Blu-Ray Region question

[Michael24]

I've read that, unlike DVD, many Blu-Ray releases are actually Region-free. But if I was to order a Blu-Ray from, say, England, would the PAL format still be an issue that would prevent me from being able to watch it? I've never had any experience with it, so would a PAL image look garbled or something on my TV being in the US?

 

[Mandouga]

Blu-rays from England are "Region B", so you wouldn't be able to play them in a "Region A" player.

This Wikipedia article (and yes, it is sourced) talks all about it.

 

[Michael24]

But there is this part: "Some current estimates suggest 70% of available [movie] Blu-Ray discs from major studios are region code-free and can therefore be played on any Blu-Ray disc player, in any region."

And I've heard from some people online about buying Blu-Rays from England and playing them just fine here in the US (without needing a region-free player), but I didn't know if PAL was still an issue and if I would need a converter or something.

 

[the greenman]

I have a similar question, can BluRay Players play other region dvd's?

 

[Michael24]

In my quest last night to find the answer to my question, I came across some things about that as well. Other-region DVDs will not play on Blu-Ray players. Something to do with the lasers. The blue laser will activate first, and if it doesn't detect a BR disc, then it switches to the red laser for DVD playback, and it will or won't play depending on the region of the disc. So in essence, you can't circumvent the region coding of regular DVDs with a BR player I'm afraid.

 

[SpongeJosh]

You are correct in saying that many blu-rays are region free. Many UK BDs are in particular, and are actually highly imported because of that and the fact that they are often cheaper than in the US. You are also correct in saying that region A BD players can only play region 1 DVDs even though they can play region ABC BDs. I personally only have one UK BD, and I have no trouble playing it on my PS3. The only trouble I've ever heard of anyone having with PAL on BDs is extras. Some UK BDs will have extras in PAL and that will make them unplayable on an incompatible setup. The only title I can think of offhand where the feature can't play on most players is the Spanish BD release of [REC], which is presented in 1080i50, instead of the more common 1080i60 or 1080p. In other words it's a case by case basis, but in general, you won't be nearly as limited in your BD purchases as you were with DVD purchases.

 

[defunctzombie]

Bunches of people ordered the BTTF UK blu-ray due to the superior packaging, so you could try searching for reviews of it to see if they had any display problems. Not every blu-ray is the same, but you'd at least get an idea that way.

 

[Jzpierce]

Well, the insider secret is that Sony makes region free players. I have yet to test this though, but if all else fails, try VLC player. Of course you would need a BluRay player in your computer for this to work, but Sony makes these for cheap if you need it that badly.

 

[defunctzombie]

VLC doesn't work for blu-ray yet. The only version that will is 1.2 and it's still in development. If you're getting it to play then another program must be doing all the leg work.

 

[Jzpierce]

If you do happen to have a BluRay enabled computer, it should come with Corel WinDVD, which should have a region randomizer. Again, I haven't tested this one.

 

[defunctzombie]

Where are you getting that from? My computer is less than six months old, blu-ray drive and all, and it didn't come with any Corel suites.

 

[Jzpierce]

Where are you getting that from? My computer is less than six months old, blu-ray drive and all, and it didn't come with any Corel suites.

Well then, I guess I am lucky ... Perhaps that is a perk of using Sony.

How do you play BluRays on your computer? Does Window Media Player just do it?

 

[defunctzombie]

No, HP/Cyberlink plays it. There is a Windows Media Center plug in that lets you watch through the WMC interface, but it doesn't actually play the disc.

 

[Jzpierce]

I guess this doesn't have the coveted region selector Corel has.

 

[defunctzombie]

It doesn't matter. The only foreign movies I really watch are Japanese, and their Blu-ray region is the same as mine. I was able to buy a few good movies while I was studying there.