World at War sets. What's the diff between R1 & R2? (1 Viewer)

[Kai Zas]

The R1 release has 5 discs, de R2 has 10. So what's the difference in content?

 

[Mark_vdH]

Don't know....maybe the R1 has 5 dual layer discs, and the R2 has 10 single layer ones.....

 

[Mark_Davis]

That's "roughly" it...
The R1 set is 5 dual layer doubles sided discs (in actual fact the extras disc is single layer dual side and one other is dual layer one side single layer the other )
The content is identical on the two sets (barring PAL-NTSC conversion)
here is the specification/content comparison
Link Removed
BTW Link Removed is an excellent site for just this sort of question

 

[Kai Zas]

Thanks for the tips!

So, is the pal to ntsc transfer a reason to take UK release?

 

[Mark_Davis]

Don't know I'll let you know when I've watched the R1 (It's only just arrived)...
The R1 release is quite a bit cheaper being around £50 ($76 ish) at some online retailers and prices start around £85 ($130 ish) R2...
R4 maybe a decent compromise as it is PAL and retails slightly above R1 price (around £55 - $84 ish)...
To be honest given the age of the series I don't think a PAL-NTSC conversion is going to ruin it too badly especially as the old footage is sometimes not in great shape anyway.
EDIT - Of course the use of single sided discs makes the R2 release easier to handle and makes it less susceptible to damage... Personally I saved the £35 and plumped for R1 despite living in UK

 

[John Gallagher]

The archival footage in the R1 World at War set looks terrific for it age and origin! I am sure that it must have been transfered directly from a film source, not video tape, and been cleaned up a bit. The 'making of' documentary at the beginning of the first disk seems to be from a PAL source and the clips from series look bad, fadded/scratched/etc., but don't worry, the episodes themselves are better looking than I have ever seen most of the combat footage look before.

 

[Kai Zas]

You've pushed me over. I'll order the R1 version right away. Thanks for the help!

 

[Tino]

I just recently finished watching the entire 26 episodes of The World At War. (R1)
I thought I knew a lot about WWII until I watched this amazing series. I didn't!
A harrowing, heart wrenching, terrifying
lesson into one of the bloodiest eras in recent memory.
Highly recommended!