Hey all -
I was just pondering why there are different codings, or regions for dvds such as Region 1, Region 2, et cetera. Wouldn't it just be much simpler to have one standard region code so that one region wouldn't get stuff another wouldn't?
I'm sure there is a good reason why it is like it is, but I don't know it! Thanks!
General DVD Question...
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indianajdp
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There are good reasons things aren't universal...way too many to mention, in fact. A couple that I'm pretty ceratin about off the top of my head:
--Technical Specs are not the same in all countries (talking about hardware)
--Not all worldwide releases are handled by the US Distributor. For example, I don't think a BVHE title is distributed by "BVHE" in all regions. I'm pretty sure it's handled differently in some other countries as BVHE sells the rights (that's the way we did things in the publishing industry).
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong aboput those two points, because, well, I probably am
--Technical Specs are not the same in all countries (talking about hardware)
--Not all worldwide releases are handled by the US Distributor. For example, I don't think a BVHE title is distributed by "BVHE" in all regions. I'm pretty sure it's handled differently in some other countries as BVHE sells the rights (that's the way we did things in the publishing industry).
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong aboput those two points, because, well, I probably am
" There's no Dumbass Vaccine " - Jimmy Buffett
I don't know that I will call the reason "good" but here it is:
The movies are distributed all over the world by diffrent companies and at diffrent times. You have to remember that a movie turns up in America long before other countries so there is already a time diffrence here.
Say that Disney want to release a movie on DVD in America two months before they release it in Europe because the movie is still runing in theaters in Europe and they do not want to destroy that market. They would then have a problem with the European customers that want this movie as soon as possible and the stores in Europe would then just buy from America as soon as it is availeble there. Then the local distributor and the theaters would loose lots of money when they release it two months later.
This is the official reason for this but it is just lies.
If this had been thru there should be no reason to why there is region coding on old movies like "Lion King". It is not in any theaters anywere, and it is released all over the world at the same time.
The real reason is that a DVD has diffrent prices, depending on what country you are in. Take Fun and Fancy Free as an example:
USA: $19.99
Norway: $29.99
Australia: $22.87
This was the sugested retail prices. But both USA and Australia are selling these cheaper then that. Norway does not sell it below SRP.
Guess where the Norwegian stores will buy this from if they had a choice?
The movies are distributed all over the world by diffrent companies and at diffrent times. You have to remember that a movie turns up in America long before other countries so there is already a time diffrence here.
Say that Disney want to release a movie on DVD in America two months before they release it in Europe because the movie is still runing in theaters in Europe and they do not want to destroy that market. They would then have a problem with the European customers that want this movie as soon as possible and the stores in Europe would then just buy from America as soon as it is availeble there. Then the local distributor and the theaters would loose lots of money when they release it two months later.
This is the official reason for this but it is just lies.
If this had been thru there should be no reason to why there is region coding on old movies like "Lion King". It is not in any theaters anywere, and it is released all over the world at the same time.
The real reason is that a DVD has diffrent prices, depending on what country you are in. Take Fun and Fancy Free as an example:
USA: $19.99
Norway: $29.99
Australia: $22.87
This was the sugested retail prices. But both USA and Australia are selling these cheaper then that. Norway does not sell it below SRP.
Guess where the Norwegian stores will buy this from if they had a choice?
There are no trouble at all with the technical specs. There are no tecnical reason at all for the regions, just economics.indianajdp wrote:--Technical Specs are not the same in all countries (talking about hardware)
"You hate to repeat yourself. I don't like to make sequels to my pictures. I like to take a new thing and develop something, a new concept." - Walt Disney
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bean:therio
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That is not fully correct. In Europe pretty much all modern tv's are capable of displaying NTSC (the US standard for TV-transmission/video) but In the US almost no new tv is outfitted to dispay PAL (the European standard). You would need to have a special adapter to watch a European dvd on an American tv (and a region-hacked dvd-player of course), so there are some other barriers to cross should you want to watch a dvd from another region. I think that the whole idea behind regions is mostly commercial though.karlsen wrote:There are no trouble at all with the technical specs. There are no tecnical reason at all for the regions, just economics.indianajdp wrote:--Technical Specs are not the same in all countries (talking about hardware)
You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles.