Brit TV region comparison?
 

I discovered I could flash the firmware on my player to make it region free and did so a few days ago. This has opened up a world of options and strangely complicated my purchase decisions. I immediately purchased "Life on Mars" from Amazon.uk as both seasons won't be available in the US for a while and frankly the UK set was a steal.

I would like to sample some more brit TV and wonder if there is a site that compares releases from different regions and/or dvd vs. blu-ray? I would like to know about video/audio naturally but also cuts and music subs are of interest.

Re: Brit TV region comparison?
 

Gosh, I wonder what terms I would google in getting an answer? ;)

http://www.dvdcompare.net/

Re: Brit TV region comparison?
 

Is your player also PAL compatible? That would be very important to know when ordering dvds from the UK.

Re: Brit TV region comparison?
 

best place for uk tv must be the uk, surely?

Re: Brit TV region comparison?
 

dvdcompare works well, but you'll end up having to do most of the comparisons yourself since dvdcompare is missing alot of the rare releases (and thats what I usually am looking for). My tv on dvd collection is comprised of about 60% region 1 (us & canada), and 40% of region 2 & 4 (Uk, Germany, Australia).

amazon uk (r2)
amazon.de (r2)
ezydvd (r4) <-- shipping is really HIGH!
xe .com (currency conversion)
import forums is a good resource as well.

and as mentioned earlier, type the shit into google......you'll find something.

Re: Brit TV region comparison?
 

There's very little Brit TV on Blu-Ray yet, but if you're just discovering British TV series and want to do some splurging, Amazon.co.uk and dvd.co.uk usually have the best prices. And in many (most, not all) cases, when you go to check out and select a non-EU mailing address, it automatically removes 1-2 GBP from each item, because we don't have to pay the VAT.

If you're looking to get hooked on some great Brit TV series, I'll put my favorites below as good suggestions to get you started:

- Afterlife
- Bodies
- Criminal Justice
- Mistresses
- Party Animals
- Cold Feet
- Cutting It
- Teachers (seasons 1&2 were the best)
- Spooks (airs as MI-5 in the U.S. on A&E)

And lastly, there's an Aussie TV series called "The Secret Life of Us" that is probably one of my top-5 favorite TV shows of all time. I think season 1 is out of print now but you may be able to find it on ebay (I'm guessing they only had a 5-year window for the DVD because the show had a lot of music in it & rights probably expired). Seasons 1 and 2 were BRILLIANT. Series 3 went downhill a lot, and series 4 hasn't hit DVD yet... keeps getting postponed.

Happy hunting!

Kirby

Re: Brit TV region comparison?
 

I did google but it spit out dvdbeaver but somehow I missed the obvious....
dvdcompare is much better for my purposes.

Re: Brit TV region comparison?
 

It's supposed to be. I'll find out for sure next week.

Re: Brit TV region comparison?
 

Peep Show. I think the first season is Region 1, but you can get seasons 1-5 in the U.K.

Smack the Pony.

The Fast Show (aired on BBC America as "Brilliant")

Re: Brit TV region comparison?
 

That may seem obvious but isn't necessarily true. For example; the studio screwed up the US show "Quantum Leap" in Region 1 by replacing a ton of music. Region 2 replaced much less music so I would consider it superior. Similarly, there may be region 2 shows that were treated better in another part of the world. I don't know that for a fact... but intend to check out every purchase.

Re: Brit TV region comparison?
 

Thanks for the suggestions. I am somewhat familiar with UK TV as I lived there for a couple of years (76-77), although I'm sure much has changed. I didn't watch much TV then but one I always tried to catch was "Dave Allen at Large".

I do own a few sets:
"Rumpole of the Bailey"
"The Avengers" (Complete Emma Peel)
"The Prisoner"
"Upstairs Downstairs"

I have viewed and not that wild about:
"Benny Hill"
"Are You Being Served"

I purchased a few more sets to get a larger sample, and to be perfectly honest, stuck with sets I thought were a real steal in comparison to R1.
"The Complete Fawlty Towers"
"Jeeves And Wooster - The Complete Collection"
"David Lean Centenary Collection"

A few more I am considering:

Hex
Blackadder
Foyle's War
Torchwood
Robin Hood
Primeval
Spooks
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Smiley's People
Ultraviolet
Cracker
Whitechapel

If any of these under consideration truly suck please feel free to let me know. :)

Re: Brit TV region comparison?
 

Of the titles in consideration, I'd say you were spot on with:

Cracker
Spooks
Primeval
Foyles War
Black Adder
Ultraviolet
Just picked up Whitechapel and have yet to watch it so I can't comment yet.

Torchwood I found to be a bit of a bore really. It's nice to have the Dr. Who crossover but overall, I really dislike this series.

I found Tinker Tailor & Smiley's People to be really dated and not at all interesting. Great casting but for me, something of a dud.