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There are still some series unavailale on DVD or on demand here. Having lived in Europe for so many years, I have a decent collection of region 2 DVDs. I have a second player that I hacked to be region-free so I can play those, so every once in a while I will order an actual DVD from the UK. Sad that I have to do that in this day and age!
Was there an actual decision to format DVD's differently or did the technologies develop independently? The first I'd heard of this was when my husband ordered a DVD from Amazon which had not been marked as being of the European format. When he complained that the DVD was not working they informed him of the problem. Of coarse, they made good on it.
Was there an actual decision to format DVD's differently or did the technologies develop independently? The first I'd heard of this was when my husband ordered a DVD from Amazon which had not been marked as being of the European format. When he complained that the DVD was not working they informed him of the problem. Of coarse, they made good on it.
It was a deliberate decision to stop people watching movies before the big studios wanted them released in other countries and to stop you buying DVD's more cheaply from other countries.
I also have a zone free DVD player so that I can watch all my British DVD's. Also sometimes series that are made in the UK are released in the US with an American voiceover, which is annoying, for example the BBC series 'The Planets' made some years ago. The American voice over version reviews on Amazon are widely reported as being inferior with people recommending you buy the British version. To avoid this kind of thing, if its made in the UK I buy from the UK.
You can buy a zone free DVD player from amazon very cheaply. I got a Sony one for less than $40 with free shipping and it works perfectly.
Here are the zones for reference:
Region 1 - The U.S., U.S. territories and Canada
Region 2 - Europe, Japan, the Middle East, Egypt, South Africa, Greenland
Region 3 - Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Hong Kong
Region 4 - Mexico, South America, Central America, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Caribbean
Region 5 - Russia, Eastern Europe, India, most of Africa, North Korea, Mongolia
We have an expensive set of DVDs about Winston Churchill that we would like to watch--someday. Someday when one of us wins the lottery and can afford to get them converted. My husband keeps trying to find a place that can do it for a reasonable fee.
For comedy I LOVED Monty Python way back when. I also loved Keeping Up Appearances and that cooking show Two Fat Ladies (remember that?) Those shows had my sort of humor. In Keeping up Appearances, my favorite episode is when they try to buy a house in the country. Seen MANY times over but I still howl with laughter. Mrs "Bouquet"
is pursued by what we would call a Local Yokel who has actually taken a fancy to her. Poor Richard cracked his head on the low ceiling beams (if I remember correctly) but it would make a perfect room for candlelight dinners.
Some British shows have humor that is fast talking and glib (if that's the word.) Goes right over my empty head. (I said that so you don't have to.)
For American humor, men are supposed to like Abbot & Costello, the slapstick type of comedy,and most women hate it. I can't stand to watch the guy holding a board and when he turns around he hits the other guy in the head with it. Men will usually be rolling in the aisles watching that.
To me, Jay Leno is hilarious but you have to be here, I think, to understand what he's getting at. I loved The Golden Girls and another old show called Who's the Boss. I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, those were really funny. I don't see anything funny on tv anymore--cannot stand those orange people, The Simpsons, have never really even looked at it except when changing channels.
I can't get any British shows now. Will have to invest in one of those Roku boxes sometime--I think then you get to see the old tv shows.
It was a deliberate decision to stop people watching movies before the big studios wanted them released in other countries and to stop you buying DVD's more cheaply from other countries.
I also have a zone free DVD player so that I can watch all my British DVD's. Also sometimes series that are made in the UK are released in the US with an American voiceover, which is annoying, for example the BBC series 'The Planets' made some years ago. The American voice over version reviews on Amazon are widely reported as being inferior with people recommending you buy the British version. To avoid this kind of thing, if its made in the UK I buy from the UK.
You can buy a zone free DVD player from amazon very cheaply. I got a Sony one for less than $40 with free shipping and it works perfectly.
Here are the zones for reference:
Region 1 - The U.S., U.S. territories and Canada
Region 2 - Europe, Japan, the Middle East, Egypt, South Africa, Greenland
Region 3 - Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Hong Kong
Region 4 - Mexico, South America, Central America, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Caribbean
Region 5 - Russia, Eastern Europe, India, most of Africa, North Korea, Mongolia
yes,WOW, rowan atkinson is comedy gold, i even enjoyed the thin blue line, and to become a silent physical comedian and become the charater mr.bean was the best throwback of classic comedy to have been shown then and since. i actually was upset to the series ending of black adder, but we here in the states had a good one also called M.A.S.H., even atkinson's stand up was extremely funny, my favorite line went something like this: role call in those just dying and coming to hell, lets see hitler- yes good here, Charles Manson- yes and here, and then he roll calls and says "the french ". I lose it to this day when i think about that stand-up!
I like Friends as well as the British "version" Coupling.
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Having lived in Europe for so many years, I have a decent collection of region 2 DVDs. I have a second player that I hacked to be region-free so I can play those, so every once in a while I will order an actual DVD from the UK. Sad that I have to do that in this day and age! 
