why your not interested in doing this :confused:
staffyman
26-12-2001, 16:20
Originally posted by hello
Any thoughts?
IMHO the only thing that really bothers me with DVD is persistent disc/player incompatibility probelms and poor quality control.
You'd think that with DVD being around for quite a while they would have ironed out the technical wrinkles.
You imply in your post that it is illegal to buy discs from other regions, even on the internet.
I *may* be wrong, but it was my understanding that whilst it IS illegal for shops in the UK to sell discs that hadn't been classified by the BBFC, it is certainly not illegal for us (the consumer) to buy them - in the same way that it isn't illegal to modify your DVD player to play all regions (though it does invalidate the warranty).
Again, I might be wrong on this! :nuts:
I don't think you're wrong Rusty. It's not illegal for us to buy other region DVDs i don't even think it's us who breaks the law when we buy them over the counter in Britain (rather the retalier is at fault).
hello why don't you explain to us why you don't like the idea of buying over the net???. If i had a credit card i would buy loads more from the net (also get myself into debt too:nuts: ).
To get around this i just have to find other methods. I have just got a Splash Plastic card (pay-as-you-go) which is great although a bit limited and importers like ********* accept cheques. So i can only think it is the process (not seeing , handling goods) that you object too.
Let us know and we can point you in the right direction to getting some fantastic R1, 3 & 4 DVDs and you won't have to pay the ridiculous money some shops charge.
Davester
26-12-2001, 17:40
Originally posted by Rusty
You imply in your post that it is illegal to buy discs from other regions, even on the internet.
I *may* be wrong, but it was my understanding that whilst it IS illegal for shops in the UK to sell discs that hadn't been classified by the BBFC, it is certainly not illegal for us (the consumer) to buy them - in the same way that it isn't illegal to modify your DVD player to play all regions (though it does invalidate the warranty).
Again, I might be wrong on this! :nuts:
That law is bs! Region coding is illegal isn't it! TBH I couldn't give a flying f about the highstreet as I refuse to buy dvd's from the stores (overpriced, poor versions). Use the internet, if you don't, well it is your loss.
In fact, the Internet is more secure than the high-street.
Please tell us why you will not buy good quality, cheap DVDs from the Internet, but instead by low quality, expensive DVDs from HMV and the like.
Originally posted by Davester
That law is bs! Region coding is illegal isn't it! TBH I couldn't give a flying f about the highstreet as I refuse to buy dvd's from the stores (overpriced, poor versions). Use the internet, if you don't, well it is your loss.
I actually asked the wto if region coding was legal. The awsner is no but only governments can complain.
jonathan.e
26-12-2001, 18:18
The Australian government have mounted a challenge to regional coding and good luck to them - it is nothing less than cultural censorship and if in fact it were being forced on the studios rather than being instigated by them, how quickly do you think we’d see the end of it?
FWIW, my thoughts on your original post are that you are making it needlessly difficult and expensive for yourself to buy DVD by not using the net so I can’t say I’m surprised you’ll be buying less in the coming year.
Hello you must be mad if you do not trust the internet, the high street is just as risky if not more so.
If you like you make out to be, are a true film fan, then the only option is to import them yourself from either the USA or, some UK suppliers via the net (play/********* etc)
esp if you want some films that may never get a UK release, or in their true form. Again that the UK may never get.
hello - Here's a quick example.
Take a standard DVD.
At HMV it's £19.99. At EzyDVD it's £10 - a better disc. You would have to go through the crowds and the high street to go to HMV and pick it up at a higher price.
With EzyDVD it's at the click of a button. You can sit there and wait till it arrives.
I know which one I'd choose - and I bet a hell of a lot of forum members would do the same! ;)
And the Internet is more secure than the high street. There is more chance your credit card details will get in the wrong hands on the high street than the Net.
If it wasnt for shopping online and multi region i wouldn't have bothered with a DVD player I don't think .Going to HMV is so boring and uninspiring. Even if I have vouchers I can seldom find anything to buy with them.
NexusSheep
26-12-2001, 19:43
Of the 80-odd DVDs in my collection, exactly four have been bought on the high street. (When WHSmith had a BOGOF promo, some time ago).
All the others have been purchased over the internet. I'm not entirely sure why you are so reluctant to buy your DVDs on the 'net, but you obviously have your reasons. Any chance of letting us in on it? I'm intrigued.
