OT. Playing American Blue ray discs in UK do you do it?

[David]

My Sony Blue ray will only do UK discs but will do multi region ordinary
DVDs.
I have seen some Blue ray movies I would like but not sold in the UK only as
DVDs.
From what I gather Sony have made it extremely difficult to multi region
players for Blue ray, not a bit like the mass market we have with DVD
players that are already MR or you can easily convert with a few presses of
remote control keys.
Have looked on Ebay, it seems to be only place claiming to sell MR Blue ray
players, but on reading several descriptions of products being offered not
too sure if they actually do.
Anyone got a Blue ray player which will will play US and UK discs if so how
did you buy it? Can I get one out of the box at reasonable price?
Regards
David

[Davey]

I can't answer your question, but you might want to look at
www.dvdoverseas.com
and see what they say, they specialise in this kind of thing. They are
based near Chicago, and ship overseas.
Hope this helps.
--
Davey.

[Roderick Stewart]

On Wed, 15 May 2013 11:33:09 +0100, Davey <da...@example.invalid>
wrote:

>> Anyone got a Blue ray player which will will play US and UK discs if
>> so how did you buy it? Can I get one out of the box at reasonable
>> price?

Yes. Richer Sounds. From about �70.

They no longer seem to have the Toshiba one I got, but there are
several others by Panasonic that are described as multi-region.

Beware, Blu-Ray players can also play DVDs (and CDs), but sometimes
the multi-region capability only applies to DVDs. Maybe the Blu-Ray
region coding is more difficult to crack. My Toshiba player will play
all disks, but you have to change the code in the menu for Blu-Ray
manually every time you want to play a disk from a different region.
Richer Sounds are very honest and straightforwards about exactly what
their descriptions mean, so it's worth asking them.

Rod.

[David]

"Roderick Stewart" wrote in message
news:pir6p8lqp76uuq4hc...@4ax.com...

*******

I did e-mail RS and they gave prompt response saying they do not do Blue ray
multi region players.
Thanks
David

[the dog from that film you saw]

keep in mind that a lot of american blu rays will actually be region
free - more than in the dvd days.
there are websites out there that will advise you on specific titles.

--
Gareth.
That fly.... Is your magic wand.

[Brian Gaff]

I think that as Sony invented Bluertay, and own Columbia Pictures its hardly
surprising they would go down this route to protect their markets.

Brian

--
From the Bed of Brian Gaff.
The email is valid as bri...@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user.
"David" <dnp...@tesco.net> wrote in message
news:kmvkhu$k4e$1...@dont-email.me...

[Adrian]

I bought an American Blu-ray player from amazon.com with shipping and taxes
it cost less than the equivalent player in the UK.
--
Hate the belief, love the believer.

[David]

"Adrian" wrote in message
news:2096673807390344200.754572...@nntp.aioe.org...

********

Can you recall approx cost and how much you paid in to post Office when they
delivered it in duty?
Regards
David

[Adrian]

"David" <dnp...@tesco.net> wrote:
> "Adrian" wrote in message
> news:2096673807390344200.754572...@nntp.aioe.org...
>
> "David" <dnp...@tesco.net> wrote:
>> My Sony Blue ray will only do UK discs but will do multi region ordinary > DVDs.
>> I have seen some Blue ray movies I would like but not sold in the UK only > as DVDs.
>> From what I gather Sony have made it extremely difficult to multi region
>> players for Blue ray, not a bit like the mass market we have with DVD
>> players that are already MR or you can easily convert with a few presses
>> of remote control keys.
>> Have looked on Ebay, it seems to be only place claiming to sell MR Blue
>> ray players, but on reading several descriptions of products being
>> offered not too sure if they actually do.
>> Anyone got a Blue ray player which will will play US and UK discs if so
>> how did you buy it? Can I get one out of the box at reasonable price?
>> Regards
>> David
>
> I bought an American Blu-ray player from amazon.com with shipping and taxes
> it cost less than the equivalent player in the UK.

