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Importing Aniplex Titles.


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Shiroi Hane
Encyclopedia Editor


Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 7578
Location: Wales
PostPosted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 2:26 pm Reply with quote
Nico87 wrote:
UK licenses stuff from USA, not from Japan.

That is only the case when a US company already holds the UK rights (as it the case for a number of FUNimation shows and some Sentai shows). A lot of licenses are done directly with Japan, and the English materials are often provided by the Japanese licensor as well.
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Leland Lee



Joined: 25 Jul 2014
Posts: 208
PostPosted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 2:30 pm Reply with quote
I was always under the impression that the original rights had to be obtained from Japan, then the English materials have to be licensed from the US companies.

Too much confusion in the air about the subject. But, either way, the process is still very similar all around, so I think "sub-licensor" is a good word for it. :3
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Polycell



Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Posts: 4623
PostPosted: Tue Aug 12, 2014 3:29 am Reply with quote
That's how it often works, but it's not unheard of for a company in another part of the Anglosphere to grab their local rights; this is how Madman got Nichijou. Unfortunately shipping from Oz is expensive, and it's not much cheaper to import from Australia.
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Leland Lee



Joined: 25 Jul 2014
Posts: 208
PostPosted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 5:50 pm Reply with quote
Looks like as of the Gurren Lagann news, this thread's relevance got an upgrade!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gurren-Lagann-Ultimate-Edition-Blu-Ray/dp/B00HSHDGHW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410735017&sr=8-1&keywords=gurren+lagann

It's still that not cheap, but at least you're paying roughly $100 less. And getting a quality box set to boot. :3
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Shiroi Hane
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Joined: 25 Oct 2003
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Location: Wales
PostPosted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 6:57 pm Reply with quote
Leland Lee wrote:
I was always under the impression that the original rights had to be obtained from Japan, then the English materials have to be licensed from the US companies.

The Japanese licensor often retains to the rights to the English sub and dub as part of the contract (which is how dubs sometimes end up on Japanese BD re-releases of older shows) so they are provided to the UK along with the Japanese license, although access fees may still be required for the actual materials.

Quote:
Too much confusion in the air about the subject. But, either way, the process is still very similar all around, so I think "sub-licensor" is a good word for it. :3

To me, "sub-licencee" will only apply when someone in America has the UK distribution rights so we have to go through them, rather than direct to the original licensor in Japan.

Polycell wrote:
That's how it often works, but it's not unheard of for a company in another part of the Anglosphere to grab their local rights; this is how Madman got Nichijou. Unfortunately shipping from Oz is expensive, and it's not much cheaper to import from Australia.

That one only stands out because it didn't have a US release. A lot of FUNimation titles are indeed sub-licensed from them both in UK and Australia - but not all of them, and FUNimation isn't the only American licensee (although Sentai also appears to be sub-licensing UK and AU rights more often these days too).
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Kruszer



Joined: 19 Nov 2004
Posts: 7981
Location: Minnesota, USA
PostPosted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 11:29 pm Reply with quote
I have sometimes imported myself, though it isn't that often. I've imported at least 8 Australian titles that seem like no one in the US here will ever touch. I also have 11 Japanese BD releases that conveniently included English subtitles/dub and are the same BD region as the US.

From Australia (R4 DVD):
Black Rock Shooter TV
Dennoh Coil
Higurashi no Naku Koroni Kai Part 1
Higurashi no Naku Koroni Kai Part 2
Monster Part 2
Monster Part 3
Monster Part 4
Monster Part 5

From Japan (Region A Blu-ray)
Library War: Wings of Revolution
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The Movie 1st
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The Movie 2nd: A's
Mobile Suit Gundam: Unicorn BDs 1-7
Time of Eve OVA

The R4 DVDs I have to play on my computers using some free region-bypassing freeware, although I connected my laptop to the television so it's no different that watching it on TV. The Japanese BDs will play just fine on my normal Region A BD player.
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publicenemy333



Joined: 21 Feb 2011
Posts: 563
Location: Los Angeles, CA
PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 2:11 pm Reply with quote
So Im considering a Blu Ray Drive for my computer to possibly import titles from the UK. It seems like the most practical in terms of price and how much I'll actually use it, and I can just hook it up to my TV. Im not willing to pay $100 for a blu-ray player I plan only to use for imports (especially considering I dont have many imports I want that much in the moment)

Problem is that when I look it up, it doesnt seem as simple as I think it is. It seems like you can only switch between regions so many times until it locks, there are programs that may only work for DVDs but not Blu-ray like AnyDVD. Also, there are some Blu-ray drives that may only play region A. Some TVs may not play PAL. I think I also need programs just to play Blu Rays on my computer (region A or otherwise) and there are some that arent very good. I always see a bunch of conflicting points from people who are unsure and its just confusing me.

Is there anyone here that can just give it to me straight? Which Blu Ray drive is best and not too expensive? What programs do I need to play it without issue? Will my TV have issues playing a UK Blu Ray? If so, how can I been sure? What's everything I need to know and buy to get this all to work?

