Promising source for import HD DVDs in the states (1 Viewer)

For anyone hesitant to order upcoming HD DVDs from abroad, it looks like at least one US dealer will be stocking them. Though there can be a slight premium compared to ordering direct from a Euro dealer, the hassles in dealing with any problems that might come up have become a deal breaker for me personally i.e. Loose & scratched discs, broken or damaged cases, poorly mfgd discs, etc are a pain in the neck to deal with in regards to domestic mail order companies, but international return shipping makes any exchanges or returns a monumental PITA.

Xploitedcinema has been a good source for me in the past for non R1 dvds, with prompt, professional service, so I'm looking forward to throwing more business his way soon

here's the text of the e-mail I recieved back today


hopefully the distribution of the S-C and Pathe titles won't be as arbitrary as the entire format still is here. I can't wait to see King Kong (76) and The Fog (not to mention all the other Bd exclusive titles over here)in HD without having to drop another $1K on another player!

now the bad news- Amir just posted that all US/English language movies will have forced subs on discs outside of the UK.

don't know about the rest of you, but thats a deal killer for me- unless UK gets exactly the same titles/discs. Fwiw Momentum Pictures Home Ent is listed as the distributor for King Kong 76 on its single disc sd dvd, not Studio-Canal, and I didn't see any listing for the 2 disc studio canal dvd set.

looks like a few more things have to shake out first before I get too excited yet.

Amir (post #35);
"Yes I do have that info. For movies distributed in UK, selecting English track will give you that sound in lossless 5.1, and subtitles will be optional. For movies distributed only outside of the UK, then subtitles will be forced and you won't be able to turn them off.
In the list of first 10 movies, I only see one movie not distributed in UK. So we are 90% good."
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...9&page=2&pp=30
Amir (post #36);
"To be clear, I don't see any US movies not distributed in UK so if that was the specific interest, there should be no worries."

Disappointing news about forced subtitles. The UK is not the best place to look for 'uncut' Special Editions and as I live in Ireland we tend to get lumped in with UK .

The B(ritish)B(oard) of F(ilm) C(lassifiers) have some very silly rules.Several Bond films were not available uncut until they were recently reissued with a higher Certificate.

There was also the case of the Arnie movie 'Eraser' . A key explosion scene was removedfrom the dvd version yet included as part of the 'Theatrical Trailer' !

Also, the hilarious 'Gollum' Easter Egg from the Extended Two Towers was excised in order to get a lower rating and presumably save us all from wetting ourselves

Other butchered examples off the top of my head include : the Die Hard films , The Abyss and Face Off so it looks like I'll have to stay with R1.

Censorship or Controlled Marketing by forced subtitling is a horrid practice.
Stamp,Book,Art or Music collectors dont have to put up with this cr*p.

~M~

Anybody heard how Canadian dealers will fit into the distribution? Or, are they considered "too much U.S."?

I've dealt with Tony at Xploited Cinema for a few years now and he's always given first-rate service. He's my go-to guy for non-Region 1 materials. So this is excellent news.