LOL... 49 pages, a lot to search.

Please don't be mad for my noob question.

I ordered the 2 blu-ray movies through Amazon's BOGO offer on November 14, using standard delivery but the delivery estimate on December 1st! And there's no tracking option!

I have never used standard delivery before, didn't know it would take that long! I usually use DHL which I will get it within 3-4 days. But now trying to save some money.

Have you guys used standard shipping? Really take that long? Do the posmen just dump your package into your mailbox?

This post has been edited by aiman04: Nov 23 2007, 02:40 PM

5 -7 working days?

Now I'm worried. It's been 7 working days now.

Yeah. Thanks!

Thanks! I can sleep better tonight!

Well, I don't recommend buying from Amazon UK, they are coded for a different region. Most PS3s here are for region A (SG, HK, JAPAN, US, when launched in Malaysia, we are in the same region). Unless you have an EU version, no problem there. Plus, they are much more expensive.

Old movies/TV series OK, because the titles have been shown in EU cinemas or broadcasted on their TV networks already. So the studios never applied region coding.

New ones, the title may still be showing there while it's already 4 months released in US. Really, UK most of the times get to see Hollywood movies very late. This is the main reason of the BD movies regional coding. Luckily we are in region A, the same as US. This probably due to movies nowadays opens the same day and date with US (TRANSFORMERS released 1 week earlier than US!).

For example, CARS and RATATOUILLE released on BD at the same date in US. CARS old movie, got no region coding but RATATOUILLE does because some countries in EU or other regions are still showing it in cinemas. So no RATATOUILLE BD for those region yet.

Planet Earth: BBC Complete series
Amazon.com - $66.95
Amazon.co.uk - £39.98

Take your pick.

Note: Don't trust Amazon with region ocdes for blu-ray for now, they haven't properly update their system yet.

---

Added on November 24, 2007, 12:16 amOh, this one got 5 discs with the extra features!

Maybe that price is not that bad.

Anyone can confirm there's no region lock for this one?

This post has been edited by aiman04: Nov 24 2007, 12:16 AM

Don't worry. You would never got the answer if you didn't ask, right? This what we are all here for anyway, help each other.

Yeah, PS3 is built with a BD drive, so make use of it.

Agreed.

Most likely those with lense problem caused by low-quality discs, this van be DVD-Rs or any media that was wither the disc itself was defected/cheap, and/or unguided burning. AND.. you also those "ahem" discs are cheap right, so there you go.

So try to refrain yourself from loading those bad discs, use it with you current DVD players or something. As for BD moves/games, sit back and relax, no "ahem" discs yet!

This post has been edited by aiman04: Nov 24 2007, 07:43 AM

Just came back from spending mission with the wife, and guess what, I found a box that says Amazon.com inside my gate!

It took only 10 days including weekends. I think I'll just use standard shipping for future buy, much cheaper and quite fast enough. I know, DHL is much more secure, but trying to save a little bit now. The delivery guy threw the thing over my gate, but I don't mind, Amazon packed my 2 BDs really good, no harm done. It costed around RM125 only, if I buy here I have to pay RM300! Saved RM175!

I got 3 more titles (including RATATOUILLE!), which I bought earlier this month, send it to my friend which is visiting Houston with the Amazon Prime free shipping. Those 3 titles amounts to RM250, which if I buy here will cost RM450. I save RM200! But, she will only be back December 2, have to wait...

Envolope? I guess I was just lucky this time. In the box, they wrap a plastic aound the discs and attached them to the base so that it won't bounce around inside the box. The discs were well protected. Maybe I'll get an envelope next time

This post has been edited by aiman04: Nov 24 2007, 12:23 PM

Haha... Frys.com, not all items can ship to Malaysia!

I get this message:



I wonder why.

Because in August or so Paramount signed a deal with Toshiba/HD-DVD group to release all their movies exclusively on HD-DVD only.

So, starting maybe in September, no movies from Paramount to be released on home video will be in Blu-ray format. Paramount is being paid handsomely for this deal.

But you can still get Blu-ray titles from Paramount prior to this new deal, provided they are still in stock.

So, which studio is Transforners from again? Ah, PARAMOUNT.

Here's how the studios stand in this format war to date:

Blu-ray support

Warner Bros./New Line
Disney/Touchstone (Buena Vista)
Fox
Lionsgate
MGM
Sony Pictures (Columbia/TriStar)

HD-DVD support

Warner Bros./New Line
Paramount/DreamWorks
Universal Studios

Notice how Warner Bros. is still neutral in this matter. But latest indication shows that Warner Bros. my join the Blu-ray exclusivity very soon.

This post has been edited by aiman04: Nov 25 2007, 07:28 PM

I'm not buying an HD-DVD, never.

To give Paramount the finger, I have "Transformers" in 720p HD inside my PS3, ripped directly from HD-DVD. File-sharing is a gift to the internet.

This is my own way of protest to Paramount.

This post has been edited by aiman04: Nov 25 2007, 07:25 PM

I'm have spent hundreds, maybe thousand of ringgit on BD movies. And willing to spend more.

But Paramount literally doesn't want to sell their "Transformers" to me on BD? What can I do? They are asking for it. They are denying me to pay them to watch the movie in HD.

They are using this strategy to get more money.

They know people are desperate to watch "Transformers" in HD, so even BD supporters most probably will buy the HD-DVD. And they also know that 18 months later, those same BD supporters will buy it again when it's released on BD. They get double the profit for one movie from the same people!

Then they'll release a special editon, then director's cut, and people will buy it again. But that's another story.

So, if you ask me, I say, give them the finger.

This post has been edited by aiman04: Nov 25 2007, 09:32 PM

You notice there's no 's' in my word 'thousand' so not really 'thousands' ...

