[yuvvraaj]

Wasn't the Blu Ray intial plans supposed to be that they would be region free and be played anywhere, I mean I understand that they are trying to prevent importing of movies so they can manage the costs and prevent them from being brought down, but like there are a few international movies I personally want that are coded with a region and were only released in countries like the UK, doesn't this go against there initial plans. Are they just trying to control release dates in certain countries? I personally feel it hurts business more than helping it.

 

[SirDrexl]

I was not aware of any "initial plans" for no region coding.


Yes, they are trying to control release dates in different countries, but sometimes it's because the distribution rights differ. A studio may have the right to distribute the film in one territory but not another, for instance, and region coding helps protect those markets.


For instance, Titanic's rights are split up between Paramount and Fox. Paramount has the rights for the US (or maybe all of North America) while Fox has rights overseas. The eventual BDs may be region coded so that Paramount doesn't take away Fox's business overseas and vice-versa.