PC Blu-ray Drive and Disney Blu-Ray Questions.

[TenkoTAiLS]

Hey guys,
I'm just curious to know if PC Blu-ray drives are region locked or not. Most old PC DVD drives had a region change limit on them which could be bypassed via external programs etc, just wondering if the Blu-ray ones work the same way or not. Was looking at a nice LG one today but it doesn't mention anything about regions on it.

Secondly what are peoples opinions on the Disney Blu-rays here in Australia vs the USA releases. I realize they more often than not get more discs, and better packaging. But value for money and content wise is there much difference? I've started collecting the Australian Diamond Edition releases but I've been considering getting the other Special Edition ones from Amazon.

Thanks in advance for any help guys

[Anamnesis]

Blu-ray is the same. 4 Changes, 5th locks the drive. Again though, external programs can circumvent this.

[TenkoTAiLS]

Originally Posted by Anamnesis

Blu-ray is the same. 4 Changes, 5th locks the drive. Again though, external programs can circumvent this.

Thanks for the quick reply on that! I may have to get myself one in that case. There aren't too many region free systems that I have seen here in NZ, and my PS3 seems to do the trick for all my region B stuff.

I realize why they region lock some products, local copyrights and localized distribution deals etc but it's a royal pain especially when certain things never reach your shores and they are locked elsewhere. You would think we would have ditched region locking after DVD. At least there's more region free stuff this go around tho.

[Victurtle]

Hey there!

Regarding content:

Australian Disney (animated) blu-ray releases tend to lose some pretty valuable 'anxilliary' bonus features e.g. streaming (i.e. BD-live, virtual vault) and the second screen feature. However being in Australia, I'm don't think you could access these even if you bought the American release (as far as streaming goes).

Otherwise we get the same bonus features. There is only one exceptionsto this I can think of. In Tangled, we lost all the viral films made to promote the film and the credits feature a different song after "Something That I Want" (this seemed really unnecessary.....).

[TenkoTAiLS]

Originally Posted by Victurtle

Hey there!

Regarding content:

Australian Disney (animated) blu-ray releases tend to lose some pretty valuable 'anxilliary' bonus features e.g. streaming (i.e. BD-live, virtual vault) and the second screen feature. However being in Australia, I'm don't think you could access these even if you bought the American release (as far as streaming goes).

Otherwise we get the same bonus features. There is only one exceptionsto this I can think of. In Tangled, we lost all the viral films made to promote the film and the credits feature a different song after "Something That I Want" (this seemed really unnecessary.....).

Thanks for the info
I heard about the Virtual Vault stuff being omitted, but the other stuff you mentioned is interesting. I was already struggling to decide based on the lack of discs and the pricing being cheaper most of the time. Not to mention here in NZ we haven't received any of the double packs. Slip covers to match my Snow White Diamond Edition would be nice too.

Speaking of which did any other releases besides Snow White get slip covers in Australia/NZ?

[insomniac]

A fair number of the Disney discs from the US are locked though. I just paid a fair bit of money to import a UK edition of Sleeping Beauty recently, and am still waiting for it. They don't even have any local editions on eBay.

I can't think of any other major Classic Disney films that got the slipcover other than Snow White off the top of my head.

I don't like ordering local Disney blus online though, because you don't know whether you're going to get one that is printed on that foil/foil emboss material or not.

Speaking of Disney, does anyone know what is the deal with the local version of 'Pooh' (2011)?

I've seen it in Big W, and only in Big W when it was newly released, but am struggling to find a copy now. The actual title itself, whether it is the BD or DVD, seems to be a Big W exclusive, which is odd. None of the imports are light in price either.

[MacEachaidh]

Originally Posted by TenkoTAiLS

Thanks for the quick reply on that! I may have to get myself one in that case. There aren't too many region free systems that I have seen here in NZ, and my PS3 seems to do the trick for all my region B stuff.

There's a slight difference in the region coding systems, though. For DVD, it was in the firmware of the PC drive, and after five changes the drive itself was locked to a specific region and couldn't be changed again. With Blu-ray on a PC, the region coding is in the playing software itself, not the drive, which is why many people go for utilities like *SOFTWARE LABEL REMOVED* — these modify the region coding info from the disc, so that the player software (like Total Media, WinDVD or Power DVD Ultimate, for example) doesn't see it, and just plays the disc anyway.

VLC, a freeware media player, is moving slowly in the direction of full BD support. It currently supports playing Blu-rays, but it doesn't support BD-Java, so you don't get the menus and extras like PiP or BD-Live (though that's hardly any loss) and have to launch the film without the menu. Best thing: VLC, not being tied into licensing the format from the Blu-ray consortium, ignores region coding.

One last thought: I've found many Disney discs to be a bit cranky, and refuse to play unless the system is just so and exactly what the disc is expecting to find. My first PC BD drive was a Samsung, and even with recent firmware most Pixar discs would stutter and fail on that drive. I replaced it with an LG drive, and haven't had any problems. (Touch wood!)

*MOD EDIT

[insomniac]

My parents has had some experience with Samsung DVD players in the past, and even then, it struggled to play most things...

[LordCrumb]

Just be careful guys, talking about Software that can work around Copy Protection (this includes Region Removal) is against forum rules. Admin take this very seriously.

