Region Indicated on Case Not Always Correct - Why?

[MichaelYYZ]

Why do some studios list a region code on the disc case, when the disc is in fact region free?

I've got several films (e.g. MGM, Fox, HBO) which indicate that they are Region A, but they play perfectly well on my multi-region Blu-ray player when switched to Region B or C. Others (e.g. Criterion, CBS) would not.

Similarly, I've got a few Region B discs which would play if my player is set to Region A or C (e.g. Shock/Fox, Divisa/Filmax) while others (e.g. Network UK) would not.

Why are some studios listing an incorrect region code for their films? Perhaps still trying to dissuade people from other geographic zones from buying the discs without actually bothering to encode the region coding on the disc?

Thank you for your insight.

[AaronJ]

Or it could have nothing to do with a conspiracy and just be mistakes?

I mean, how many of these releases do some of these studios have in a year? It wouldn't surprise me one bit if there are simply occasional mistakes made here and there.

Just a thought.

[Thomas Irwin]

Perhaps in some cases it is simply a matter of courtesy or caution, in order to not be seen as stepping on any toes. Where not contractually obligated, it would serve no real practical purpose from a monetary perspective to lock it arbitrarily. But on the flip side they may not wish to be seen as encroaching on any potential sales in foreign territories in regard to any current or future releases. Essentially it becomes the ultimate Easter egg.

[knight17]

It might be done to deter importing, if the customer is not persistent. For instance, some, if not all of the US Box sets are a lot more expensive than UK releases and so on, hence simply mentioning that it is Region A or Region B might deter some of them from purchasing them.

There are other instances when the studios might have erroneously included it as stated above.

With regard to box sets there are also instances when one movie might be locked to a region and others wouldn't be, so for that purpose it might be mentioned.

End of the day, region locking is an unwanted functionality as far as I am concerned.

When the studios insist that customers purchase genuine goods, they must go out of their way to make sure that it is available to do so irrespective of geographical limitations and so on.

While I hated the fact that WB refused to release the rest of the T&J collection, I am thankful they don't go around locking any of their releases.

Nevertheless the fact that Blu ray players are cheap and can be made multi-region more or less solves this issue.

[Ray_Rogers]

Originally Posted by knight17

It might be done to deter importing, if the customer is not persistent. For instance, some, if not all of the US Box sets are a lot more expensive than UK releases and so on, hence simply mentioning that it is Region A or Region B might deter some of them from purchasing them.

There are other instances when the studios might have erroneously included it as stated above.

With regard to box sets there are also instances when one movie might be locked to a region and others wouldn't be, so for that purpose it might be mentioned.

End of the day, region locking is an unwanted functionality as far as I am concerned.

When the studios insist that customers purchase genuine goods, they must go out of their way to make sure that it is available to do so irrespective of geographical limitations and so on.

While I hated the fact that WB refused to release the rest of the T&J collection, I am thankful they don't go around locking any of their releases.

Nevertheless the fact that Blu ray players are cheap and can be made multi-region more or less solves this issue.

I've been using AnyDVD HD on my computer for as long as I put it together in 2011, because I have a nice ASUS BD-Burner drive. Prior to that I only had a Region A Sony player which I gave to my Ma as a Christmas present several years back. Still own my OPPO 971-H DVD multi-region player but it hasn't been used in a long time.
Even though I use BDInfo, AnyDVD HD still removes any Region Locking from the Region B titles I own. Yes I own quite a lot, use HD Goofnut's threads regarding various releases from around the planet, DVDCompare.net, Caps-a-Holic.com, and obviously this forum for imports.
Many of the Blu-ray listings on this site will state whether or not a title is Region Free, A, B, A/B combo or whichever. It is user submitted contributions. To me it doesn't matter whether a release is locked or not, it's all about the price for the exact releases I want to buy.

Apologies if this is long winded.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Ray_Rogers

I've been using AnyDVD HD on my computer for as long as I put it together in 2011, because I have a nice ASUS BD-Burner drive. Prior to that I only had a Region A Sony player which I gave to my Ma as a present several years back. Still own my OPPO 971-H DVD multi-region player but it hasn't been used in a long time.
Even though I use BDInfo, AnyDVD HD still removes any Region Locking from the Region B titles I own. Yes I own quite a lot, use HD Goofnut's threads regarding various releases from around the planet, DVDCompare.net, Caps-a-Holic.com, and obviously this forum for imports.
Many of the Blu-ray listings on this site will state whther or not a title is Region Free, A, B, A/B combo or whichever. It is user submitted contributions. To me it doesn't matter whrether a release is locked or not, it's all about the price for the exact releases I want to buy.

Apologies if this is long winded.

I cherish AnyDVD HD as it throws region locking right out the window.

[edwoodjr]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

Or it could have nothing to do with a conspiracy and just be mistakes?

I mean, how many of these releases do some of these studios have in a year? It wouldn't surprise me one bit if there are simply occasional mistakes made here and there.

Just a thought.

Occam's Razor FTW.

[Ray_Rogers]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

I cherish AnyDVD HD as it throws region locking right out the window.

Yup!

