Criterion Blu-ray titles! (5 Viewers)

[Kris Z.]

That's the same answer regarding region coding as I got when I e-mailed Jon. And it doesn't make complete sense to me because they're still only selling them in North America regardless if it's Region A or ABC, they're not responsible for certain online stores and distributors shipping out the discs overseas.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I was interested in how the Criterion Blu-ray upgrade program is going to work, so I sought out the link for that:

Just mail your disc to:
The Criterion Collection
Attn: Jon Mulvaney
215 Park Avenue South, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10003
Be sure to include your U.S. or Canadian mailing address inside the package, as we cannot ship outside of North America. Please also include your e-mail address in case we need to contact you. You can send in your disc for exchange anytime, but we won’t be sending out the Blu-ray discs until their release dates.
You can pay the $20 plus tax (New York State only) and $5 shipping and handling by a check or money order made payable to the Criterion Collection. You can also pay by PayPal by making a payment to [email protected] (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover welcome). If your shipping address is in New York State, the total is $26.50 for the upgrade of one DVD. If your shipping address is in any other state or in Canada, the total is $25.
We’ll mail the Blu-ray disc in a sleeve, and you'll be able to place the new disc in your existing packaging. This doesn't give you the new Blu-ray packaging, but it does give you an option if you want the Blu-ray version but don't want to buy the entire set again. This offer only applies to "like" editions. For example, you can return disc 1 of the rerelease of The Third Man but not the earlier, out-of-print edition.
If you have any questions about the Blu-ray upgrade offer please e-mail Jon Mulvaney at [email protected]. We reserve the right to change or discontinue this program at any time.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

While the "trade up" program is better than nothing, I'm not sure whether it is worth spending $25 for a disc only upgrade when you can get the entire BR release for an extra $4 for regular (non box set) versions, which would allow you to resell your DVD version if you wanted to.

 

[Mike Frezon]

That's the way it looks to me Jeff.
I was thinking you'd be much better off selling the old SD set to make up for the upgrade...rather than spend $20+ to give up an SD disc to get a BD disc.

 

[DavidJ]

Yeah, at first glance I was excited about the upgrade program, but as I read how it actually worked the excitement quickly faded. It doesn't seem like much of a deal or upgrade pricing (yet, I tend to understand why they chose that price point). I think I will either just buy the Blu editions or do as Mike suggests.

 

[Derrick King]

The upgrade could be worth it for The Man Who Fell to Earth (since it seems that the Blu-ray will not have a copy of the novel.)

 

[Jari K]

"Are Criterion's Blu-ray discs region-encoded?
Yes. Criterion is licensed to sell most of its editions only in North America."

That's the same answer regarding region coding as I got when I e-mailed Jon. And it doesn't make complete sense to me because they're still only selling them in North America regardless if it's Region A or ABC, they're not responsible for certain online stores and distributors shipping out the discs overseas.

Yes, and I know for a fact, that many of their SD DVD-releases are "R0" (some are "R1", though). Perhaps this is again something that they have to add to their "FAQ", but many releases are actually "R0" in "real life"? Well, I guess not.. I guess their policy is a bit old-fashioned.
I have US PS3, but this is very bad news for many fans out there...

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

The upgrade could be worth it for The Man Who Fell to Earth (since it seems that the Blu-ray will not have a copy of the novel.)

Would something like that be considered "like edition" though?
_Man_

 

[ccfixx]

The first five Criterion blu-ray discs are now up for pre-order on Amazon. I pre-ordered this morning. The average price is $28 per disc.

Being my first post, I'm can't post the links, yet, but they're at Amazon now.

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[Derrick King]

Would something like that be considered "like edition" though?
_Man_

I think so. It seems to me that the "like edition" is, from the example they give, a reference to titles that have been rereleased with new transfers and extras (Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Amarcord, etc.)

 

[ChristianLiemke]

Yes, and I know for a fact, that many of their SD DVD-releases are "R0" (some are "R1", though). Perhaps this is again something that they have to add to their "FAQ", but many releases are actually "R0" in "real life"? Well, I guess not.. I guess their policy is a bit old-fashioned.

As far as I know all their DVD releases after #305 "Le Samurai" have the regioncode 1.

 

[Kris Z.]

Region coding for DVD isn't even worth mentioning though. At least in Europe I think it's actually more difficult to find a player that can't be unlocked using the remote than one that can, and it has been that way for years.

I was hoping something similar would happen with Blu-ray but so far the closest thing I've seen are pre-modded versions that cost a fortune.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

Isn't it against Blu-Ray spec to include region coding after a title has been out for a year? So theoretically, these titles will all be available region-free next fall.

 

[Kris Z.]

I've read about that "rule" before, but Blu-ray has been around for how many years now, and I have never seen even one example of this actually being implemented.

 

[Jeff Adkins]

I've read about that "rule" before, but Blu-ray has been around for how many years now, and I have never seen even one example of this actually being implemented.

I wondered if it was actually being implemented. I would like to pick up Fox's release of The Fountain with DTS-HDMA but it's initial release was Region B.
Anyone else know if this rule is being enforced?

 

[Seppo]

Isn't it against Blu-Ray spec to include region coding after a title has been out for a year? So theoretically, these titles will all be available region-free next fall.

Well, all US Fox and MGM titles have been region-coded - both new and catalog titles.

 

[John Berggren]

I wish that they would renumber from 1. Since many of the DVD titles are out of print, and I didn't buy them while they were available, it'd be nice to be able to start fresh on a blu-ray collection.

 

[ccfixx]

Crap! Did anyone else see on Criterion's "Coming Soon" page that all of the blu-ray releases have been pushed backed by a month or more? :frowning:
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[Brandon Conway]

I figured something like that was going on when amazon sent an email regarding a delay for The Last Emperor and The Third Man about a week ago.
Oh well. As long as they actually make it out and I can own them at some point not a huge deal.

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

Crap! Did anyone else see on Criterion's "Coming Soon" page that all of the blu-ray releases have been pushed backed by a month or more? :frowning:
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"More"? Last time I checked, November 18 or 25 to December 16 was a month or less. What title(s) were moved back more than a month?