[Victurtle]

Originally Posted by insomniac

A fair number of the Disney discs from the US are locked though. I just paid a fair bit of money to import a UK edition of Sleeping Beauty recently, and am still waiting for it. They don't even have any local editions on eBay.

I can't think of any other major Classic Disney films that got the slipcover other than Snow White off the top of my head.

I don't like ordering local Disney blus online though, because you don't know whether you're going to get one that is printed on that foil/foil emboss material or not.

Speaking of Disney, does anyone know what is the deal with the local version of 'Pooh' (2011)?

I've seen it in Big W, and only in Big W when it was newly released, but am struggling to find a copy now. The actual title itself, whether it is the BD or DVD, seems to be a Big W exclusive, which is odd. None of the imports are light in price either.

Winnie the Pooh is indeed a Big W exclusive. It was going for $10 awhile back, half the price of the DVD!

I did notice it was becoming pretty rare at my local Big W shops. Maybe because it was mentioned on OzBargain. I see it every now and then, were you looking for a copy?

[insomniac]

Originally Posted by Victurtle

Winnie the Pooh is indeed a Big W exclusive. It was going for $10 awhile back, half the price of the DVD!

I did notice it was becoming pretty rare at my local Big W shops. Maybe because it was mentioned on OzBargain. I see it every now and then, were you looking for a copy?

I knew you'd be the one to answer my question.

Yeah, I'm looking for a copy preferably under $20 or close to it. There are 2 Big Ws around the area, one of them have stacks & stacks of the DVD, but none of the BD. The other one doesn't seem to have it at all. That leaves the one in the CBD I've yet to check.

The US one has a much nicer cover, but it's a bit pricey for a non-vaulted title.

[Kirben]

Originally Posted by TenkoTAiLS

I'm just curious to know if PC Blu-ray drives are region locked or not. Most old PC DVD drives had a region change limit on them which could be bypassed via external programs etc, just wondering if the Blu-ray ones work the same way or not. Was looking at a nice LG one today but it doesn't mention anything about regions on it.

Blu-Ray drives have similar region change limits, but it will well worth using additional software to allow Blu-Ray discs from any region. Especially if you are interested in animated movies in general, as too many are only released on DVD in Australia.

Originally Posted by TenkoTAiLS

Secondly what are peoples opinions on the Disney Blu-rays here in Australia vs the USA releases. I realize they more often than not get more discs, and better packaging. But value for money and content wise is there much difference? I've started collecting the Australian Diamond Edition releases but I've been considering getting the other Special Edition ones from Amazon.

The Blu-Ray discs in the USA are the best for animated movies from Disney, as they frequently offer advantages:
Bambi - Includes original stereo track
Bug's Life - Includes a few extras
Dumbo - Includes original mono track
Incredible - Includes bonus disc
Pixar Short Films V1 - Higher quality sound (24bit)
Ratatouille - Higher quality sound (24bit)
Snow White - Includes original mono track
Toy Story 1/2 - Includes extra stereo track

That are the ones I know of, but I expect there are more.

[Victurtle]

^Oh I forgot about technical specs. I really don't understand why we got jipped in terms of audio for the older classics! The mono tracks would make the experience feel more authentic.

Originally Posted by insomniac

I knew you'd be the one to answer my question.

Yeah, I'm looking for a copy preferably under $20 or close to it. There are 2 Big Ws around the area, one of them have stacks & stacks of the DVD, but none of the BD. The other one doesn't seem to have it at all. That leaves the one in the CBD I've yet to check.

The US one has a much nicer cover, but it's a bit pricey for a non-vaulted title.

So people notice I like Disney huh.

I'll keep a note of that if I come across it and its cheap enough
The cover is pretty horrendous, especially since the two other posters were so beautiful. But I'm grateful we at least got a release, unlike our poor UK cousins!

[NickMate]

Originally Posted by TenkoTAiLS

Thanks for the info
I heard about the Virtual Vault stuff being omitted, but the other stuff you mentioned is interesting. I was already struggling to decide based on the lack of discs and the pricing being cheaper most of the time. Not to mention here in NZ we haven't received any of the double packs. Slip covers to match my Snow White Diamond Edition would be nice too.

Speaking of which did any other releases besides Snow White get slip covers in Australia/NZ?

Strongly no, no classic Disney film other than Snow White received a slipcover. Some pixar films did though; Bolt, Up, Rattatouie, Pixar Shorts and a few others. Some slips from the US fit over the local releases like Monsters inc, Sleeping Beauty and Ponnochio. The thing is of you want slips for nearly all your Disney Blurays then buying from amazon is the way though the further you buy from release date, the smaller chance of getting a slip.

[TenkoTAiLS]

Thanks for all the help guys, much appreciated. Makes my decision a lot easier, gunna drop in after work today and grab me an LG Bluray drive for my PC.

As for the Disney stuff, I'll more than likely start collecting the US releases from what you guys have posted. I think I'll hang onto my Australian/NZ copies too tho, I do like the Bambi Double Pack we got, the Lion King Trilogy was a nice set too. The big themed box sets the US gets are nice (like the Lion King Drum etc) but I'm starting to run out of storage room with all the big box sets for games and movies I already own. The problems of a collector lol