For those considering purchasing the BluRay, be aware that Bluray now uses REGION ENCODING like normal DVDs (it didn’t used to initially).
I’ve never been a fan of Bluray, and to date, have yet to adopt the format. I feel that while it offers a better picture than DVD, it’s a waste of money to invest in a format that I personally feel is only a temporary format at best. The public at large has still not adopted Bluray in masses because normal DVD offers picture quality good enough, and I think most realize that it’s simply a termporary format (as much as Sony would not like it to be so) until downloading HiDef and other formats come out. I personally don’t like other aspects of the Bluray format as well, so until now have resisted buying it.
However, there was one initial thing in favor of Bluray besides the improved picture. Unlike normal DVDs, which are region encoded (meaning you cannot view a movie purchased or meant for sale in one region of the world, if you live in another), Bluray initially was NOT region encoded.
Well that seems that has changed.
If this is common knowledge to everyone, please excuse this post. I don’t keep up on Bluray, and this was all news to me. For the longest time, I had thought there were no region codes on bluray. But I was at Sony Studios recently, and in their shop they had (of course) Bluray movies for sale – with a sign next to the display case talking about how older bluray movies in their library are NOT region-encoded, but how NEWER titles and all new releases WILL be region encoded. Where DVD uses Regions 1-6, BluRay uses Regions A, B, or C (North America is “A”).
Sure enough, I flipped through some of the titles there, and most everything that was older had no region encoding. But newer releases all were coded with “A” only (and the Sony BluRay decks for sale all had Regions “1” and “A” stamped on them).
For me seeing this was the last straw. I happen to enjoy world cinema, and will buy a DVD from wherever I choose. If I want to watch a European release of a movie or an original Asian release of a movie, I will get that release (not to mention huge numbers of titles aren’t even available for sale in the US). I do not own any DVD player that is not hackable to multi-region. And bluray also now taking on region encoding is the final straw for me to complete ignore the format.
I only have one Bluray disc – Ratatouille, (bought because I could pick it up for US$15, even though I had no plans to get a PS3 or Bluray at the time). And now, it’ll remain my only Bluray disc, for looking at it now, I see it’s not just Sony that’s doing this to their titles. Disney has started region encoding their releases as well. There’s a tiny “A” on the back of my Ratatouille Bluray disc – meaning if someone in another part of the world were to try to play it, it wouldn’t play. I can only assume that Wall-E will get the same treatment.
So the reason for this post is to warn people out there who live overseas – be careful when purchasing bluray discs from overseas now, for there’s a good chance they won’t work in your bluray/ps3 player anymore if it’s a new release and if you’re not in the same region.
Personally, I can’t express how sad I am to see Sony succumb to region encoding for bluray too. No way will I invest money in a format that is not only I feel temporary, but that has restrictions like region encoding. So for those of you who are planning on getting the Wall-E bluray, be careful to check the region from the place you purchase it from, if buying it from outside your home country.
On a side note, if anyone knows if bluray players can play bluray discs marked with another region, or if they can be hacked to allow this, I’d be curious to hear about it. A good portion of my DVD collection is made up of discs and editions that are NOT Region 1s (North America, where I live), and this was the final nail in the coffin for me to completely ignore bluray.
