Deke Rivers

anyone found it cheaper than Amazon UK?

manicsounds

Nope
http://www.find-dvd.co.uk/blu-ray/Zu...ay/1087540.htm

Proglodite

The price has remained fairly constant for the past two or three months. I went ahead and ordered it; just got it yesterday but haven't had a chance to watch it yet. --Peter

Deke Rivers

yea may have to bite the bullet and spend the 20 some bucks

zombeaner

It was a little less than $20 after shipping and VAT removal.

Deke Rivers

thats even better!

clappj

Shaka?

NEUMANN

Any plans for an r1 release for this title?

Proglodite

Popped in the Zulu blu-ray this evening - looks fantastic, and really enjoyed the featurettes. The commentary track is subtitled (nice!)...but of course, the picture itself is the big selling point. I've been mostly underwhelmed by blu-ray quality, but this one really does take your breath away.

I'd say go ahead and order it - if you're not happy with it, you can re-sell it on Amazon (and make a few dollars - I think resellers currently have it for about $30).

Peter

creekdipper

^ ^ ^

We did the same thing tonight. Got it in the mail yesterday, popped it in tonight to 'check out the picture', and became so enamored that we watched the whole thing. We might have done it anyway...Zulu really is one of those that you get 'stuck' watching because it's so good...but the picture quality is amazing. Those red uniforms just pop right off the screen. Beautiful scenery, too.

I ended up watching all of the featurettes immediately afterward. Very nicely done!

Highest recommendations for this BD...both for the content & the pic/audio quality.

PhantomStranger

There is no chance of a U.S. Blu-ray release because of legal and distribution issues.

Deke Rivers

although i have multi region blu ray player i dont think its region coded..hope to see it arrive soon

DeputyDave

Amazon has Zulu Blu-Ray (Amazon exclusive R1 it looks like) for $7.99. Does anyone know if it is the same as the previous R2?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...A1JBDY13A1PN02

DVD Polizei

For a place that mostly distributes exercise videos (speaking about the distributor of this and not where it's being sold such as Amazon), I'd buy the R2 version. But maybe Inspired Studios thought ZULU would make exercise fanatics buy the Blu-ray for the hell of it.

In addition, I just did a check on my Blu-ray disc with a few tools (I have the R2 (Region Free) version), and it's 36GB (movie alone is 32GB).

The R1 version says it's single-layer, which I think means it's 25GB.

PhantomStranger

There have been many questions raised about this new version of Zulu showing up on Amazon. It does appear to be an actual Blu-ray from reports, and not some low-level BD-R job. But it is very possibly a grey-market bootleg of some kind.

danfindlay

Ordered their second to last copy @ amazon.co.uk came to $15.08 usd. Great price, thanks.

laidbacklarkin

went ahead and got a copy from Amazon. if it turns out to be spotty in quality, Amazon return policy will cover it.

Proglodite

Tangentially related - has anyone ordered "A Boy and His Dog"? This popped up on Amazon a couple of days ago, but I can find no reviews and even mention of a blu-ray release on the web. I suspect it's another 'grey market' release. --Peter

P.S. The UK blu of Zulu is region-free and looks fantastic, and the bonus features are well worth it...and the commentary track is even subtitled. Stellar release all around; this US version probably won't hold a candle to it.

DeputyDave

Make sure you give us a report. I've got it on DVD so won't upgrade unless it is worth it.

laidbacklarkin

You got it, Sir

DeputyDave

Thank man

laidbacklarkin

and so here is the report from giving the disc I received this afternoon a spin - this is the R1 disc that's on sale at Amazon fulfilled by a marketplace seller called Oceanbreeze Video or something like that.

General observations:
1. The cover is a cheaply printed artwork that betrays a bootleg right away
2. Its a single layer region free disc (says Region 0) released by a company called Inspired Pictures
3. the UPC Code is 007108370011
4. the artwork on the disc too is cheap and screams knockoff
5. the playing side of the disc is a professionally pressed disc, not a DVD-R

Disc:
1. opens with a FBI warning that means nothing
2. immediately followed by a 'Inspired Pictures' animation with sound following which the feature begins
3. chapter stops don't exist - pressing next or previous chapters during playback present a 'cannot operate during playback' message on my Sony BDPS570 BD player
4. There is no disc menu. Hitting the disc menu on the player's remote takes you back to the FBI warning message from where you sit through the whole shit again
5. There are no subtitles
6. There are no extras

Video quality:
1. the PQ is remarkably free of blemishes/scratches etc - does that make it a standout ? read on
2. resolution is at best upconverted DVD and little else, explains the single layer BD. This is no 1080p presentation and nowhere on the artcover or disc does it mention 1080p resolution.
3. image on the screen appears to be digitally scrubbed to oblivion - the colors and contrast pop but there are no details on faces - as they appear waxy

Audio Quality:
1. No 5.1 or any other surround sound
2. Sound is limited to a limp mono English track that is sourced into the center channel.
3. The sound is clear but not remarkable

Verdict:
Avoid big time. I can't tell if its a bootleg. But no studio will produce a disc like this shorn of all the above mentioned features. Am still deciding if I should return it (on principle of not owning inferior discs and/or bootleg) or just swallow the cost and learn a lesson.

DVD Polizei

Inspired-Studios (aka Inspired Corporation), based out of New Jersey, I believe. This is just a company that pays pennies on the dollar to get the rights to make videos (most of them are exercise and kid's videos), and I'm somewhat insulted that Zulu managed to get this company releasing it. This release took somebody maybe a half-hour to make (including cover), and they sure were not going to pay to put the overseas high-quality version on a BD-50, as it probably cost them another 50-cents. They probably have a ton of BD-25's lying around, so anyone purchasing from this company should beware of ANY future Blu-ray releases from this crap-inspired company, as they will ALL be BD-25's and the video will be processed accordingly.

Proglodite

I had forgotten earlier, but the UPC is the SAME as the UK import - this company is obviously trying to sneak something over on the buying public. I suspect "A Boy and His Dog" is the same situation...but I don't have the guts to buy a copy and check it out for myself. --Peter

laidbacklarkin

lesson learned. I still need to let Amazon know that they need to pull this product. especially with this copied UPC bit