UK or US Player - Can't Decide

[HeweyBoy101]

Ok - I'm getting close to buing that BD player. I have the HD-A1 already, but always intended to go dual format.

The Panasonic machine is the model I've decided on, in view of good reviews, and promises of firmware upgrades.

I'm not interested in PS3. I want a proper player not a console. I have no interest at all in gaming, and in any case, I want analogue outputs for audio, which the PS3 won't offer.

The only remaining factor to decide is region.

Do I go US? Better range of titles. Earlier relaeses. But, not able to buy discs locally in UK, and I worry what happens if BD is less successful in the US than in Europe.

Do I go UK. Initial cost is higher, but at least I get decent warranty. Incidentally, Movietyme USA website warns of customs / import cahges for international orders on the Panasonic. No such warning on other players though? Strange.

I'm leaning towards US machine, but still rather unsure.
SD playback is not an issue. I have my Denon 3910 fo SD / CD / SACD / DVD-A etc.

Finally, if I go US - where is the best / most reliable site to buy from. I used Movietyme for my A1 - good service - delivered in two days.

Thanks.

[ash]

Tough one, I would personally go for European model if you are rich LOL! Because you can pop down tot he shops and get latest films in UK, just that added convenience. But if you buy a US model, like the Sony which looks great IMHO you could save a lot of money and get mor films.....

[ani4ani]

I would go UK, as ASH has said, so much more convenient. In the early days of DVD, there was an advantage in being able to play R1 titles, but to be honest as time went by, there was hardly any DVD's that I couldn't wait an extra few weeks for. More recently, I have struggled to find the DVDs I want in R1 in any event. Personally, I also found R2 discs had "better" extras in any event.

I know it doesn't matter for HD, but I always found NTSC discs had plenty of artifacts [personal observation].

[Jeff]

If I bought a Blu-Ray player it would have to be a US player, the European release schedule doesn't look too good at the moment.

[Rasczak]

I would go US (as I have done). The breadth and range of titles available there will always exceed what you can get here - not least because many titles that are BluRay exclusives in the US will be HD DVD exclusives here. The BluRay movie portfolio is weakest in Europe.

Furthermore if the launch of the PS3 is delayed in the UK, which I have to admit looks less likely now demand is reducing in the US, then Grade A titles are likely to be few and far between.

Also, in these early days, we don't know how European releases will fair on quality. The video encodes (1080p/24) are likely to be identical. But as the European versions tend to support more multi-language soundtracks we could see (for example) the lossless PCM tracks dropped.

Obviously buying UK brings the convienance factor - you do lose the 'pick a film up at Tescos' element - however it could be years before BluRay has made sufficient market penetration to appear in your local Supermarket. Ultimately I would say there are too many unknown questions to buy BluRay in Europe at present IMHO.

[Inked]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"]Its worth checking out this site, which shows region free blu-ray discs (updated by a member on the avsforum in the US)[/FONT]

[Nic Rhodes]

US I think gives you more options. Support for BD will be slow in the UK until we get PS3 which I think will be late next year.