Glad I kept all of my Region 2 and 3 DVDs. AnyDVD HD hasn't any problem with them whatsoever. But I'm not entirely sure if I'm watching the original PAL if I'm playing them via ArcSoft Total MediaTheatre 6 or Cyberlink PowerDVD 15/16. Because I don't have the HD upconversion ticked for both.
Wonder if it makes any difference for the titles I have in my signature which is my FilmAF.com collection listing.

[Show spoiler]Yes, there are hundreds of titles I'll never post in my regular Blu-ray.com owned collection listing thing.

But, my Wishlist is insane regarding imports.

[MichaelYYZ]

This is a very interesting discussion. Thank you to all who have contributed.

I, personally, am not interested in the cheapest deals across continents for titles released everywhere, but in films, mostly European, which are not released or not available in Region A. It saddens me when I think about the number of titles I missed thinking they were locked on Region B, as indicated on the case label, when in fact they might have been region free.

Only after getting a region-free BD player and doing some experiments recently, I realized the 'deception': that often region-free discs are labelled as being locked, when in fact they are not.

Unfortunately, I am not interested in ripping the BDs to hard drives. I (still) like having a physical medium to hold in my hand. Besides, being an Apple computer user, I think it would be difficult for me to rip BDs, if not impossible.

[steve_dave]

It is not a deception though:

The artwork reflects the country/territory it is intended to be sold in. The back of many US and Canadian Blu-rays and DVDs state in small print: Intended for sale in the US/Canada Only. The same goes for a majority of Hong Kong releases: Authorized for Sale in Hong Kong and Macau Only.

20th Century Fox does not have US/Canadian distribution rights to Braveheart so they can not legally market the film in this country. Paramount only has US/Canadian distribution and thus can not market the film outside this area. That extends to home video releases, so while Fox's art specifically states ABC, it's not sold with that intention; Fox just decided not to region restrict their disc. Paramount did though and the US/Canadian releases are Region A.

And even if a Blu-ray were "region free" upon initial release, sometimes it can be locked after the fact. Arrow has done this as has 88 Films so even if you researched and found a disc to be all regions, it may not be if the distributor/studio decided to lock after so many pressings.

On top of that is the issue of 1080/50hz which is a big thing for the BBC. Yes, BBC UK Blu-rays are region free but nearly all are 1080/50hz which liimits their playback in 60hz countries. Especially the US and Canada where many players can't handle this so even if it is ABC, you still can not play it anyway. Or you bought a ABC import with extras you wanted to enjoy only to find those extras are Standard Definition PAL. Again, many US/Canadian players can not handle this format.

The studios/distributors have to market for the country/territory they are authorized to sell in. They can't go outside of it so if it means having to say a disc is a specific region even though it might be ABC is fulfilling that obligation.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by MichaelYYZ

This is a very interesting discussion. Thank you to all who have contributed.

I, personally, am not interested in the cheapest deals across continents for titles released everywhere, but in films, mostly European, which are not released or not available in Region A. It saddens me when I think about the number of titles I missed thinking they were locked on Region B, as indicated on the case label, when in fact they might have been region free.

Only after getting a region-free BD player and doing some experiments recently, I realized the 'deception': that often region-free discs are labelled as being locked, when in fact they are not.

Unfortunately, I am not interested in ripping the BDs to hard drives. I (still) like having a physical medium to hold in my hand. Besides, being an Apple computer user, I think it would be difficult for me to rip BDs, if not impossible.

Sounds like you need a BD burner.

[MichaelYYZ]

With due respect, I think you missed the point of the topic of this discussion. It was not about the reasons why certain titles are geo-restricted. It was about the fact that many BDs are indicated as being region locked when actually they are region free. This is the 'deception'. May I kindly suggest that you read the original question carefully? Thank you.

Originally Posted by steve_dave

It is not a deception though:

The artwork reflects the country/territory it is intended to be sold in. The back of many US and Canadian Blu-rays and DVDs state in small print: Intended for sale in the US/Canada Only. The same goes for a majority of Hong Kong releases: Authorized for Sale in Hong Kong and Macau Only.

20th Century Fox does not have US/Canadian distribution rights to Braveheart so they can not legally market the film in this country. Paramount only has US/Canadian distribution and thus can not market the film outside this area. That extends to home video releases, so while Fox's art specifically states ABC, it's not sold with that intention; Fox just decided not to region restrict their disc. Paramount did though and the US/Canadian releases are Region A.

And even if a Blu-ray were "region free" upon initial release, sometimes it can be locked after the fact. Arrow has done this as has 88 Films so even if you researched and found a disc to be all regions, it may not be if the distributor/studio decided to lock after so many pressings.

On top of that is the issue of 1080/50hz which is a big thing for the BBC. Yes, BBC UK Blu-rays are region free but nearly all are 1080/50hz which liimits their playback in 60hz countries. Especially the US and Canada where many players can't handle this so even if it is ABC, you still can not play it anyway. Or you bought a ABC import with extras you wanted to enjoy only to find those extras are Standard Definition PAL. Again, many US/Canadian players can not handle this format.

The studios/distributors have to market for the country/territory they are authorized to sell in. They can't go outside of it so if it means having to say a disc is a specific region even though it might be ABC is fulfilling that obligation.