It was less than £40. It was delivered by a carrier there was nothing more
to pay on arrival.

[Paul D Smith]

> I bought an American Blu-ray player from amazon.com with shipping and
> taxes
> it cost less than the equivalent player in the UK.

It was less than £40. It was delivered by a carrier there was nothing more
to pay on arrival.

++++++++++++++++++
You were lucky - my in laws have sent me stuff (e.g. Minnesotta Vikings
jacket) which was stopped by Parcel Force on behalf of UK customs and with
the import duty and the "handling fee" (and the import duty cannot be in
advance to avoid this) the cost of the jacket almost doubled.

It's very hit-and-miss as to what they decide to stop, but having things
sent to a home address (instead of c/o a place of work for example) seems to
help.

<rant>
I find it disgusting that even if I want to pay import duty in advance, I
can't. Instead I am forced to pay excessive "handling charges" to someone
like Parcel Force. I don't import to avoid buying from the UK, I import
stuff that cannot be purchased in the UK or I receive genuine gifts from my
in-laws.
</rant>

Paul DS.

[Peter Johnson]

On Wed, 15 May 2013 22:28:33 +0000 (UTC), Adrian
<addre...@invalid.invalid> wrote:

> It was delivered by a carrier there was nothing more to pay on arrival.

That's no guarantee of course. I have just received a statement from
FedEx complaining that I haven't paid �28.00 I am supposed to owe from
4th March. I suspect that this is duty due on a lens that came from
Hong Kong but this is the first I have heard from them about any
payment being due.

[R. Mark Clayton]

"David" <dnp...@tesco.net> wrote in message
news:kmvkhu$k4e$1...@dont-email.me...

Sony are long standing pass masters at making you pay their RoB prices for
content in the UK.

They also repeatedly put malware on their discs: -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_rootkit

caveat emptor...

The only Sony thing I have bought since 2000 is an AV amp, and even that
suppresses the component output when HDMI is passed through

[Brian Mc]

Adrian <addre...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
: > I bought an American Blu-ray player from amazon.com with shipping and taxes

: > it cost less than the equivalent player in the UK.

: It was less than �40. It was delivered by a carrier there was nothing more
: to pay on arrival.

Many carrriers (DHL and FedEx for exmaple) will bill you up to a few months
later! Unlike the Post Office they don't require payment before delivery!

[Davey]

On Wed, 15 May 2013 22:28:33 +0000 (UTC)

When we moved back to the UK from Michigan, at the end of our final
days there, we had a tube of posters and two large boxes of stuff to
ship home using the Post Office. We sent the posters first, to see what
was involved, and then the two boxes. One weighed just over 56 lbs, so
we had to trim its contents, or it would have had to go via FedEX, at
exorbitant cost.
When we got home, the poster tube was held back for import duty,
although it was the lowest value of the three shipments by far, whereas
the two boxes were delivered without question or duty imposition.
As the Yanks say: "Go figger".

--
Davey.

[Lobster]

On 15/05/2013 10:33, David wrote:

> Anyone got a Blue ray player which will will play US and UK discs if so
> how did you buy it? Can I get one out of the box at reasonable price?

Got a Panasonic from http://www.tps.uk.com/ a few months ago.

It's slightly awkward in that you have to reconfigure it by punching in
a code on the remote when you want to change between UK and US format
disks though. Not particularly cheap either; you'd need to be buying a
lot of US BDs to make it cost-effective.

--
David

[Roderick Stewart]

The Toshiba player I got from Richer Sounds cost me about �60. It
plays any DVD automatically, but Blu-Ray needs to be switched
manually, like yours. I think there must be something different about
the way region coding is implemented.

I was warned never to connect it to the internet, as it might do an
automatic firmware update and its capabilities would then revert to
the manufacturer's default, removing the multiregion switching.

If the makers of Blu-Ray equipment ever succeed in making it
impossible to switch between systems, at �60 a go, it will be
reasonably cost-effective to buy two players, one for each system.

Rod.

