Question about region 1 DVDs and blu-ray

K

kippy666

Student Council President
I've been meaning to import anime from America for ages now but I've never really been into buying anime that much, but I'm beefing up my anime collection and I have a few questions to ask since I haven't actually imported anything before.

I know that I'll have to get a multi-regional DVD player but for Blu-rays would I be able to play them on a PS3 like with our blu-rays? I was told by someone that they aren't region locked.

Also I was wondering what would be the best place to buy region 1 DVDs/blu-rays? They seem to be more expensive >.<;

Lastly is it worth my time to import anime form Japan as I've heard the discs come with English subs.

Thank you for your help!

:D :D
 
Some Blu ray discs are region locked. FUNimation discs are pretty hit and miss.

Planet Axel is your best bet for buying DVDs/Blu rays since you don't need to worry about import fess and VAT, UP1.co.uk is also good since they're based in the UK.

Not all Japanese discs have english subs infact most don't
 
Unknownfate said:
Some Blu ray discs are region locked. FUNimation discs are pretty hit and miss.

Planet Axel is your best bet for buying DVDs/Blu rays since you don't need to worry about import fess and VAT, UP1.co.uk is also good since they're based in the UK.

Not all Japanese discs have english subs infact most don't
Click to expand...

Okay then I'll forget the idea about importing Japanese DVDs >.<.

Thank you for your help!
 
Unfortunately licensing issues mean that a lot of anime Blu-ray discs are region locked. As mentioned some of Funimation's discs are region A & B (apparently those for which they own the South African rights) but Bandai, Sentai, and NISA tend to lock most or all of their discs to region A.

You can check Blu-ray.com or Planet Axel to see whether a specific release will play on a region B player, or just ask here as someone's bound to know.

Region-free US discs I personally own:

Samurai Champloo
Ga-Rei Zero
Spice & Wolf II
 
kippy666 said:
Unknownfate said:
Some Blu ray discs are region locked. FUNimation discs are pretty hit and miss.

Planet Axel is your best bet for buying DVDs/Blu rays since you don't need to worry about import fess and VAT, UP1.co.uk is also good since they're based in the UK.

Not all Japanese discs have english subs infact most don't
Click to expand...

Okay then I'll forget the idea about importing Japanese DVDs >.<.

Thank you for your help!
Click to expand...

Some Japanese BDs have English dubs and subs (eg FLCL and The Big O). But they're like £60 or something, so save your money.

Blu-ray.com is a good site for checking regions aswell.
 
fabricatedlunatic said:
Unfortunately licensing issues mean that a lot of anime Blu-ray discs are region locked. As mentioned some of Funimation's discs are region A & B (apparently those for which they own the South African rights) but Bandai, Sentai, and NISA tend to lock most or all of their discs to region A.

You can check Blu-ray.com or Planet Axel to see whether a specific release will play on a region B player, or just ask here as someone's bound to know.

Region-free US discs I personally own:

Samurai Champloo
Ga-Rei Zero
Spice & Wolf II
Click to expand...

That's rather frustrating! The only Blu-ray I can think of getting at the moment is Angel beats but aprat from that I have no idea!
 
Paradox295 said:
kippy666 said:
Unknownfate said:
Some Blu ray discs are region locked. FUNimation discs are pretty hit and miss.

Planet Axel is your best bet for buying DVDs/Blu rays since you don't need to worry about import fess and VAT, UP1.co.uk is also good since they're based in the UK.

Not all Japanese discs have english subs infact most don't
Click to expand...

Okay then I'll forget the idea about importing Japanese DVDs >.<.

Thank you for your help!
Click to expand...

Some Japanese BDs have English dubs and subs (eg FLCL and The Big O). But they're like £60 or something, so save your money.

Blu-ray.com is a good site for checking regions aswell.
Click to expand...
Oh geez that's insane! Then again I don't find that surprising for some reason >.<
 
GreenTango said:
You could try some of the australian sites for blu ray anime, they have the same region lock as us.
Didn't seem, too badly priced compared to our rrp, i use http://moviesplus.com.au/ alot.
Click to expand...

Now that's an idea, I wouldn;'t have thought Australia would have alot of anime Blu-ray though. I'll have a look! Thank you! :D
 
kippy666 said:
GreenTango said:
You could try some of the australian sites for blu ray anime, they have the same region lock as us.
Didn't seem, too badly priced compared to our rrp, i use http://moviesplus.com.au/ alot.
Click to expand...

Now that's an idea, I wouldn;'t have thought Australia would have alot of anime Blu-ray though. I'll have a look! Thank you! :D
Click to expand...