Before joining this forum in October, I was using Play as my only supplier of R1 and R2. Since joining (and with the advice of fellow members), I have expanded my supplier base to include EzyDVD, DDDHouse and *********, amongst others. If it wasn't for this forum, I'd probably still be using just Play. And, dare I say it, making the odd purchase from high street stores! So you see, I have saved a small fortune by giving my business to a select few online etailers. And you, hello, could be doing the same....
hello....(first off no offence).....your attitude just seems a little strange given that most people jump at the opportunity to get one over on the man (so to speak).....and such an attitude goes hand in hand with internet use - just seems wierd thats all....theres really no reason at all to not go multi region - even high street stores like hmv actively encourage it with their sales of the playstation2 region x disc......
Is this a wind up? :eek: :confused: :D
Either he's a troll or just very strange.
:nuts:
He is probably winding us up - suspicious that he has not responded at all to these posts!
He's probably a troll.
If you are there, hello, please speak up. :)
where else has he been (the dude does have 12 posts)?.......
tj_director
26-12-2001, 22:11
if you don't possess a credit card, but do possess a Switch card -- then no probs, as the ever excellent Play.com accept Switch free of charge, and so does ********* (40p charge though) -- and their R1 prices even match their R2 prices, and clearly undercut high street prices.
Finally if you don't have a card, or simply don't feel safe using it on the net (again something i can't see why people have a problem with, my father's credit card was being used by some horny geekboy frauduently, he got the money back from Barclays quicker than you could say 'horny geekboy'!!) -- then the next best option is to use the DVD Classifieds Forum on this forum.
Apart from ********* et al, the Classifieds are my main supplier of DVDs. Usually people will sell ann 18 quid DVD for no more than 15. And in my time i've yet to come across anyone who was out to take me for a ride, and we have a pretty good trader's system to help check out who's reliable etc... Without the Classifieds it simply wouldn't have been affordable for me to have watched the many R1 and uncut films that are unavailable here. I'll buy the disc at full price, watch it, then sell'trade it on at a few quid's loss -- usually no more than a fiver which more or less is the same as a rental or cinema ticket!!! :)
dissolusioned with DVD!!! -- a contradiction!!, oh wait, Wild Wild West is on DVD!! ;)
tj_director
26-12-2001, 22:15
BTW -- www.play.com advertise in many magazines and papers including The Times, so i hardly think they are practising an illegal act by selling us imported DVDs :)
Hello and Troll ? seems to go well in the same line, esp since he has not joined in with this thread since the first comment.
feverpitch96
27-12-2001, 01:01
Originally posted by Tob
If it wasnt for shopping online and multi region i wouldn't have bothered with a DVD player I don't think .
Snap, in Region 4! Buying a one-region player in either the UK or Australia seems to be a way of letting oneself in for a restricted range of titles and a lot of frustration. There's a lot of stuff I buy from R2 (despite the occasional ridiculous pricetag) because I'm 99% sure it's NEVER going to get here (Genevieve SE in R4? Ultraviolet? Yeah right...they couldn't even be arsed to get The Blue Planet together for Christmas DVD release here, they lamely pushed the triple VHS instead...). I've been asked by various friends and relations recently about getting a DVD player and I always tell them that if they get a R4-only player and want more than the A-string and C-string Hollywood titles of the last ten years then they're wasting their time and money.
Region coding is a restriction of free trade. If it isn't illegal, it should be.
poolking
27-12-2001, 01:30
Originally posted by staffyman
IMHO the only thing that really bothers me with DVD is persistent disc/player incompatibility probelms and poor quality control.
You'd think that with DVD being around for quite a while they would have ironed out the technical wrinkles.
Yep, but then certain movie companies, don't adhere to the DVD specs, isn't Disney a main culprit for this for not adhering to the DVD specs?
There is one advantage the high street shops have though. You can order your disk over the net and wait about a week, or you can go to town and pick it up in the hour there and then. Providing your not after a Dead Ringers Criterion or a Dutch Last House on the Left of course, then obviously the net is the only way to go. If there's a disk I can get anywhere that I'm after i.e a mainstream new release, then I'll always choose the shops (HMV, Virgin etc), don't see the point in waiting when you don't have to.
Tim Fleming
27-12-2001, 01:52
Originally posted by feverpitch96
Region coding is a restriction of free trade. If it isn't illegal, it should be.
In Australia (and, I suspect, the rest of the world), region free players are perfectly legal - disabling macrovision however, I believe is illegal as that is enabling copyright to be breached.
