Any Region Free (Reg A Compatible) 4K UK?

[ronisandy]

Hi, I was just wondering if anybody knows if there are any 4K blu-rays from the UK that are region A compatible? Haven't seen any of those on the information parts whether from this site or any other ones.

Thanks you, much appreciated!

[rallymonkey]

I believe I read somewhere that all 4K discs from all regions are region free. Not sure if that means if 4K players are region free also. Not positive. I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than me can clarify.

[GasmaskAvenger]

All 4K UHD discs are region free no matter what, so go ahead and import as much as you want.

Just keep in mind that if they also include a standard blu-ray disc, those might be region locked, but never the 4K UHD under any circumstance.

[ronisandy]

Really? That is fantastic news! So, if I get Warner Bros titles / Universal titles, most of their BDs are region a compatible, it's safe to buy the 4K titles. Wow, this is great. Some 4K UK titles are cheaper than the US ones.

Thanks a lot, time to browse!

[ronisandy]

Originally Posted by rallymonkey

I believe I read somewhere that all 4K discs from all regions are region free. Not sure if that means if 4K players are region free also. Not positive. I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than me can clarify.

Would you know/remember where you read that from, thanks.

[dvdmike]

UHD discs are region free

[GC Riot]

As has been mentioned, UHD discs are region free, but if you want to play regular blu-ray discs on a UHD player, those will still be locked to the player's specific region.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by GC Riot

As has been mentioned, UHD discs are region free, but if you want to play regular blu-ray discs on a UHD player, those will still be locked to the player's specific region.

You speak of the locking as if it's a sure thing, but apart from Lionsgate's discs every other UHD release from Sony, Fox and Warners thus far has come with a region free (or AB at the least) Blu-ray. Hell, even Shout's Journey To Space has a region free BD in it.

People still seem to assume that the studios lock discs as a matter of course but most of the majors have switched to a region free model, and often master just one disc for all territories worldwide. Yes, I know that Fox's movies say 'A' on the back and Amazon ALWAYS state that something is region A, but that's just them being lazy.

[GC Riot]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

You speak of the locking as if it's a sure thing, but apart from Lionsgate's discs every other UHD release from Sony, Fox and Warners thus far has come with a region free (or AB at the least) Blu-ray. Hell, even Shout's Journey To Space has a region free BD in it.

People still seem to assume that the studios lock discs as a matter of course but most of the majors have switched to a region free model, and often master just one disc for all territories worldwide. Yes, I know that Fox's movies say 'A' on the back and Amazon ALWAYS state that something is region A, but that's just them being lazy.

Oh no, I didn't mean it like that, I'm just saying that the blu-ray discs that ARE locked (which aren't that many by my estimation. I think I have 20% or so in my collection, the rest are region free) will STILL be locked in a UHD player.

[Geoff D]

^ still worth making those points that I did though, I was amazed by the amount of people on AVF (and some of them seasoned commentators) who were shocked that the US Blu-ray in their UHD imports actually played on their UK machines. But to be perfectly honest unless you're a big fan of the region-locked US indies like Shout and Criterion then a multi-region player has never been less important than it is right now.

[ronisandy]

Originally Posted by GC Riot

As has been mentioned, UHD discs are region free, but if you want to play regular blu-ray discs on a UHD player, those will still be locked to the player's specific region.

Went online and read that SICARIO US was region locked. Couldn't be played in a UK 4K player. So, maybe not all are region free. But still good news none the less that most of these are RF..

[GC Riot]

Originally Posted by ronisandy

Went online and read that SICARIO US was region locked. Couldn't be played in a UK 4K player. So, maybe not all are region free. But still good news none the less that most of these are RF..

Sicario contains 2 discs, one blu-ray disc, and one UHD blu-ray disc. The regular blu-ray disc IS locked to region A in the US, but the UHD disc is region free and can be played in every single UHD player.
EVERY UHD disc is region free, and most regular blu-ray discs are as well, but not all of them.

[ronisandy]

Originally Posted by GC Riot

Sicario contains 2 discs, one blu-ray disc, and one UHD blu-ray disc. The regular blu-ray disc IS locked to region A in the US, but the UHD disc is region free and can be played in every single UHD player.
EVERY UHD disc is region free, and most regular blu-ray discs are as well, but not all of them.

Oh, if that's the case then that is AWESOME! I can buy me some UK 4Ks... Thanks for clarifying this!

[d514]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

You speak of the locking as if it's a sure thing, but apart from Lionsgate's discs every other UHD release from Sony, Fox and Warners thus far has come with a region free (or AB at the least) Blu-ray.

If I remember correctly the Blu-ray included with "Pride & Prejudice & Zombies" was Region A. (The UHD disc is region free, of course.) So at least Sony (and Lionsgate) is not always Codefree/Multiregion.

(Maybe the Blu-ray is code A because I received the disc a few days before the movie startet in German cinemas... Usually the release dates here are a lot more closer to the US date.)

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by d514

If I remember correctly the Blu-ray included with "Pride & Prejudice & Zombies" was Region A. (The UHD disc is region free, of course.) So at least Sony (and Lionsgate) is not always Codefree/Multiregion.

(Maybe the Blu-ray is code A because I received the disc a few days before the movie startet in German cinemas... Usually the release dates here are a lot more closer to the US date.)

Thanks for the update, it doesn't surprise me as it's a Screen Gems production rather than Sony outright, i.e. distribution deals for these smaller features are often quite fragmented across the world (which the region free UHD tramples on, but still). But it's not a bad ratio of locked to unlocked so far from them, as always you've just gotta tread carefully with the Sony Pictures Classics/Screen Gems stuff in particular. To be fair they did famously lock their recent Blu-ray redos of Fifth Element, Leon and Dracula too, but Sony are pretty good overall.

[disrember]

yes I believe the bluray org has finally adopted the same procedure that has existed for CD's which would prevent retailers selling films unless agreed the license owners or as import

[stargazeruk]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Thanks for the update, it doesn't surprise me as it's a Screen Gems production rather than Sony outright, i.e. distribution deals for these smaller features are often quite fragmented across the world (which the region free UHD tramples on, but still). But it's not a bad ratio of locked to unlocked so far from them, as always you've just gotta tread carefully with the Sony Pictures Classics/Screen Gems stuff in particular. To be fair they did famously lock their recent Blu-ray redos of Fifth Element, Leon and Dracula too, but Sony are pretty good overall.

I think it also depends of if they own distribution else where. For Pride, Prejudice and zombies in the UK lionsgate own the distribution rights but in some EU countries its Sony (but not all) but I think on that end they better to be safe then sorry for not locking. I do find with Sony it could be hit and miss overall. Lionsgate in the past They did have a couple that were region free (e.g. Stargate the Movie was lionsgate and along with a couple of tiles were region free) but that was very limited. Most likely someone screwed up on locking them.

[Madala]

It's also my understanding that Ultra HD Blu-ray will be region free.

However, many of the releases are being sold including the Blu-ray disc and digital copies. Is there anyway that the database (and/or website) can be modified to indicate clearly that it's the Blu-ray version that is being checked for region coding?

Of course, the same is true for DVD stand alone releases and Blu-ray releases that contain DVD discs. The region coding information merely shows the letters for the Blu-ray with no information of the DVD regions.

[Madala]

Actually, to add to my previous post.

Packages can include any combination of Ultra HD Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD.

It would be really good to know what is being referred to as "region free".