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**Jan** · 08-20-2004, 01:35 PM

Re: Movie Box set Uk!! screwed again?

Originally posted by WRTWORTHY
I WISH TO GOD JMS WOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS! HE SHOULD AT LEAST APPLY PRESSURE TO WB FOR GODNESS SAKE ITS HIS SHOW!!!

I'm sorry you're upset but I'm pretty sure that JMS has no say in marketing decisions on any level except when they come to him and ask if he'll contribute commentaries and interviews - uncompensated.

And if he did try to do something there's every chance we'd never hear about it anyway.

I assume you've written, called and emailed WB UK about this, right?

Jan

**Capt.Montoya** · 08-20-2004, 01:48 PM

Re: Movie Box set Uk!! screwed again?

Originally posted by WRTWORTHY
And before anyone here tells me to get a R1 copy, I DONÆT WANT A R1 copy, I want a R2 so that I can play it on any DVD player and for future reference I can play it on any DVD player (wish you yanks would understand that)

FYI: R2 won't play on any DVD player... certainly not in most US DVD players, which are locked to R1 (or on the ones sold in Mexico and Latinamerica that are R1 and R4, etc.).
JMS could recomment that WB had the same release schedules and same contents, but as Jan said, he is not the WB's head of UK Marketing.

Focus your anger constructively and write a nice letter (not aggressive or insulting letter, they ignore those) to WB UK letting them know that you feel shortchanged and would rather buy the R1 from the USA than their incomplete version. (It doesn't matter if you wouldn't buy R1, what matter is that they realize that people can and will choose to do that).

Sorry for your troubles, but now think of the world outside the US and UK that doesn't even get a local release of the DVDs and have to pay import prices... but only if they understand English.
B5 was shown dubbed (or subtitled?) in several non-English speaking countries and they are not gettiing (maybe ever) to see a DVD with B5 in their own language.

**Ranger1** · 08-20-2004, 02:02 PM

I live outside USA and i get most of my dvd's on R1...nothing you can do really,the movie industry is controlled by the US (in other words they dont give a fu** about the rest of the world)

**Lurkio** · 08-20-2004, 02:23 PM

I have the R1 set of the B5 movies but live in the UK, which is nominally region 2. It turns out that the discs in this particular set are encoded for regions 1, 2, 3 and 4 -- not just 1. I can play the discs just fine in a non-multiregion DVD player. The only proviso is that your player and TV must be able to handle the NTSC television format as well as PAL. I doubt the resolution will be better in the R2 version as they'll probably use interpolation to make up the extra scan lines.

**Endymion** · 08-20-2004, 02:38 PM

I know for sure I won't be buying the R2 DVD movie box set. I've never bought R1 before and probably won't bother now unless someone says the extras are really worth it.

Besides, I hated River of Souls and Thirdspace.

Who is intending to buy the R2 DVD movies set?

**Joseph DeMartino** · 08-20-2004, 03:33 PM

The US had all 5 films with extraÆs released in a nice box sets with lots of specials? However we only getting three films with no specials? Omg they have got to be kidding right?

Who said the three films being released in the UK won't have any extras? I would expect they will be the same versions being releaed here, and that the special editions of The Gathering and In the Beginning will be released over there at a later date. As I've mentioned in other threads it is likely that Warner Bros. in the U.K. made the decision they did because of the very different releaes histories and market conditions in the U.S. and the U.K.

In North America, where B5 had previously been a flop on home video, In the Beginning and The Gathering were released on a cheap, double sided DVD with no extras as a test of the series appeal. The disc was released in December 2001, almost a year before the first season set. The quality of the disc was universally criticized, but the price was right and everybody knew that there would be no further B5 DVDs if that disc didn't sell. So we bought it, hoping that if the series was a hit we'd eventually get improved versions of the movies with commentary tracks and 5.1 sound remixes. (In fact, some of us went so far as to predict that this would happen.

) So most fans are delighted to "double dip" for the improved versions of the two movies, especially since we're getting each one for around $10 - which isn't that much more than the $7.50 or our first copies of the two set us back. It isn' t like we hadn't gotten our money's worth out of them in almost three years.

In the U.K., where B5 had always done well on home video, WB released the films on full-priced individual DVDs. If they inlcuded them now in a 5 movie set, far more fans there would balk at "double-dipping". Far better to issue a cheaper set of only the previously unreleased movies, then later reissue the first two films as special editions, letting those who don't mind buying them twice do so, without alienating those who wouldn't want to. (And without pricing the rest of the movies out of the reach of those fans.) They may need to see the sales figures from the 3-movie set in order to estimate the production runs for the later TG and ItB special editions, which would explain why they haven't been scheduled or announced as yet.

Regards,

Joe

**Dr Maturin** · 08-20-2004, 05:03 PM

Sorry, WRTWORTHY. But hey, you got a monarchy and a really cool history.

**chaostaenzer** · 08-21-2004, 03:35 AM

I'm really angry right now...when Wrtworthy complained about the uk situation, i checked for the german situation at amazon. de. It's even worse(yeah that's possible). It looks like we won't get a box at all, with River of Souls, Thirdspace and Call to Arms released separatly but with the same cover!

I really have to surpress my urgent need for very explicit language on this matter.

We won't get season 5 before november, but the movies will be released at the end of september.
Im pretty much fed up. I won't support this release behaviour with my money. I'll get the region1 dvds as fast as possible. To hell with Warner!

**Joseph DeMartino** · 08-21-2004, 08:26 AM

According to this site the U.K. release will include the same extras as the U.S. one.

