Now if they would do that in the US.

[ edited by RavenU on 2005-03-10 14:34 ]

RavenU | March 10, 16:34 CET

I've amended the title to show that they are from the UK.

Simon | March 10, 16:35 CET

Ok, what is M-Lock packaging?

tgilders | March 10, 17:15 CET

Firefly is £12.99 on there too.

Grounded | March 10, 18:20 CET

Odd that Season One, much shorter than the full seasons, is priced the same.

And, echoing tgilders, What is M-Lock packaging?

Heading to Google to check.

Chris inVirginia | March 10, 19:18 CET

It's cool if you don't mind the new packaging. I personally started collecting the last dvd-sets I didn't have yet in the old "book-like" (I believe the official term is "digipack"? Correct me if I'm wrong) versions as soon as I saw the new packaging in a store a little while ago, before they would go out of stock. These have a more durable, mystical and all-around collection-y feel to them, and are thus more fitting for a show like BtVS. All in all it might've cost me at least twice what it would've cost me if I'd went with the cheap (in every sense of the word) new versions, but it feels justifiable since now I have a way prettier and more durable collection of the greatest tv show ever.

Storyteller | March 10, 19:22 CET

This link shows M-Lock packaging.

Paul_Rocks | March 10, 20:07 CET

It mentions on each of the DVD boxset individual pages that they have recently been deleted in the UK. Anyone know why that is? From what i understand they were only originally released in this M-Lock format at the end of January this year so there must be a reason why they were deleted so soon afterwards.

Technopagan | March 10, 20:31 CET

Weirdly, only Season 1-3 have been 'deleted', but they are still marked as In Stock and Available...

brob1 | March 10, 21:08 CET

Really? I actually only went as far as checking seasons one to three and then assumed the rest would be the same. Actually that makes the situation even stranger in a way. Why have only the first three seasons been deleted i wonder?

Technopagan | March 10, 22:47 CET

I hate the fragile digipack versions we have here in Spain.
But i have the first four seasons yet, so i won´t re-buy them in this "new" format, if they change it.

Angel TheVampire | March 11, 01:29 CET

I have seasons 4-7 to get, this may help:D

SeanValen | March 11, 03:06 CET

What I really want to know is, will the rereleases have all the extra features that appear on the Region 1 discs, some of which are missing from the original R2 discs?

Craig Oxbrow | March 11, 04:41 CET

Probably not.

Grounded | March 11, 04:53 CET

This is a slightly off topic post, but I have been wondering for some time now how TV-series (and in particular BtvS, Angel and Firefly) are converted to PAL from NTSC. Apart from some technical differences in how images are transmitted there is also a difference in resolution and frame rate. Are american TV-series directly shot in NTSC-format and is there some conversion (for example deleting some frames) to PAL, or is the original shot on some different format all together, after which different conversions take place (if so, how do they solve the frame-rate difference problem)?

I would like to know this, to find out in which format the DVD's have the best image quality (after which I can buy them in that format).

Celebithil | March 11, 13:07 CET

Celebithil, I have both the PAL and NTSC versions of BtVS and I can't tell any difference in image quality. Also couldn't detect any dropped frames between the two formats. I like the PAL for seasons 4-7 because of the wide screen format. Be advise that the PAL region 2 DVDs are designed to be played on 50 hZ voltage frequency. If played on 60 hZ frequency, the disc will run 4% faster. This isn't enough to affect the action, but you will notice the characters voices are slightly higher pitched. It bugged me at first, but I got used to it. Kinda like Buffy extra screaky :) And I guess the opposite would be true if you played a region 1 DVD at 50 hZ. The voices would be lower pitched giving Buffy a manly man voice. Perhaps someone in the UK can confirm that.

The only content differences I noted is that the region 2 DVD set did not have a commentary for 'Wild at Heart'. Joss, Marti Noxon, and Seth Green commentary is on the region 1 and it's very funny. I did discover one mystery. We were discussing this very same subject several months ago with a post of BtVS season 7 region 2 DVD review. The author noted that one of the ester eggs included the 99 episode flashback in the opening of 'The Gift' that was not on the season 5 DVD set. Several in our room stated that the region 2 version of 'The Gift' opened with the boy running down alley. Yet, my region 2 DVD set had the full opening as the region 1 with the exception it's in wide-screen. Did they release another version of region 2 in the past 6 months?

As for the subject of box type, the 'book' version used in the region 2 DVD is the hands down winner. First, it's half the width of region 1 'fold-out' DVD set. Second, you don't need two acres of space to open the silly thing. Third, I always seem to get a fold-out set that has a loose or broken DVD retainer which leads to a disc rolling across the floor every time the set is opened. Drives me nuts. I don't have any problems with the few M-lock cases that I own. I really like the pop-up DVD release button, I've noticed most M-lock cases use this type of DVD retainer.

[ edited by Madhatter on 2005-03-11 17:14 ]

Madhatter | March 11, 16:22 CET