Amazon UK now putting "Region Free" in some titles

[ChrisDilke]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s?url=search...ay+region+free

Did a search and found that a lot of Blu-rays are now being listed on Amazon with [Region Free] in the titles. Smart idea from Amazon, could be really helpful especially for those from other countries who look to import certain Blus from the UK. Now if Amazon's next idea can be to stop bundling the user reviews for both the DVD and Blu-ray editions for many titles together, and separate them for the different versions, that would be perfect.

[DetroitSportsFan]

It's great... As long as the info is accurate.

[Alex_DeLarge]

This is an accident waiting to happen on Amazon's behalf.

[manicsounds]

But you click on the individual releases, and scroll down to see them still print "Colour PAL , Region 2"

So it's still not much being done.

[The Driver]

Warner owns a big chunk of Amazon and we know Warner don't like locked Blu-ray.

This is good news because it may weaken Region coding.

Information is good if it's accurate..

[The Driver]

Originally Posted by MichaelB

How? The rightsholders are the ones responsible for implementing region coding, not the distributors - and the rightsholders have an obvious vested interest in maintaining region coding regardless of what Amazon does. (It's different for Hollywood majors like Warner Bros who own global rights anyway, but that's not the case with a great many other titles where rights are split across different territories and distributors).

For instance, I know for a fact that distributors like the BFI and Eureka would stop region coding immediately if they could do it without breaching their contracts, and I suspect they're far from alone.

How or why? Maybe the same, because as I mentioned -information- people will learn there's 'locked' content and those people will want to see what they're missing and this alone may move along the multiregion player market. DVD was multiregion mass market within months and Blu-ray is dragging its feet. Ergo region coding will be weakened as it is now with DVD players.

I was multiregion day 1 as I like choice and don't like studios like Sony abusing locked content when it suits them in their market and where they can release [essentially] ABC in markets where they don't or didn't pay for the rights. That's wrong and I'll decide where my money goes, thank you.

[chip75]

This is just going to confuse the average consumer. They show This Is It as a region free title yet the image doesn't have a certificate on it. So is it an import or a BBFC certified film or as usual with Amazon the wrong cover image?

I dislike region coding as much as the next guy but Amazon aren't the best company when it comes down to technical specification of a product. Its fine when its a Warner Bros. film as they're region free but does the average consumer know that?

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by The Driver

How or why? Maybe the same, because as I mentioned -information- people will learn there's 'locked' content and those people will want to see what they're missing and this alone may move along the multiregion player market. DVD was multiregion mass market within months and Blu-ray is dragging its feet. Ergo region coding will be weakened as it is now with DVD players.

I was multiregion day 1 as I like choice and don't like studios like Sony abusing locked content when it suits them in their market and where they can release [essentially] ABC in markets where they don't or didn't pay for the rights. That's wrong and I'll decide where my money goes, thank you.

I don't wish to get into this debate because I think that at this point it makes little sense, but you seem to be misinformed about a couple of things:

1. There was never a mass multi-region DVD market. On the hardware side of things, well into 1999/2000 there was a limited number of European players that could playback Region-1 or Region-3 content (much later on UK distributors in particular started coding some of their releases for Regions 2 and 4).

2. Contrary to the notion that Region-locking is anti-cosumer, it actually very much benefits the consumer. Because of region-coding sublicensing is possible in a number of smaller markets, and because of sublicensing (often meaning selling restricted product) a lot of local releases are possible. On the other hand, without region-locking a very large chunk of content would simply not be available to the consumer (Japanese content and Japanese distributors's attitude towards region-locking immediately come to mind).

Really, your understanding of region-locking seems to begin and end with your assumption that it only affects what you can play on your machine, when in reality often times region-locking also determines whether there is actually content for you to play.

A regionless market without content, or severely restricted content, is just about the most anti-cosumer scenario that you could have.

Pro-B

[The Driver]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

I don't wish to get into this debate because I think that at this point it makes little sense, but you seem to be misinformed about a couple of things:

1. There was never a mass multi-region DVD market. On the hardware side of things, well into 1999/2000 there was a limited number of European players that could playback Region-1 or Region-3 content (much later on UK distributors in particular started coding some of their releases for Regions 2 and 4).

2. Contrary to the notion that Region-locking is anti-cosumer, it actually very much benefits the consumer. Because of region-coding sublicensing is possible in a number of smaller markets, and because of sublicensing (often meaning selling restricted product) a lot of local releases are possible. On the other hand, without region-locking a very large chunk of content would simply not be available to the consumer (Japanese content and Japanese distributors's attitude towards region-locking immediately come to mind).

Really, your understanding of region-locking seems to begin and end with your assumption that it only affects what you can play on your machine, when in reality often times region-locking also determines whether there is actually content for you to play.

A regionless market without content, or severely restricted content, is just about the most anti-cosumer scenario that you could have.

Pro-B

Well argued, I'm sure you could apply similar mechanics to why democracy is a bad idea for people.

However, DVD/Blu-ray is mass market and there's very very few exceptions where licensing is of benefit (small Austrian companies have flourished perhaps and a few others including -albeit not financially particularly- Criterion).

DVD is multiregion too. I refer to the hardware of course. Anyone who enjoys movies will be multiregion and probably has been for years.

The whole region thing is much less important now (and has totally different politics behind it) anyway as there's much more ABC content however as I said, distributors like Sony and LionsGate have been using the coding as a weapon to damage a film in other markets on occasion and it follows they are damaging smaller distribution and the licensors of material. This cancels out any claim of 'helping' a film reach a bigger or more diverse audience.

That's my point, films are meant to be watched. Not region locked, coded and secreted away behind invisible borders in the minds of greedy management types with ulterior motives.