Region settings why bother?

[Jumbo_Holden]

Why do the movie companies bother putting regions on dvds?? most 'in the know' people just put a region all hack in anyway

Whats does protecting releases have to do with it, when Ive got region 1 dvds (im in england 'region 2') I have to import them becuase they will never release them over here something tells me its more a case of them trying to be tight b******s

Also my fave TV show ever Bewitched is only out on DVD in japan and have that on import. Thats region 2 but alot of americans are p*** becuase they think they can't play them.. why do people think the region thing is such a barrier when it isn't.... I won't let the film makers tell me what show/films I can't own

[Capmaster]

I don't think the region number was ever a serious attempt at copy protection. You're allowed to legally change the setting on your player several times anyways. It had a good reason I'm sure, but never turned out to be more than an annoyance.

[mh2360]

It is something to do with global distribution rights (Company A would have the rights to distribute in America, Company B would have the rights to distibute in Europe, and so on), it was something the studios insisted on....

[Nilfennasion]

In the present system of cinema distribution, it costs quite a hefty amount to distribute each film. In the case of Gladiator, it cost over two million to print the film reels to cover American cinemas. This, in addition to the cost of putting each print on a truck to take to each cinema, is why a film will come out in America at a certain time, then everywhere else 6-18 months down the track.

The problem inherent in this system is that it is possible to buy a video release of a film from America long before the film is released theatrically elsewhere. The Crap In The Hat was out on DVD in America for months before someone was brave enough to release it in Australia.

So, to cut a long story short, the studios insisted on Region Codes in order to protect their staggered release scheduling. Where it all fell down was that some video distributors saw it as Carte Blanche to give one market a version of a DVD release that was markedly inferior to another. The original release of StarShip Troopers in Australia was such an unmitigated joke that, being it wasn't the only one, it was only a matter of time before some techie with enough time on his hands found a way to defeat the system.

Add to this that player manufacturers who openly oppose circumvention of this system face massive downturns in business. Samsung's underboss for Australia told a magazine that he refuses to recognise a Samsung player as his product if he finds it has been Region-modded. Samsung's business in the player market for the rest of that year was such that he was either fired or put out to pasture. Either way, it is little wonder that the players themselves are made with somewhat relaxed implementation of the codes. I've yet to have my LG player reject a Region 1 disc. Which is handy given that one distributor in particular keeps releasing markedly inferior versions.

[Jumbo_Holden]

Ok im understanding it, But to name a few region 1 dvds i have ''Stay Tunned'' ''The Witches'' ''Morons From Outer Space" .. all out in the US/canada will no plans for relese elesewhere so quite franky they are being tight now..

Considered the 2nd and 3rd are both british movies, it makes no sense to me

Also Yes, Priminster on dvd in the states not over here tho. What kind of marketing is all this???

[mh2360]

Ok im understanding it, But to name a few region 1 dvds i have ''Stay Tunned'' ''The Witches'' ''Morons From Outer Space"

Ok so it has an up side

(Apart from The Witches, which i do actually like)

[Nilfennasion]

There has always been a lot of films in America that they will release on DVD but not in other countries. As far as I am aware, there are no Region 2 versions of any of the films Paul Verhoeven made before Flesh + Blood, and this in spite of the fact that they are in Dutch and therefore would more likely find an audience there!

In the end, it all comes down to agreements and money. Someone pays the money to have the rights to, or make, these films, and they want to get the best return on their investment. Fair enough, you might think, but one has to wonder how they are going to get that if they so deliberately limit their customer base. It was only last year that RoboCop was released outside of Region 1, and the results were so bad that just about everyone felt they'd made a wise choice in buying the Criterion version. It's unusual when DVD collectors prefer a version that is merely a recycled laserdisc transfer to a new version from all-new, cleaned-up source elements.