As for Amazon.de listing them as three separate relases - why do you assume that they have that right? Amazon.com is notorious for screwing up pre-release information, and I suspect its international versions are no better. Is it the German site that still lists the never-published novelization of The River of Souls? I know one of the Amazon sites does...

It is at least as likely that the folks at Amazon screwed up as that Warner Bros. is going release the movies as individual discs there and no where else. I'd wait until some other retailers there offer it for resale and see how they show it packaged. (The mere fact that the only cover art Amazon.de has is identical to the boxed U.K. and North American boxed sets fairly screams, "Amazon.de screwed up" to me, but your mileage may vary. If WB Deutchsland really had three different releases scheduled for less than a month from now I'm pretty sure they would have designed different cover art so that people knew which movie they were buying. But maybe that's just me.

)

Regards,

Joe

**grumbler** · 08-21-2004, 09:02 AM

Originally posted by Ranger1
I live outside USA and i get most of my dvd's on R1...nothing you can do really,the movie industry is controlled by the US (in other words they dont give a fu** about the rest of the world)

Ironically, one of the prime movers for the establishment of the region system was the complaint from overseas distributers that "the movie industry is controlled by the US (in other words they dont give a fu** about the rest of the world)!" In other words, the complaint you are expressing is at least partially responsible for the issue you are complaining about. "When they built this place, irony was one of the primary materials they used.

**Anders** · 08-21-2004, 09:18 AM

Here in Norway (and many other countries) we get exactly the same DVD's as in the UK, so I wouldn't call it a UK problem, more of a Europe problem, which makes it even worse if the movie set here will be that much worse.

When I bought my first DVD player five years ago, the guy I bought it from said that he could change it into a multiregion player for free, with no extra cost. I accepted, got the DVD player an hour later, and have never had any problems with the player, or playing any discs from a different region.

I understand what you mean when you say that you would like a region 2 disc though, and at the very least, we should be able to get the commentaries from the previously unreleased movies here (TG and ITB have already been released on separate discs).

I saw the movies recently, so I haven't ordered the movies on DVD yet, but when I do, I will probably order the complete region one set.

Of the B5 seasons on DVD, I have the first two seasons from R2 and the last three from R1. I really can't see or feel any difference (apart from the missing easter egg in season one), so the general complaining about region two seems a bit odd to me, although I'm sure you have your reasons. The most annyoing thing, must be the very delayed release dates for Babylon 5, they really should do something about that. Most movies seem to come out very soon after they have been in the cinemas though.

**chaostaenzer** · 08-21-2004, 12:46 PM

Well, Joe, i checked some other release lists for dvds here in germany and, actually, there will be three releases. It is hard to tell if they will have the same cover since i have not seen any pictures of the cover on the other sites but...about now i am ready to believe this.

However, it might not be that much of a problem because the dvds will sell for 15 euro each which is not bad. The problem is simply that i do not understand this release policy.

Anyway, importing the region 1 boxset will be almost as expensive as purchase the dvds separately with the only difference that the set will contain more movies...

**cornholio1980** · 08-22-2004, 01:17 AM

In Germany, the three TV-Films will DEFINITELY be released separately. That's not just some pre-release info from amazon.de, which yes, tends to have false information from time to time (the River of Souls novelization was on the english site co.uk, btw), but in this case, that's the way it was officially announced by Warner Germany. As for why the're doin' that... hell, I wish I knew. Anyway, my R1-set is on the way (already got the R2-releases for The Gathering and In the beginning, but I want those extras), and I also preordered the single releases of the other movies, so I get the best of both worlds (the german dubbed versions & all the extras). It' may be a little expensive but hey, B5 is worth it

**WRTWORTHY** · 08-22-2004, 04:54 AM

I am back to let rip once again

First off,

Z'ha'dumDweller, yes we have a Monchay and donÆt even get me started on the fact that we donÆt even have a democracy, (our head of state is not elected) the fact the royal family is built on the blood, rape, and despair of English working class is often forgotten by you Yanks.

Capt.Montoya, The point I was trying to make is that yes I can get cheap DVD player that will play R1 but I want it so that I can play it on any DVD in my house or anyone elseÆs house or even any DVD player I get the future, understood? Yanks tend to think that if it works on their systems it works for everyone else!!

Jan, At the end of the day, JMS is head of the series, he should at least put a pressure on WB, or at least come out in support of us, if fact he should be doing something, instead silence on this issue, if I was JMS I would be concerned that a Lot of B5 FANS were quite Upset and would want to try to help. As for letters, no response comes to mind or it ends up just being a standard generic letter which says nothing, faceless as Usual!!!

Joseph DeMartino- Ok so we are getting specials on the Three DVDÆs? and then getting the other two released again with specials? And you are defending that action? Why donÆt they just put them in the same box set they are giving to us guys in the US? Why do it so cock-eyed that it makes no sense and just makes it all confusing? B5 home video did well????? Well im sorry but try and find somewhere that sold them, then maybe I could of brought them.

To my European friends and chaostaenzer who have been more screwed over then us UK fans, My heart goes out, Especially for the Germans fans who have been totally screwed, your right, this is not a UK problem, itÆs a European Problem.

I am sorry but at the end of the day, here in the EU they are doing some crazy things with the DVD movie box sets, My question is WHY? And to any Yanks that try to defend it, well, I am sure if you was living here in the EU you would feel the same as us, you would just as angry, Ive not even SEEN season5, I could not get the videoÆs and its never shown on Tv and when it was shown once, it was on at 2am in the morning, so sorry I feel a bit p**** at the fact that series I love is getting messed around and so are we, and people wonder why Babylon 5 could not beat trek?????? Maybe something to do with at least trek can actually release box sets in a decent way!

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