Why are we in the UK being shafted with steelbooks only containing a 4K disc when the likes of Europe, Australia & the US get both a 4K & Blu Ray?

[ROB210866]

Why are we in the UK being charged premium prices for steelbooks that only contain a 4K disc when the rest of Europe, Australia and the United States get their releases with both a 4K and blu ray.

I’m now having to wait for the single blu ray to come down in price to replace the stupid blu ray bonus disc with an actual blu ray copy.

 

[sbarker]

Not even getting the 4k in some cases, just look at Zootopia 2.

I don't think this is a UK problem though, I think this is a corporation's don't really care about physical media problem, there's no consistency to it as we sometimes get the better version. I'm just thankful 4k's are region free, with modern shipping costs it's so trivial to acquire whatever version we want, we don't have to be limited by what's locally available at all.

 

[BluSteel2012]

Not always the case.

The recent Nightmare On Elm Street Steelbooks contained Blu Ray copies compared to the US which only contained 4K's.

Then people were complaining that the UK set was a rip off because it cost more due to the inclusion of the BD's.

So you'll never please everyone......

 

[Coolsambob]

We also don't seem to be getting a lot of recent releases at all (Ella McKay, Silent Hill, If I Had Legs etc)

 

[crib79]

Probably because we are our own worst enemy. We complain yet keep buying 4k only steelbooks out of fomo, so why should the studios/companies care? We need to vote with our wallets more often.

 

[DentedSteelbook]

Brexit

 

[Flloydo]

We mainly get shafted on price actually

 

[TheWildEye]

As much as I love a good shafting. Unless the steelbook has a great design, I'd rather by the standard for cheaper and hopefully get the blu ray included in that. Sadly it's not always the case and there's parity between steels and standards. Saving that extra £8-£10 usually mitigates the loss of additional media though.
Just.

 

[Lenny Nero]

Why do you even want a copy in a lesser format?
It's not like it's the first months of HD DVD, and you don't have a player yet, and happy to buy an HD DVD/DVD dual-sided combo disc, that you can watch now, and have a better quality already set for later, when you do get a player...

 

[Punker76]

I think the price increases for UK physical media is more of issue.

 

[TheWildEye]

Why do you even want a copy in a lesser format?
It's not like it's the first months of HD DVD, and you don't have a player yet, and happy to buy an HD DVD/DVD dual-sided combo disc, that you can watch now, and have a better quality already set for later, when you do get a player...

A lot of pre existing special features aren't included; they were previously locked to blu rays. I think we miss out on those being reissued because of this. Not good for preservation either beyond the existing blu ray and Dvd discs. At times I've found myself rebuying or picking up older discs just for this reason alone to make the most complete version of the film and special features I possibly can.
You look at the Lord of the Rings appendixes. Locked to one or two releases only of blu rays or the dvds, unless you're prepared to pay for the extortionate limited edition UHD book set.

Not everyone has the blu rays of films being ported to 4k.

I also lend out films to friends and family who haven't adopted or even care about 4k, yet a large portion of them have blu ray players or DVD players.

It's nice to have the option especially for the money we have to dish out in the UK for physical media.

 

[C.C. 95]

Not always the case.

The recent Nightmare On Elm Street Steelbooks contained Blu Ray copies compared to the US which only contained 4K's.

Then people were complaining that the UK set was a rip off because it cost more due to the inclusion of the BD's.

So you'll never please everyone......

The UK Sean Connery Bond steelbook set also included Blu-rays for the extras- when the US version jammed the extras onto the 4K disc.

 

[C.C. 95]

I think the price increases for UK physical media is more of issue.

Same for U.S. A copy of SISU 2 is $47

 

[Chievera]

It’s the speed of the price increases that I find shocking. I remember being able to pick up a new steel for £20 not that long ago.

Ok… now I just sound old.

 

[leelee17]

What pi##is me off more is the fact that we often don't get get the 4K releases that other countries get. I have 20+ movies that I've had to import or source from ebay to replace my regular blu rays...

 

[C.C. 95]

What pi##is me off more is the fact that we often don't get get the 4K releases that other countries get. I have 20+ movies that I've had to import or source from ebay to replace my regular blu rays...

Same is true here- if we want UK Arrow, Second Sight, Eureka, etc.
(And Arrow U.S. can be a long wait- ROBIN HOOD PRINCE OF THIEVES is just getting the Arrow U.S. version, whereas the Arrow UK version came out in 2022)

 

[Lenny Nero]

I've started importing back in 2001, even when I lived in US, so I'm long used to having to buy from elsewhere, and just treat the whole world as one big country, and don't really care what comes out where – just pick the best and cheapest version available.

A lot of pre existing special features aren't included; they were previously locked to blu rays.

Yes, that's true, and the same happened to some of the first Blu-ray releases. Only now it's been 10 years of the format, and it's still often treated like a 'SuperBit' or DTS-only DVD, even though there's plenty of space.
I just always had a previous edition, and didn't think of the people buying it for the first time ever...