[MichaelYYZ]

Yes, indeed, thanks. But is AnyDVD HD also available for Mac now? Last time I checked it was not.

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Sounds like you need a BD burner.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by MichaelYYZ

Yes, indeed, thanks. But is AnyDVD HD also available for Mac now? Last time I checked it was not.

Not sure. I would certainly see if it is compatible. If it's not just chalk it up to one of the many reasons I dislike Mac compared to PC.

[MichaelYYZ]

Windows, and programs for it, can always run on a Mac computer but I'd have to first overcome my hatred for Windows to do so. Besides, I'm not really interested in ripping - illegally? - films to hard drives.

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Not sure. I would certainly see if it is compatible. If it's not just chalk it up to one of the many reasons I dislike Mac compared to PC.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by MichaelYYZ

Windows, and programs for it, can always run on a Mac computer but I'd have to first overcome my hatred for Windows to do so. Besides, I'm not really interested in ripping - illegally? - films to hard drives.

For backup purposes? I don't think it's illegal and even if it is it's certainly not immoral.

[steve_dave]

Originally Posted by MichaelYYZ

With due respect, I think you missed the point of the topic of this discussion. It was not about the reasons why certain titles are geo-restricted. It was about the fact that many BDs are indicated as being region locked when actually they are region free. This is the 'deception'. May I kindly suggest that you read the original question carefully? Thank you.

Your original question:

Originally Posted by MichaelYYZ

Why do some studios list a region code on the disc case, when the disc is in fact region free?

There is no mention of deception until:

Originally Posted by MichaelYYZ

Only after getting a region-free BD player and doing some experiments recently, I realized the 'deception': that often region-free discs are labelled as being locked, when in fact they are not.

To which I replied:

Originally Posted by steve_dave

It is not a deception though:

The artwork reflects the country/territory it is intended to be sold in. The back of many US and Canadian Blu-rays and DVDs state in small print: Intended for sale in the US/Canada Only. The same goes for a majority of Hong Kong releases: Authorized for Sale in Hong Kong and Macau Only.

...

The studios/distributors have to market for the country/territory they are authorized to sell in. They can't go outside of it so if it means having to say a disc is a specific region even though it might be ABC is fulfilling that obligation.

The first and last paragraph answer your initial question and I addresed your "deception" comment as well.

Just because a disc is ABC does not mean the distributor can say that outright. Well, sometimes they do. And as stated eariler, it could be a mistake. There is also the issue that DESPITE being ABC, the disc could still have material that won't work in another terriitory. So putting the region code for the territory it is to be sold in makes sense. That is not deception, that is marketing.

By the way, here is something interesting: The FilmArena release for Kingsman: The Secret Service plays a specific version dependent on the region code of the player being used. Region A and C set players get a censored presentation but region B set players get the full uncut film. The disc art advertises with no deception that it is ABC but it doesn't mention this anywhere in the package.

[steve_dave]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

Bypassing any of the security locks for any purpose in the US is actually illegal unless all my reading has been incorrect. I'm not sure if making a backup copy of things that are Open is illegal as long as you keep the original

Under the First Right rule, we could make a "copy" of something we already own. But this was restricted to a singular copy. This was due to the surge of the VHS recorder in homes, Hollywood freaked out because pirates will be born. So after some legal tangles, the First Right rule was born.

All PC/Mac software that came on floppies stated in the license agreement that you were allowed to make one copy for back up purposes.

With DVD and it's new copy protection, judges have ruled under First Right that you can make a "backup" copy with software for the intention of your own personal use. You also had to own the DVD in question but in a nasty catch-22, that software could not "break" the copy protectiction on the disc. So essentially, you could make you own digital copy legally but breaking the copy protection also made it illegal.

There is a fight between film & music conglomerates and consumers everytime a new format is introduced. Now with Blu-ray, the same lopsided argument is happening again.

[MichaelYYZ]

But here is the 'deception': It's okay to write "This disc is restricted to be sold outside Canada and the USA." on the artwork. But it's not okay to list a disc as being Region A restricted when, in reality, it is region free. The later is a misrepresentation, in my opinion.

What is very interesting, though, is the region coding used the way you explained in the second paragraph. Very smart.

Originally Posted by steve_dave

Just because a disc is ABC does not mean the distributor can say that outright. Well, sometimes they do. And as stated eariler, it could be a mistake. There is also the issue that DESPITE being ABC, the disc could still have material that won't work in another terriitory. So putting the region code for the territory it is to be sold in makes sense. That is not deception, that is marketing.

By the way, here is something interesting: The FilmArena release for Kingsman: The Secret Service plays a specific version dependent on the region code of the player being used. Region A and C set players get a censored presentation but region B set players get the full uncut film. The disc art advertises with no deception that it is ABC but it doesn't mention this anywhere in the package.

[CinemaScope]

There's been a few from Fox lately, The Martian & Fargo season 2 are marked region A, but both are multi-region. Sites like this one are great for finding out all this stuff. Back in the DVD days, nearly all Warner catalogue releases were marked region 1, but played on region 2 fine.