Australia has a bigger anime market than the UK! You'll get way more choice from there. All the Blu-rays that Manga cancelled are available from Madman Entertainment down under. And more...
 
kippy666 said:
I've been meaning to import anime from America for ages now but I've never really been into buying anime that much, but I'm beefing up my anime collection and I have a few questions to ask since I haven't actually imported anything before.

I know that I'll have to get a multi-regional DVD player but for Blu-rays would I be able to play them on a PS3 like with our blu-rays? I was told by someone that they aren't region locked.
Click to expand...
They're only not locked for games, like with the PSP. Multi region BD players are hard to get, sell out/distribution gets stopped fast. You'll likely need a dedicated region A player, or a PC with a BD drive. DVD regions are somewhat a joke, lots of players are region switchable (google your players model number to check) and VLC turns your computers drive region free
Also I was wondering what would be the best place to buy region 1 DVDs/blu-rays? They seem to be more expensive >.<;
Click to expand...
they're almost always cheaper at least if you wait for boxsets, buy from rightstuf
Lastly is it worth my time to import anime form Japan as I've heard the discs come with English subs.

Thank you for your help!

:D :D
Click to expand...
Japanese Bluray boxsets of older shows that have already been released on dvd in the USA are often subbed.

Recent Ghibli films have been and two series are having their original BD runs subbed (Dog Days and Tiger and Bunny)[/quote]
 
Just Passing Through said:
kippy666 said:
GreenTango said:
You could try some of the australian sites for blu ray anime, they have the same region lock as us.
Didn't seem, too badly priced compared to our rrp, i use http://moviesplus.com.au/ alot.
Click to expand...

Now that's an idea, I wouldn;'t have thought Australia would have alot of anime Blu-ray though. I'll have a look! Thank you! :D
Click to expand...

Australia has a bigger anime market than the UK! You'll get way more choice from there. All the Blurays that Manga cancelled are available from Madman Entertainment down under. And more...
Click to expand...
How expensive are Blu Rays over there though and how widespread are their use? From what I've gathered they're quite pricey here and not many people have them, no one I know owns a Bluray player, unless you count the PS3 as one.
 
memorium said:
How expensive are Blu Rays over there though and how widespread are their use? From what I've gathered they're quite pricey here and not many people have them, no one I know owns a Bluray player, unless you count the PS3 as one.
Click to expand...
Expensive, they'll be less spread than here. PS3s are indeed the normal BD player.
Australian BDs will cost you twice as much as USA ones to get hold of.

Did the maths and it was cheaper to get the FMA:B BDs from the USA and buy a £100 region A BD player than to get them from down under.

Next to no BD releases anounced for Australia that we don't get (except ones Manga canceed midway through release), the S23/Sentai Filmworks titles they have (Angel Beats, Clannad ) aren't confirmed for BD there, if you want those you need a region A player.
 
memorium said:
From what I've gathered they're quite pricey here and not many people have them, no one I know owns a Bluray player, unless you count the PS3 as one.
Click to expand...
I have an auntie and uncle who live in Wiltshire, I was under the impression everybody there owned at least one helicopter. I have a PS3 and a standalone BD player for Region A discs and I'm from Yorkshire. Get with the times you cheapskate Southerners.

And Australia only has a population of 22 million. How the hell can they have a larger anime market than the UK!? Do they get the licences on the cheap or is there a sizeable number of middle-aged and elderly Australian anime fans?
 
ayase said:
memorium said:
From what I've gathered they're quite pricey here and not many people have them, no one I know owns a Bluray player, unless you count the PS3 as one.
Click to expand...
I have an auntie and uncle who live in Wiltshire, I was under the impression everybody there owned at least one helicopter. I have a PS3 and a standalone BD player for Region A discs and I'm from Yorkshire. Get with the times you cheapskate Southerners.

And Australia only has a population of 22 million. How the hell can they have a larger anime market than the UK!? Do they get the licences on the cheap or is there a sizeable number of middle-aged and elderly Australian anime fans?
Click to expand...
Actually we all own two helicopters and a yacht.

Being a Yorkshireman doesn't mean ****, for all we know you maybe a very wealthy Yorkshireman, I have a feeling you have some sort of superiority complex with Southerners then? Because last time I checked, we're all not that different, don't make us out like we're a bunch of middle class, Tory chumming snobs. As for Blurays, I genuinely can't be ****** with them, it has nothing to do with price, to me the difference will probably be miniscule, much like standard TV channel compared to it's HD equivalent, it's like asking me if I want a high quality MP3 or a lossless file like WAV, I would go for the MP3, bitrates higher than 320 don't mean **** to me unless I'm recording.
 
I understood that the helicopter comment was sarcasm on your behalf, it was just the rest of it that sent me off on a tangent, getting sick of the North/South divide ********.
 
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