[Lobster]

On 20/05/2013 22:57, Roderick Stewart wrote:
> On Mon, 20 May 2013 18:44:51 +0100, Lobster
> <davidlobs...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>> Anyone got a Blue ray player which will will play US and UK discs if so
>>> how did you buy it? Can I get one out of the box at reasonable price?
>>
>> Got a Panasonic from http://www.tps.uk.com/ a few months ago.
>>
>> It's slightly awkward in that you have to reconfigure it by punching in
>> a code on the remote when you want to change between UK and US format
>> disks though. Not particularly cheap either; you'd need to be buying a
>> lot of US BDs to make it cost-effective.
>
> The Toshiba player I got from Richer Sounds cost me about �60. It
> plays any DVD automatically, but Blu-Ray needs to be switched
> manually, like yours. I think there must be something different about
> the way region coding is implemented.
>
> I was warned never to connect it to the internet, as it might do an
> automatic firmware update and its capabilities would then revert to
> the manufacturer's default, removing the multiregion switching.

+1; although I was just warned to switch off the auto firmware update.
In fact I had to upgrade the firmware myself later for some reason, in
order to access internet and network services on the player; for this
TPS sold me an updated version of the firmware on DVD for a tenner
(apparently it has to be personalised for my player); at least it means
I can flash my own firmware in future should it ever get accidentally
swapped to the manufacturer's version.

--
David

[Roderick Stewart]

On Tue, 21 May 2013 07:57:31 +0100, Lobster
<davidlobs...@hotmail.com> wrote:

>> I was warned never to connect it to the internet, as it might do an
>> automatic firmware update and its capabilities would then revert to
>> the manufacturer's default, removing the multiregion switching.
>
>+1; although I was just warned to switch off the auto firmware update.
>In fact I had to upgrade the firmware myself later for some reason, in
>order to access internet and network services on the player; for this
>TPS sold me an updated version of the firmware on DVD for a tenner
>(apparently it has to be personalised for my player); at least it means
>I can flash my own firmware in future should it ever get accidentally
>swapped to the manufacturer's version.

Luckily I don't need internet services on my Blu-Ray player as I
already have that elsewhere, so it doesn't need to be connected to
anything other than the TV set and the hi-fi to do its job. It seems a
lot of devices are now equipped for internet access whether they need
it or not, even TV sets. I just use my TV set for displaying pictures
and the hi-fi system for the sound, as I have for many years. I have a
computer for network and internet services, and I just use the disk
player for playing disks. Maybe that's a bit old fashioned, but I can
do everything I need to do and I know which box does what.

Rod.

[Richard Russell]

On May 21, 8:28 am, Roderick Stewart <r...@escapetime.myzen.co.uk>
wrote:

> I just use my TV set for displaying pictures

I couldn't imagine *not* having iPlayer on our TV now. Fortunately we
have three attached devices - a BluRay player, a Humax PVR and a Wii U
games console - which are internet-connected and can all do iPlayer.

Richard.

[David]

It is a real shame that equipment that has the iplayer is limited to the
BBC.
Regards
David

[Paul D Smith]

"David" wrote in message news:knfclb$qg0$1...@dont-email.me...

++++++++++++++
I think you mean it's a shame that iPlayer is limited to the BBC station,
and I totally agree.

My experience of iPlayer is that it is far more reliable and happily works
with far worse network conditions than the other players. Also, having a
single player format would make so much more sense than having competing
(and often poor) alternatives.

Presumably it would be simple to move content to the iPlayer once all the
various contractual agreements were signed, which makes one wonder why the
BBC has not cross-licenced this feature to other stations in order to raise
revenue.

Paul DS.

[Richard Russell]

On May 21, 10:37 am, "Paul D Smith" <paul_d_sm...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> having a
> single player format would make so much more sense than having competing
> (and often poor) alternatives.

YouView?

