MarkAtHome

After purchasing a region-free DVD player, I find myself often looking outside R1 for those "gems" which haven't been released in the U.S. At what point do you "give up" on seeing a R1 release and take the plunge, buying the DVD overseas?

Mikkis

I usually wait the best version whatever the region. Although in some cases I couldn't wait and got a barebones one before the upcoming special edition.

MarkAtHome

How do you determine the best version? Is it based upon extras or transfer? Are there websites that do regional comparisons and include transfer evaluations?

sunny crockett

here's one i use to compare different regions:

http://www.bytesandbobs.com/dvdcompare/

MarkAtHome

I use that one, as well, but they're only comparing the specs of the discs, rather than actually viewing them and doing a comparison.

RichDB10

Yes..pretty much the same for me....i tend to use www.dvdcompare.org.uk and just basically search different DVD sites and forums where you often come by mention of the best version to obtain etc and quite often releases to specific countries etc

codefree

For me it's technical specs that determine which region of a DVD I'll be buying. I've bought a ton of Australian discs simply because they were anamorphic whereas their R1 counterparts were not. I also ditch my R1s for R2 and R4 dts versions upon their release. I'll buy whichever DVD has the best a/v no matter which region it is. I spend a lot of time upgrading due to the fact that R1 gets most of their movies on DVD first. At the time of my R1 purchases there's usually no info on what the tech specs of the foreign versions will have. Still, it's well worth the slight inconvenience IMO.

MarkAtHome

While you've given great reasons for the upgrades, my concern is that while the DTS spec is certainly superior, if the implementation sucks, you'd not be better off. Too bad the websites that do regional comparisons don't include actual viewing/listening results -- they're limited to specs.

codefree

I've only found one inferior dts track thus far, the R2 Netherlands release of Heartbreakers has a lousy dts track. Other than that, the foreign discs with English dts have been outstanding in most cases and at least better than the DD in the rest.

Giles

Just caved in and finally bought the director's cut of "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" since it doesn't seem like a Region 1 release will ever happen.

Seeker

When the movies are so good, you just can't wait...

reference anything by Ghibli and Mayazaki here...