Blu-ray in New Zealand

[rdb]

Hi guys,
I'm new to this forum, so i apologise if this question has been asked before :-)
Can someone tell me if the blu-ray titles that are released here in NZ are the same spec/quality etc as their US counterparts? Meaning, would the reviews and ratings given on this site be applicable for the NZ version?
I hope that makes sense. Thanks rdb

[owa]

Originally Posted by rdb

Hi guys,
I'm new to this forum, so i apologise if this question has been asked before :-)
Can someone tell me if the blu-ray titles that are released here in NZ are the same spec/quality etc as their US counterparts? Meaning, would the reviews and ratings given on this site be applicable for the NZ version?
I hope that makes sense. Thanks rdb

I'm not sure about NZ specifically but a lot of times different studios own the rights to the movies in different areas. So the PQ/AQ could be different in those cases.

As an example, Paramount has Beowulf in the US and is currently only on HD DVD (uses AVC and Dolby Digital Plus). In the UK, Warner has Beowulf so it's available on blu-ray and uses VC-1 and Dolby TrueHD instead of AVC and Dolby Digital Plus. It may even be different when it doesn't change formats in different areas. Apparently, the Silent Hill release in Germany has better PQ (using VC-1) than the US release (using MPEG-2).

Anyway, hopefully someone that knows specifically will answer but I think the answer is no (i.e. they could be different).

[David Mamet]

Welcome mate. I have no expert answer, but my guess would be that PQ and AQ would be similiar. There are many BD's in your region that are not available here in the US, so you can help with educating us. More specifically have you had a chance to watch Starship Troopers on BD? If so what was it like PQ wise?

[rdb]

Originally Posted by owa

I'm not sure about NZ specifically but a lot of times different studios own the rights to the movies in different areas. So the PQ/AQ could be different in those cases.

As an example, Paramount has Beowulf in the US and is currently only on HD DVD (uses AVC and Dolby Digital Plus). In the UK, Warner has Beowulf so it's available on blu-ray and uses VC-1 and Dolby TrueHD instead of AVC and Dolby Digital Plus. It may even be different when it doesn't change formats in different areas. Apparently, the Silent Hill release in Germany has better PQ (using VC-1) than the US release (using MPEG-2).

Anyway, hopefully someone that knows specifically will answer but I think the answer is no (i.e. they could be different).

Sorry for the delay in replying, i've been away.
Thanks for your reply, i guess i'll have to check and compare each title as it's released over here with the reviews on this website.

[rdb]

Originally Posted by David Mamet

Welcome mate. I have no expert answer, but my guess would be that PQ and AQ would be similiar. There are many BD's in your region that are not available here in the US, so you can help with educating us. More specifically have you had a chance to watch Starship Troopers on BD? If so what was it like PQ wise?

Thanks for your reply, sorry i've taken a while to get back to you, i've been away.
I don't actually have any Blu-Ray hardware yet, was just doing my research while i wait for them to release reasonably priced players over this side of the world. There seems to be plenty of BD titles around, so we're half way there :-)
Hey, can you tell me, as i haven't yet invested in a HD TV, if i do go ahead and purchase a Blu-Ray player, will i notice any difference in quality between BD and DVD playing on my standard TV??

[syncguy]

On PC display (20" LCD), I could see a difference between SD and HD. I expect this would be the case for blu-ray. However, on a standard 20" CRT, I think, the difference would be marginal if any.