Where to buy DVD's and Videos Online.

The_Bullman

Wondering if this could be made a sticky.


I know of http://www.amazon.co.uk, http://www.jungle.com and http://www.play.com

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

gandalf

Yeah make this a sticky please as it is asked on a monthly basis.

OK here are the places I use for DVD Purchases

Region 1

www.absound.ca
www.amazon.com

Region 2

www.amazon.co.uk
I normally buy from HMV or Virgin when they have offers

Region 3

www.dddhouse.com

Region 4

www.dvdcrave.com
www.ezydvd.com.au

Gandalf.

MrPudding

www.play247.com
Region 1 & 2 Price includes postage anywhere in EU...good service too

chunk 3:16

mrenvy is right
stick with play247.com
and you cant go wrong
i have been ordering from
them for over two years
and they have never let
me down.

Draco

Stuck.

Krusty_Clown

www.blackstar.co.uk. Not quite as good as play.com, but I did manage to pick up Shawshank Redemption for STG£3.99
(with a free voucher they sent me)

koneko

Region 3: http://www.dvdshelf.com
Overcharge on shipping, but if you order enough DVDs it's well worth it.

www.express.com
www.dvdconcept.com
www.dvdboxoffice.com
www.dvdplus.co.uk

Play247 are still the best!

EvilGeorge

Ok lads I use to get some, ahem....region free...... dvds from a place www.vcd-imports.com (not a brilliant place) but they have closed up shop - anyone know of any others ?

gandalf

I hope your not posting up links to sites that sell illegal copies of films there Evilgeorge. I think thats against the T&C's.

Gandalf.

EvilGeorge

A) take note that there are no hyper links listed under my name.
This point is obvious to most people, unless they are thick which will be noted and taken down by your goodself, so therefore the option is for private messaging.

Also who said "illegal" in any conversation.

Draco

As far as I am aware there are no legal copies of films on VCD so don't post links to sites that sell them.

gandalf

Naw Draco thats not true. You can get legal copies of films from Hong Kong and other asian retailers as VCD is a very popular format out there.

However I took from Evilgeorges post that the site he was talking about was selling to quote him "...ahem....region free...... dvds ..." which I decipher as illegal copied DVD's as a majority of DVD's have region coding of some form.

Gandalf.

Draco

Originally posted by gandalf
Naw Draco thats not true. You can get legal copies of films from Hong Kong and other asian retailers as VCD is a very popular format out there.

Really? I did not know that. So ignore the post above then!

EvilGeorge

And yes the title "Region Free" is legit - for example the Gateway free DVD from Warner bros. they use to give out with systems was in fact and branded as "Region Free".

gandalf

EvilGeorge please come out and say exactly what you meant by "ahem....region free...... dvds ".

I sincerely doubt you were talking about buying Region Free Gateway DVD's. Were you talking about legal region 0's like some of the Criterion Collection for example. Can you name one of the "ahem....region free...... dvds " you purchased from that company.

Gandalf.

Krusty_Clown

Let me start by saying I am not supporting sites like vcd-import or other simillar sites, but:

The legality (or otherwise) of sites like vcd-import.com (now defunct) is questionable. They do not sell illegal movies.. At all.. Period..

They act as an intermediary (or third-party), in a transaction between you (their customer) and the product seller (their other customer) which they say is based in China (Hong Kong), where sales of such DVDs, VCDs etc. is quite legal.. So, you pay vcd-import a sum of money, which they hold onto, until the transaction has been completed (i.e. you receive the goods you ordered).. Oh, and of course, they charge a fee for managing these transactions..

So, the crime is in purchasing goods from Chinse-based retailers.

By the way, Play.com is based in Jersey, so you do not VAT on
goods you buy from the site. Why do you think Play.com is so cheap? So, you should in effect be declaring all of your purchases from play.com to the government and paying the necessary VAT. Leave poor EvilGeorge alone.. Let he who has not sinned... and all that stuff..

BTW: Nearly all my purchases come from play.com..

Kali

excellent, just saved myself about 22 euros ordering 3 dvds from www.ezydvd.com.au instead of ww.play.com, and thats after adding delivery as well... damn sweet, should have really put in a larger order while i was at it.

~2 weeks delivery time btw... still worth it tho

Krusty_Clown

~2 weeks delivery time is ok.
I've been waiting 8 days for my A.I. widescreen spec. edition from play.com, and will probably not get it for another couple of days, so if you can save money, for a couple of days wait, it's probably well worth it.

