The X-Files: The Collector's Set -- March 2nd, 2016

[McCrutchy]

Amazon.co.jp Limited Edition with Posters

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20th Century Fox will release The X-Files in Japan on March 2, 2016. The Japanese set will also contain the two theatrical films. There will be Japanese dubbing available, but the specifications have not been updated as of yet. Note that the Japanese are counting the series as 54 discs (and a bonus disc), not 55 discs.

One would hope these discs are exclusive to Japan, particularly given the four month delay, but knowing Fox, they probably won't be. Imagine lining up to pay over US $500 for this set, when you could get the same discs far cheaper elsewhere.

[McCrutchy]

Individual season artwork:

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Box set artwork:

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[Geoff D]

Them black cases

(I would buy a load of those cases if only I could find a bloody supplier of them in the UK!!)

[Geoff D]

As for the 54 discs thing I think they've made a boo-boo as there's clearly the same disc count in the pictures (6 for all seasons bar S2, which has 7) as the western versions, it seems unlikely that S2 has a bonus disc all to itself.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

As for the 54 discs thing I think they've made a boo-boo as there's clearly the same disc count in the pictures (6 for all seasons bar S2, which has 7) as the western versions, it seems unlikely that S2 has a bonus disc all to itself.

You're half right. They seem to have separated out the Season 9 Bonus Disc for some reason:

http://video.foxjapan.com/search/detail.php?id=15471

The only reason I can think of is that all of the other discs must have episodes on them, so they are not dedicated bonus discs. So, it might be important to note, for any future releases, because it could get left out of them.

[McCrutchy]

Oh, here are the images of the (four) posters in the Amazon Exclusive edition:

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[Gold Ranger]

Ugh... Episode Guide, Script and Three Posters.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

You're half right. They seem to have separated out the Season 9 Bonus Disc for some reason:

http://video.foxjapan.com/search/detail.php?id=15471

The only reason I can think of is that all of the other discs must have episodes on them, so they are not dedicated bonus discs. So, it might be important to note, for any future releases, because it could get left out of them.

Ah, I hadn't realised that S9 has all the episodes on 5 discs with the 6th solely for extras.

[Geoff D]

I've been thinking (careful now), given how there may be localised discs for specific countries instead of the more common 'one size' policy, the Japanese may have no choice but to hold out for this edition if the JPN dub and/or subs aren't put on the US or Euro versions (not even as a 'hidden' option).

[chip75]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I've been thinking (careful now), given how there may be localised discs for specific countries instead of the more common 'one size' policy, the Japanese may have no choice but to hold out for this edition if the JPN dub and/or subs aren't put on the US or Euro versions (not even as a 'hidden' option).

It's taken my all day to realize that the odd coloured BDs are in fact the movies, so they're slotting in with Season Five and Season Nine!



I'm also disappointed that the BDs all look the same, I was hoping for ones like the DVD with episode artwork on them.

[Geoff D]

I did point that out today in one of the 1,057 threads on this set, do try and keep up chip.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I did point that out today in one of the 1,057 threads on this set, do try and keep up chip.

Thanks. The sets are also region locked if the artwork is correct, so whilst they often print A only for fun, Fox might actually lock some of these sets around the World.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by chip75

Thanks. The sets are also region locked if the artwork is correct, so whilst they often print A only for fun, Fox might actually lock some of these sets around the World.

Fox Japan almost always prints the Region A symbol on its discs, so that doesn't mean much. I'd sooner expect that the Japanese discs are region free, even if the other sets are region locked, simply because those are coming so much later, and are much more expensive.

To put it another way: One of the fallacies about Japan is that they almost never use single-layered Blu-rays. That's no longer true, even if it was initially (it is true that they don't sweat using dual-layered discs at all wen they need to). But what seems to be true, particularly at this point, is that 99% of their discs are region free.

Now, having said that, the one recent locked Japanese disc I have seen is from Fox Japan:



but that is probably a special situation. Given that this set is coming out internationally, I would be very surprised to find that the Japanese editions are not region free, but we'll probably never know for sure, anyway.

[Gold Ranger]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

Fox Japan almost always prints the Region A symbol on its discs, so that doesn't mean much. I'd sooner expect that the Japanese discs are region free, even if the other sets are region locked, simply because those are coming so much later, and are much more expensive.

To put it another way: One of the fallacies about Japan is that they almost never use single-layered Blu-rays. That's no longer true, even if it was initially (it is true that they don't sweat using dual-layered discs at all wen they need to). But what seems to be true, particularly at this point, is that 99% of their discs are region free.

Now, having said that, the one recent locked Japanese disc I have seen is from Fox Japan:



but that is probably a special situation. Given that this set is coming out internationally, I would be very surprised to find that the Japanese editions are not region free, but we'll probably never know for sure, anyway.

Aren't Japan and NA the same region code, though?

[Fabs]

I have all the DVD seasons already, but seeing as seasons 1-3 are my favorite and my wife is Japanese, I'll pick up those individual Japanese versions.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by Gold Ranger

Aren't Japan and NA the same region code, though?

For Blu-ray, yes.

[McCrutchy]

The specifications seem to be being slowly updated, Fox have added the audio and subtitles options for the first three seasons only, and it now appears that these discs will be exclusive to Japan.

Whatever you do, don't tell the French or the Germans.

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[McCrutchy]

Okay, here is something strange.

I received my UK copy of the Collector's Set today, and as now expected, I can access the Japanese options as usual...but only on Seasons 4-9. Seasons 1-3--the discs which claim to have the additional TV Asahi dub in DTS-HD MA--will not display a Japanese menu, and so the Japanese options are, essentially, locked out on these discs.

Since I had seen the Japanese options on the discs when looking at BDInfo readouts, I again put one of the discs in my computer, and used VLC to verify that at least some of the Japanese audio and subtitle tracks do indeed seem to actually be present for seasons 1-3, but this is the first time I have ever encountered a situation like this. If it is this the so-called "geo-lockout" issue in effect, then why is it only on these few discs, when no other Fox Japan BD I own, and even the later seasons in the same set, do not have it? I don't know if the Oppo BDP-103 is subject to "geo-lockout" or not, as it does seem to lack a country code option. But even so, that seems an unlikely answer to the mystery.

So, now I am wondering, especially with the large release date difference, if something went tits up here regarding the Japanese support, which means that some or all of these Blu-rays aren't ready for prime time yet in Japan. That would certainly go a long way towards explaining why the Japanese release was delayed all the way to March of 2016.

Can any of our Japan-based members who have imported the set shed some light on this?

[chip75]

That's weird, McCrutchy. I can't offer any insight, but I know that each region brings up a different set of warnings depending on your player's settings, but I'm not sure if that would affect the menu options?

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by chip75

That's weird, McCrutchy. I can't offer any insight, but I know that each region brings up a different set of warnings depending on your player's settings, but I'm not sure if that would affect the menu options?

It does not, in my experience. All the other Fox Blu-rays I have will display the Japanese menu when Japanese is selected as the disc menu language, and that is exactly what happens with Seasons 4-9 as well. But for whatever reason, Seasons 1-3 will not bring up a Japanese menu in this way. And I have no way to discern if it is actually there (VLC hates Blu-ray menus, for one thing), although there are .m2ts files with Japanese-language copyright warnings and credits for the Japanese dubbing of the episodes.