(Or if possible, you can direct me to a cheap Region Free Blu-ray player, that would be cool too)
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Kruszer



Joined: 19 Nov 2004
Posts: 7981
Location: Minnesota, USA
PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 9:05 pm Reply with quote
Blu-rays and computers don't seem to be a safe bet. They're two pieces of hardware that generally don't play nice together, even though it's not impossible to run one, I hear it's dicey. Possibly by design since a lot of home video companies are pushing for HD digital copies for portable uses on the computer instead of discs. If you're dead set on Blu-rays, it would be less work to find a cheap region-free Blu-ray player on Amazon to play your imported Blues. BD players also play DVDS by the way.

http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-BDX1400-Region-Blu-ray-Player/dp/B00HM9TIS2/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1413944342&sr=1-1&keywords=region+free+Blu-ray+player

It's far easier to finagle a solution to playing DVDs on your PC, like I've done. If you actually change the region on your computer then yes, you can only do that a certain number of times before it doesn't let you switch it anymore, but if you use software that simply bypasses the region coding, like VLC or BlazeDVD, you don't have to worry about that happening.
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Shiroi Hane
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Joined: 25 Oct 2003
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Location: Wales
PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 10:01 pm Reply with quote
AnyDVD HD works for BDs. I can't comment on the region part of it since I only actually own Region B discs, but it definitely works for removing other restrictions (e.g. taking screenshots, and I can simply drag .m2ts files from the BD onto my phone and they play with no problems).
I also own the BDX-1200 player with the Australian firmware. Again, no actual Region A discs to put in it, but if I switch it to Region A it refuses to play Region B discs (it is region free for DVDs, but for BDs you need to manually change the region in the service menu)
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potatochobit



Joined: 26 Aug 2009
Posts: 1373
Location: TEXAS
PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 11:35 pm Reply with quote
the problem with bluray on a PC is the software, it is not free.
A retail version of a PC bluray drive will come with free trial software, though.

the other problem is that the 'software companies' are borderline criminal.
after a year or two they will come out with a 'new version' and no longer update the AACS key which is bluray DRM making your purchased software totally useless and not work with any new official blu-ray releases unless you pay another 50$ upgrade.

total media is not as notorious as the other companies.

your other option, are you Ok with backing up your blu-rays to a hard drive?
I keep my entire anime bluray collection on a home server and can watch them anytime.
you need a program called makeMKV and if you have lots of videos you also want handbrake.
then you can watch your blurays with any program you like.
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Megiddo



Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Posts: 8360
Location: IL
PostPosted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 7:16 am Reply with quote
Kruszer wrote:

You always, always, always have to be careful when buying a Blu-ray player such as these. The one you have linked says (several times actually) that it will only play Zone A BDs. It's region free for DVDs but not zone free (or multizone) for BDs. The reviews are also important to read for stuff about firmware updates and any changes to the code that brings up the menu for Region/Zone selection.
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Kruszer



Joined: 19 Nov 2004
Posts: 7981
Location: Minnesota, USA
PostPosted: Thu Oct 23, 2014 11:43 pm Reply with quote
Megiddo wrote:
Kruszer wrote:

You always, always, always have to be careful when buying a Blu-ray player such as these. The one you have linked says (several times actually) that it will only play Zone A BDs. It's region free for DVDs but not zone free (or multizone) for BDs. The reviews are also important to read for stuff about firmware updates and any changes to the code that brings up the menu for Region/Zone selection.


So that one's a not-so-region free player? Well, I just linked the cheapest one I found on the first page of results, I'm sure there are others on there.
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publicenemy333



Joined: 21 Feb 2011
Posts: 563
Location: Los Angeles, CA
PostPosted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 2:08 pm Reply with quote
Seems like the Blu-Ray drive on my computer will be more trouble than its worth for me.

I did do a little more research and found some good places to get good region free Blu-ray players that already have built in PAL to NTSC converters and such.

Problem is that really all I want right now is Kill La Kill. After paying for the UK copies and getting a proper BR-player, not only would I not be saving money, I'd be spending more. Seems like getting the UK blu-rays is about the same as getting the USA standard Blu-ray release. The only other Aniplex things I have any slight interest in owning (that I dont already) is Garden of Sinners and the Blue Exorcist movie. And there hasn't been any anime from Aniplex lately in the past few season-simulcasts that really has my attention (at least enough to want to buy and keep). Right now, it doesnt really seem worth it

Still debating on it. Right now, its just looks like I'll be getting the standard edition Blu-Rays of AoA's release of Kill la Kill when they're all done. The UK release looks nice, but the price isnt much lower to make it worth it.
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Shiroi Hane
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Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 7578
Location: Wales
PostPosted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 8:56 pm Reply with quote
Megiddo wrote:
Kruszer wrote:

You always, always, always have to be careful when buying a Blu-ray player such as these. The one you have linked says (several times actually) that it will only play Zone A BDs. It's region free for DVDs but not zone free (or multizone) for BDs. The reviews are also important to read for stuff about firmware updates and any changes to the code that brings up the menu for Region/Zone selection.

The Toshiba BDX1200 and some of their other players are multiregion for DVD when running Australian firmware, and while they aren't multiregion for BD the BD region can be changed using the remote. It works on other like the BDX3100, but not the BDX1400 as far as I know. Also, IIRC, it only works on European models, not US ones.
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potatochobit



Joined: 26 Aug 2009
Posts: 1373
Location: TEXAS
PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 12:30 am Reply with quote
you know, bluray players are like 50$ now
you could just buy 2 of them, one in each region
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