Question about UK BD Releases...

[I.Flores]

Amazon UK is having a really big BD sale, but I'm being cautious about purchasing because of compatibility issues.
Some say Region Free, but at the same time they are PAL formatted, Some say region 2, and so.
I have a PS3, anybody knows what it can be played and cant?
So far these are the titles that caught my eye:

Band of Brothers
Matrix Trilogy
The Island
Leon: Director's Cut
Terminator 2: Skynet Editon (Is that the steelbook? if so, Its a crazy price for it!)

Thanks to anybody that can help.

[blu_sharpy]

You can post there. I'm over there so I can help you anyway to answer your question PAL is irrelevant as BD is HD.

Band Of Brothers - Region Free
Matrix Trilogy - Region Free
The Island - Region Free
Leon - Region Locked
Terminator 2 - Region Locked (May not be steebook as sold out not too long ago)

Also BD is Region Coded: A,B,C
Dont always trust the information Amazon provides as it can be wrong.

[ccfixx]

Be sure to set your profile preferences to allow other countries, as well, so that you can see all the information about the foreign releases. Check out the reviews that are provided on this site for titles that you're looking for. I'm pretty sure that all the foreign disc reviews these days are done by pro-b, and he always lists the region codings at the top of the review. And if there's not a review on here, I would send pro-b a message because chances are that he will still know the answer about region coding.

And like blu_sharpy said, the PAL information is completely irrelevant when the film is in high-definition. Some of the bonus materials on the UK discs are still encoded in standard definition PAL and you wouldn't be able to play them on your PS3, but the movie, itself, will play with no problems. Amazon UK's disc information is usually just copy & pasted from the standard DVD release, so I wouldn't even read that.

CC

[blu_sharpy]

Can I just say that living in the UK means i'm normally well aware of the discs themselves and region coding so you know where I am if you need help.

[I.Flores]

Thank you both for the information.
One last thing, anybody knows if Amazon UK provides with online tracking on US shipments?

[blu_sharpy]

Based on what other people have said, I dont believe they do but they always tell you where you order is (eg shipped, shipping etc...) and give you a delivery estimate.

[ccfixx]

Originally Posted by I.Flores

Thank you both for the information.
One last thing, anybody knows if Amazon UK provides with online tracking on US shipments?

Not that I know of for international shipping... unless, of course, you want to pay some outrageous fee, I'm sure. I usually just get the cheapest Royal Airmail selection and the discs usually make it to Rhode Island in 1 to 2 weeks.

CC

[repete66211]

Originally Posted by I.Flores

Thank you both for the information.
One last thing, anybody knows if Amazon UK provides with online tracking on US shipments?

I just ordered The Bourne Trilogy from Amazon UK. They send an email when the item is "dispatched", but there is no tracking available. One guy on here said he got his in 6 days while another said something like 8 or 10 days to ship.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by repete66211

I just ordered The Bourne Trilogy from Amazon UK. They send an email when the item is "dispatched", but there is no tracking available. One guy on here said he got his in 6 days while another said something like 8 or 10 days to ship.

I ordered it Christmas Day, it was dispatched the next day. It took just over 2 weeks to get, but at the price I paid ($31.25CDN) it was well worth the wait. Also, I didn't get charged any Customs duties or taxes.

John

[odin24]

Guys, don't forget that if the UK, or European for that matter, release is 1080i, then it will be 25fps and will not play in North America.

However, non of the titles listed above are encoded interlaced.

Thanks.

[repete66211]

Originally Posted by odin24

Guys, don't forget that if the UK, or European for that matter, release is 1080i, then it will be 25fps and will not play in North America.

However, non of the titles listed above are encoded interlaced.

Thanks.

Most European releases are in 1080i or just some?

[blu_sharpy]

Originally Posted by repete66211

Most European releases are in 1080i or just some?

Very rarely but some are. But, it is VERY RARE that a mainstream release is in 1080i.

[jw]

Originally Posted by odin24

Guys, don't forget that if the UK, or European for that matter, release is 1080i, then it will be 25fps and will not play in North America.

However, non of the titles listed above are encoded interlaced.

Thanks.

This information does not pertain to any of the titles the OP asked about

Band of Brothers-Region Free
Matrix Trilogy-Region Free
The Island-Region Free
Leon: Director's Cut Appears Region Locked, however read this
Terminator 2: Skynet Editon (Is that the steelbook? if so, Its a crazy price for it!)Region Locked, No Steelbook

[quirkmanly]

Just adding to what has already been said, there are some discs that regardless of their region locked/unlocked status can be problematic due to the frame-rate and also some PAL related issues (previews before the main movie, incompatible menus, etc). If there is a title that you are not 100% sure about, hold off until you have confirmed it (as you have done here )

[Celerony]

Originally Posted by blu_sharpy

Very rarely but some are. But, it is VERY RARE that a mainstream release is in 1080i.

It varies for some indepentent distributors, either it can be common or rare.

[richieb1971]

Major studios such as universal and warner will not use 1080i or PAL formatted material. Well to date they have not as far as I know and I have 200+ discs (i'm in the UK and most of my stuff is UK and I also have an American PS3 to test everything).

1080i material is usually related to material such as concerts and documentaries. Some of the smaller more local studios such as EIV and Channel 4 have material at the front of the presentation which is encoded in 1080i stopping importers from playing it.

Just recently I tested "Natures greatest events", it booted fine on the US PS3 up until the point where the main presentation starts, then it just goes back to the menu.

The island, Matrix and Bourne movies will work fine.

[tcfiero]

Originally Posted by repete66211

I just ordered The Bourne Trilogy from Amazon UK. They send an email when the item is "dispatched", but there is no tracking available. One guy on here said he got his in 6 days while another said something like 8 or 10 days to ship.

My BSG came in 9 days after being dispatched. My Dances with wolves & Bourne Trilogy came in 7 days after dispatch. I have watched all of the Bournes and Dances With Wolves on my US PS3 and they all look great. I am in the middle of BSG and so far so good. I tried to track the BSG shipment as it was supposedly shipped via DHL. I tried to track with the invoice number and it was a no go. I purchased Highlander earlier in the year from Amazon.UK and I believe it arrived approximately 7 days from dispatch. I see where someone was inquiring about Leon The Professional from the UK, you know it is available here in the US now and it has both versions on it.

[4K2K]

Originally Posted by odin24

Guys, don't forget that if the UK, or European for that matter, release is 1080i, then it will be 25fps and will not play in North America.

However, non of the titles listed above are encoded interlaced.

Thanks.

European titles that are 1080i aren't always 25 fps / 50 fields per sec, some are 30 fps (60i).

And if it is 1080/50i, it will play in the USA if you have one of these players:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=95245

It's just manufacturers like Sony not supporting things in the Blu-ray specification that means 50hz discs won't play in their players.

[reb2]

Originally Posted by I.Flores

Thank you both for the information.
One last thing, anybody knows if Amazon UK provides with online tracking on US shipments?

I can confirm that The Island plays with no problems....As far as shipping goes, I just made 4 orders...
1 came 5 days early
1 came 2 days early
1 came 1 day early
1 came 3 days late
All based off the "Delivery Estimate", all were shipped "Regular" Mode and no their is no tracking available

Cheers!