OK, let me get my calculator. Actually, not reach one thousand yet, but, close, really close.

I love my PS3. It is the most worthy thing I have ever purchased. I am really proud of it! Even the wife is enjoying my PS3 now! And also, my 3 year-old kid, he is really crazy about rub-a-dub.

The PS3 has been chosen as the BD player of the year by the Blu-ray.com members and staff. Why settle for the expensive standalone BD player, if you can get PS3 for half the price?

By the way, blu-ray discs are really is tough with the coating technology. The scratch-resistant coating on Blu-ray Discs could stand up to abuse from a steel wool pad and still work! Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5jEbZt6AIQ

A little tidbit I found, the BD group is already planning for a triple-layer BD, and they will make sure that it is compatible with today's BD players, so no need to upgrade any firmware.

Even though the BD movie releases starting to get matured, with the encoding and transfer is getting better (newly released titles from Disney are the obvious evidences), we still have to watch out while buying BD movies.

Remember the first batch of DVD movies? The quality was just like laserdisc!

So, don't just buy the BD just because it's your favorite movie, check out the audio/video quality too. Always read the reviews first, and then see which of those top audio & video quality are your favorite movies.

The AVS forum have made a reliable ranking of releases quality, here's a byte (go to http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=858316 for the other tier's titles):

TIER 0 -Blu-
Completely flawless picture. No artifacts whatsoever, no matter how small. Demo Material - These show just what Blu-Ray is all about and everyone should own one to show any guests in their home. Show someone one of these films and they'll want to join the Blu side!

Ratatouille Video: MPEG-4 | Audio: PCM (11/12/07)
Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds: Live at Radio City Video: VC-1 | Audio: True HD
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Video: MPEG-4 | Audio: PCM
Cars Video: MPEG-4 | Audio: PCM (11/12/07)
Corpse Bride Video: VC-1 | Audio: DD
Meet the Robinsons Video: MPEG-4 | Audio: PCM
2001: A Space Odyssey Video: VC-1 | Audio: PCM


TIER 1 -GOLD-
Demo Material, but minor artifacting may be present which the untrained eye may not necessarily spot. Little if any visible compression. Sharp image that has a lot of HD-POP effects. If you are thinking about buying a movie in this tier don't hesitate. Show someone one of these films and they'll want to join the Blu side!

...


TIER 2 -SILVER-
Not as many HD POP effects, but a sharp image that feels real. Not quite Demo material but a quality picture which looks better than upconverted DVDs.

....


TIER 3 -BRONZE-
Few HD POP effects, some digital noise/artifacting. Not demo material, but a better picture than up-converted DVDs.

....


TIER 4 -COPPER-
Soft or occasionally artifacted. An overall flat but satisfactory image.
...


TIER 5 -COAL-
Only slightly better than DVD.Visible artifacting, softness, quality rivals upconverted DVD.

Bullitt Video: VC-1 | Audio: DD
U2: Rattle and Hum Video: MPEG-2 | Audio: DD / DTS
The Dirty Dozen Video: VC-1 | Audio: DD
The Fugitive Video: MPEG-2 | Audio: DD | (Bobbed)
Full Metal Jacket Video: MPEG-2 | Audio: DD | (Bobbed)
The Fifth Element Video: MPEG-2 | Audio: PCM | (Original)
The House of Flying Daggers Video: MPEG-2 | Audio: PCM
Waiting... (Unrated and Raw) Video: MPEG-4 | Audio: PCM (7.1) (11/23/07)

Go to the site for more.

This post has been edited by aiman04: Nov 28 2007, 08:27 AM

We can actually sell the magic code? OK, thanks for the info.

"blue ray", sounds like another porn title.

I agree. "2001: A Space Odyssey" is listed on the top tier as one of the best picture quality BD. In this case maybe the original film stock is in very good condition.

Sure, age maybe got effect, but they can still clean up the stock. Star Wars was a good example, when the DVDs came out, they chemically and then digitally cleaned the film stock.

And then the transfer/encoding itself need to be skillful, which FOX is not really good at. The team that does the best transfer right now is the ones for Disney BDs.

There is a 5-disc edition that is out already. Go here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Planet-Earth-Compl...96724202&sr=8-2

But yes, no actual making-ofs (diaries and "The Future" episodes) like the DVD edition, the fifth disc only contain two extra episodes of the Natural World: "Desert Lions" and "Snow Leopards". AND it's not actually 1080p for this release, but 1080i only. Bummer.

I think we should pass this edition too.

It's all about the legendary HD discs format war.

Sony is keeping it's own standalone BD player expensive so that other manufacturers like Sharp, Samsung, Panasonic, Pioneer, etc can still make money selling the BD players.

They are intentionally losing money on PS3 so gamers will also choose their format, BD. But this won't affect other manufacturers because the only opponent they have in gaming console are XBOX (Microsoft) and Wii (Nintendo). So no other electronic manufacturers (Sharp, Samsung, Panasonic, Pioneer, etc) can lose money because they don't have to lower the price of their console, which they don't even have.

Contrary to Toshiba, they are losing money by cutting down their HD-DVD players so more people would support their format, but other manufactures (Sharp, Samsung, Panasonic, Pioneer, etc) won't do that because they won't lose money just because of the format.

This is why HD-DVD will loose. Microsoft can make their XBOX blu-ray compatible using add-ons any time, they are not connected directly to the electronic industry. In fact, some of both HD-DVD and BD are using Microsoft's codec, VC-1 so they don't actually care who win the format war.

I still stand by my statement. Because Microsoft being not stupid is the reason they are still playing the game. Whoever lose, they wins. Please read my post carefully.

And the BD technology itself is much more advanced from HD-DVD. Do I need to elaborate that also?