Richard.
http://www.rtrussell.co.uk/

[Davey]

On Tue, 21 May 2013 08:28:29 +0100
Roderick Stewart <rj...@escapetime.myzen.co.uk> wrote:

> On Tue, 21 May 2013 07:57:31 +0100, Lobster
> <davidlobs...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>

snip

>
> Luckily I don't need internet services on my Blu-Ray player as I
> already have that elsewhere, so it doesn't need to be connected to
> anything other than the TV set and the hi-fi to do its job. It seems a
> lot of devices are now equipped for internet access whether they need
> it or not, even TV sets. I just use my TV set for displaying pictures
> and the hi-fi system for the sound, as I have for many years. I have a
> computer for network and internet services, and I just use the disk
> player for playing disks. Maybe that's a bit old fashioned, but I can
> do everything I need to do and I know which box does what.
>
> Rod.

It may be old-fashioned, but it's the way I like things myself. And I
don't have a Blu-Ray Player, either. If I want to watch something saved
on the PC, but on the TV, I just connect the two with an HDMI cable.
If others want something different, fine, but not everybody wants the
ultimate system.
--
Davey.

[Jim Lesurf]

In article <knff0r$5t9$1...@dont-email.me>, Paul D Smith

I'm not sure the BBC 'own' the iPlayer in the sense that it would be
required for that. They have to buy in the software and may not even see
the source code. So the content copyright(s) may not be the only factor.

Slainte,

Jim

--
Please use the address on the audiomisc page if you wish to email me.
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scots_Guide/intro/electron.htm
Armstrong Audio http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/Armstrong/armstrong.html
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html

[the dog from that film you saw]

wasn't it project kangaroo that wanted to do just that?- and ofcom shot
it down as anti-competetive.

[Roderick Stewart]

On Tue, 21 May 2013 01:15:48 -0700 (PDT), Richard Russell
<ne...@rtrussell.co.uk> wrote:

>> I just use my TV set for displaying pictures
>
>I couldn't imagine *not* having iPlayer on our TV now. Fortunately we
>have three attached devices - a BluRay player, a Humax PVR and a Wii U
>games console - which are internet-connected and can all do iPlayer.

Yes, iPlayer is very handy. I've got it on the media centre PC which
is connected to the TV, and also on the Freeview HDD recorder. I can't
remember whether it was one of the internet things the TV could access
on its own, but when I experimented with a temporary ethernet
connection to it shortly after I bought it, I found that everything it
did with the internet was excruciatingly slow, so I decided not to buy
the special expensive wireless dongle and just use the PC.

Rod.

[Adrian]

Well I've had it over a year so I don't think that's likely now.

[Paul D Smith]

"Roderick Stewart" wrote in message

news:81cnp8hosri7lv3s4...@4ax.com...

++++++++++++
FWIW I've just got a new TV and the internet access is vastly superior to
the old one. Still wouldn't fire it up to surf the web, but it does iPlayer
etc at a sensible rate now.

Paul DS.

[Peter Duncanson]

On Tue, 21 May 2013 18:27:56 +0100, the dog from that film you saw
<d...@REMOVETHISbtinternet.com> wrote:

>On 21/05/2013 10:50, Richard Russell wrote:
>> On May 21, 10:37 am, "Paul D Smith" <paul_d_sm...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>> having a
>>> single player format would make so much more sense than having competing
>>> (and often poor) alternatives.
>>
>> YouView?
>>
>> Richard.
>> http://www.rtrussell.co.uk/
>>
>
>
>
>wasn't it project kangaroo that wanted to do just that?- and ofcom shot
>it down as anti-competetive.

Yes.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/feb/04/project-kangaroo-blocked-by-competition-commission
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Kangaroo

While YouView has a uniform interface with an EPG that looks backwards
as well as forwards, the on-demand material comes from the existing
separate services:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youview#YouView_Content

The on-demand players available are BBC iPlayer (free), 4oD (free),
ITV Player (free, ITV plc owned regions and UTV region) or STV
Player (free, STV Group owned regions),[1] Demand 5 (free),
Milkshake! (free, children's programming from Channel 5) and Now TV
(paid for, premium movies).

--
Peter Duncanson
(in uk.tech.digital-tv)