Yes they are reimbursing me for the return postal charges

And I am getting an ADDITIONAL $16 goodwill refund on top of the refund for the Bad Boys BD, so ok lah.

This is the first time I have problems with Amazon Canada... I know their US counterparts don't bother unless it's an expensive item.

The only item I ever returned to Amazon US was the Stargate SG-1 Complete Series DVD set.

It's already been returned via DHL on last week... it's fine la cos I trust Amazon to make the necessary reimbursements.

I was having brunch at Chee Meng Chicken Rice near the Subang Hicom Industrial Park, and passed by a DHL so I thought why not...

All Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are Region Free, so players don't matter.

Interesting... that Bohemian Rhapsody is the UK version, and have never seen that Bumblebee packaging before.

What's the Speedy promotion for 4K? I know they've done 2 for RM199 in the past...

I can afford to wait

Most likely no Black Friday shopping this year then...

Keep the order (inclusive of shipping) to < USD150 and ensure the address is a residential address.

I haven't had problems with customs since 2006.

Black Friday sales are now on, and Amazon's shipping charges for Malaysia has gone back to normal.

I ordered the following from Amazon this year

Black Panther 4K - $14.99
Jay & Silent Bob Reboot - $5.99
Joker 4K - $7.99
Justice League Dark: Apokolips War - $5.99
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 4K - $9.99
Terminator: Dark Fate 4K - $9.96
Top Gun 4K - $9.96

Black Friday 2020 haul finally arrived today

1. Is it me or they don't have standard shipping anymore? Only EXPEDITED & PRIORITY?
Correct - I think there was too much cheating and missing parcels. AFAIK Expedited is only $5 more expensive than Standard, so it shouldn't matter. And it is much faster - parcels now arrive within 2 weeks.

2. So if STANDARD they send by Pos Malaysia like normal mail? What about EXPEDITED & PRIORITY?
Expedited also use Pos Malaysia if I remember correctly, only exception is it has full tracking of the parcel.

3. Which one should I choose if I want "pos laju" type deliveries where signature is required instead of throwing into mail box?
Choose Priority - they will partner with UPS or DHL if I remember correctly.

4. They don't allow delivery to P.O Boxes anymore??
No idea, never had a P.O. Box before.

Black Friday 2022 was the first time there were things worth getting from Amazon compared to the past few years, where the discounts were anemic.

Not sure about this year though, especially once the LVG tax takes effect from 1 April.

Anyone have any ideas about the LVG tax?

Does this mean no matter what we do also kena tax, since currently any orders > $150 kena tax.

I have a 4K compatible BD-ROM drive in my PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, and Panasonic UB820.

From my tests, the Panasonic UB820 performed the best in terms of color accuracy and HDR and Dolby Vision.

Note that PC and PS5 both do NOT support Dolby Vision, although you need not consider this if you're using a Samsung TV.

PS5 is the second best option for media playback especially now that it has been patched to support Dolby Atmos audio output.

The Digital Codes do not work in Malaysia unless you use a VPN service to connect to North America.

I have tested the Spider-Man movies on Netflix to compare against the 4K discs, and while I wouldn't say the difference is significant, there is slight reduction in clarity and sharpness in the streaming version.

On the other hand, The Last of Us streaming through HBO was very different when compared to the discs. The 4K disc version had significantly more vibrant colors, sharper details all around, and most significantly zero color banding and black crush.

Generally speaking, I feel there's more difference in visuals between streaming vs disc. I always felt the lossy Dolby Digital Plus compression in streamers is pretty decent, and holds up well against the lossless Dolby Atmos audio I get on disc.

Yeah, I played it with my UB820 with dual HDMI output (video to TV, audio to receiver) as my receiver doesn't support Dolby Vision.

Because the Series X only has a single HDMI output, it is connected to my receiver, so I can't get Dolby Vision from it.

The Series X has its own HDR calibration app (similar to the one used in Windows), and to be honest I am not happy with the results compared to PS4 or PS5. Colors never look right. Not sure if this means it is player-led or TV-led though

If you want to use a game console as a UHD player, I feel the PS5 offers more accurate colors, but note that it doesn't support Dolby Vision.

In terms of sharpness and color accuracy, my UB820 is still my preferred choice for 4K disc playback. PS5 is a close second, with Series X and PC being far, far behind.

This post has been edited by munchoong: Apr 26 2024, 10:15 AM

My TV predates HGIG, so tonemapping at the device does improve the video quality for me

I don't get HDR on my PS5 main menu though... it is on SDR until I boot a game. Same behavior with my PS4 Pro.

You can look for the UB420, which is the budget cousin of the UB820.

Problem is none of these devices were ever officially sold in Malaysia. I believe the only 4K UHD player offered here officially is the Sony UBP-X700.

Have to rely on third-party sellers, no choice.

And the UB820 is already one of the cheaper options as the only other alternatives are Oppo clones from Ipuk or Magnetar.

I found the lens for my UB820 to be very sensitive.

Even a small speck of dirt on the disc will cause skipping.

I am already looking towards upgrading to a higher end player next year