As feverpitch96 would be aware, here in Australia region free players are more the rule than the exception - it is even possible to buy a factory modified Pioneer player, meaning that the warranty is not breached as is the case where modifications are made by a third party.
While Australia is starting to catch up with a lot of the releases that were previously only available in other regions, we are still a long way behind, and in many cases when more obscure titles are released, they are given pretty poor treatment - a couple of examples of note being City of Lost Children which is 4:3 and Himalaya which has non-removable sub-titles. In other words, online access is essential if I am to get the titles that I want that have the treatment that I want.
regards, Tim...
Of the 50 or so DVDs I have (each boxset is counted as 1 DVD), I bought about 16 or so on the high street. The rest were all bought on the Internet.
gazman999
27-12-2001, 02:51
Why hasn't hello replied to this thread yet? The bloke's clearly a nutter....
:nuts:
I can't think of any resonable reason why you wouldn't want to buy off the Net, unless you just doesn't have a bank account and so no credit cards, switch cards, cheques and the like.
And if that's the case, then why not? Are you a dealer who just has wrinkled fivers to spend? ;)
Come on hello, what's the big deal about buying off the Net????
:confused:
MikeToone
27-12-2001, 08:54
The best two examples of how R2 is a complete rip-off:-
10th Kingdom - DVD Box Office R1 - £17.49
Region 2 High Street RRP - £44.99
Simpsons Season One Boxset - ********* R1 - £17.49
Region 2 High Street Price - Around £33.00
I've got nearly 300 DVD's now and can count on one hand the number I have purchased from the high street, in fact I have been purchasing on the Net since about October '96 and have never had any Credit Card issues, yet I know of two family members who have had issues, and neither of them have ever purchased anything online.
Originally posted by MikeToone
The best two examples of how R2 is a complete rip-off:-
10th Kingdom - DVD Box Office R1 - £17.49
Region 2 High Street RRP - £44.99
Simpsons Season One Boxset - ********* R1 - £17.49
Region 2 High Street Price - Around £33.00
as well as....
Toy Story 1 & 2 pack £17.99 R1 from Play
Toy Story 1 & 2 pack £44.99 R2 from High Street
steve lucas
27-12-2001, 10:20
and don't foget that you get to see them before they are released here.
Princess Diaries - crap movie - but kids liked it - arrived 23/12/01 by post from dvdboxoffice.com - cheaper than taking four kids to the movies - hek you can buy popcorn at 1/4 price at local shops!
or if you prefer PAL -
Moulin Rouge(R4) - arrived three days after ordering from www.ezydvd.com.au - released a few days before R1 - and hey the reviews on this site are spot on....superb transfer
jonathan.e
27-12-2001, 10:29
Is it safe to say we’re dealing with an under-bridge dweller here?
It's safe to assume we are dealing with an idiotic troll who doesn't know much about DVDs.
We can close this thread now, can't we? :)
Dear Mr Echo
27-12-2001, 14:08
Originally posted by chris21
There is one advantage the high street shops have though. You can order your disk over the net and wait about a week, or you can go to town and pick it up in the hour there and then. Providing your not after a Dead Ringers Criterion or a Dutch Last House on the Left of course, then obviously the net is the only way to go. If there's a disk I can get anywhere that I'm after i.e a mainstream new release, then I'll always choose the shops (HMV, Virgin etc), don't see the point in waiting when you don't have to.
I understand the alure of browsing through racks of DVD's (especially when the memory of have 12 titles to choose from is still fresh in the mind) but even when I was in New York last year, I found that I much preferred doing my R1 shopping online. Every time I go for a browse in HMV/Virgin etc I just find it depressing (price/selection/ pretend bargains) so I rarely bother now.
Places like ********* and Ringos get their R1 discs even earlier than the US release date, sometimes by 3 weeks or so - and several suppliers of r2 product usually manage to get new discs to you on the day of release - so you are never "actually" waiting for anything. I can't think of a single R2 release that I was so desperate to own that I "had" to get off my lardy butt and go to a shop. Thank heaven that the MVC sale is online... it looked like I was going to have to move for a while there :D
I imagine Hello is logged on to ********** as we speak :)
cheers
Andrew
*other R1 suppliers are available
Originally posted by Paul490
It's safe to assume we are dealing with an idiotic troll who doesn't know much about DVDs.
We can close this thread now, can't we? :) I'm quite surprise (and impressed) that he managed to wind-up so many people with only one post, then not reply and wind people up some more!! Hello is clearly on a wind-up.
This is a waste of bandwidth. Closing
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