Let me know how long it takes, and if you get caught for the VAT...

mocar

anybody use www.cdwow.ie seems very cheap and free p&p. just wondering if it is too good to be true
mo

NeRb666

www.dmgdirect.com is ok

BTW, as far as I am aware, most non-movie DVD's (e.g. music, sport, etc.) are region free.

Digi_Tilmitt

www.splashdvd.com it does all types of DVD's shows prices in sterling and euro's and usually takes less then a week to deliver. A lot cheaper then amazon aswell.

Kali

for those not buying online Golden Discs have 10% off dvds at the moment, making Moulin Rouge and MP - Holy Grail only about 80c dearer than buying from play.com!

some damn good deals to be got in there it has to be said, worth checking out.

kilian

already posted a message about this in the thread on la haine, but it's just as relevant here-

I learned a valuable lesson recently; shop around, and look not only for a good price, but in the case of foreign films, look at the version you get;

I recently bought "la haine" and made the mistake of first getting it from england- the dogiest subtitles I've ever seen- plain white, on a black and white film, so half the time you couldn't see them! even worse, they were part of the video track- so you can't turn them off or anything.

the french version (about EUR 10 cheaper aswell- from amazon.fr), on the other hand, is a gem:
it's got a range of different subtitle options (including english), and audio options (incase you want to watch it in german). And also some great extra features (short film, making of, trailers..) all in french but worth having!

be carefull though; not all of the films from france have english subtitles- just check the technical details first!

hopefully this might prove usefull to someone...

Winters

I would use blackstar.co.uk, They have always been nice to me

http://www.blackstar.co.uk

Kix

I've had a good time with BlackStar too. I've bought quite a lot off them. Their customer service has always been top notch.

K

pendulum

I use Play247 and dvdboxoffice mostly.

prenton

ok so I now know of LOADS of good places to buy my DVDs from, however with this mutli-region malarkey theres one other issue I need to get straightened out.

Between R1 and the other regions theres seems to be a difference in content, some extras that appear in R1 are left out of another regions DVD. Are there any sites that says "Film X:R1 has all this cool stuff but FilmX:R4 is missing some stuff due to censorship or whatever"

This will help me make up mine mind, R1 DVD with more extras or R4:cheaper.

Cheers
prenton

prenton

oh, forgot to ask about "Special Editions", whats this all about?

Cheers
prenton

the celtic tiger

i ordered the west wing box set from www.play.com the other day for £28.99 (€47) which i thought was ok considering it was €56 in golden discs.

I checked yesterday morning on www.buy4now.ie and they had it an extremely low €36. needless to say i cancelled the play order and ordered it there.

Sweet.

prenton

I may be incorrect, tct, but I think the play.com box set is DVDs while the buy4now.ie box set is VHS videos.

Inspector Gadget

The first significant thing is that (95%+ of the time) Region 1 DVDs only come in one language - English. This means that the space normally used for alternative soundtracks, subtitles etc. is available for features.

The other point of note is the Region 1 discs are designed for NTSC, which means that instead of the 720x576 resolution frames you get on a PAL (Region 2 etc.) DVD, you get 720x480 instead (note that the vertical resolution is 20% lower) but at a ~20% higher frame rate (NTSC does 29.97fps instead of PAL's 24.97 fps). This will definitely mean that you'll have a different aspect ratio on your TV (a narrower widescreen "letterbox") and depending on how your DVD player handles the different refresh rate it may compensate for the additional frames by dropping (decimating) a frame every now and again at regular intervals.

Just my 2c...
Gadget

gandalf

Just an update on www.dvdcrave.com apparently they are having problems and their customer service has been a bit lacking I would recommend avoiding them for the moment.

Gandalf.

the celtic tiger

dear god prenton you are correct. thank you. cancelled it in the nick of time. phew. i don't want another VHS anywhere near me!

prenton

no worries tct

the celtic tiger

i was a little pi**ed off, so i bought it in HMV on the way home. not bad!

WhiteWashMan

just bought buffy series 1 dvd for $20.99 from www.northamericandvd.com.
not too shabby

byte

I use www.cdwow.ie which are quite good and also now use www.play.com Looking forward to my first parcel from play! :cool:

netman

www.amazon.com usually has films sooner than the uk site, better prices, and charges less for shipping. to top it all, the dvd's are sent from germany, so there's no import tax or duty to pay!

the only thing you need is a region free dvd player.

oh yeah, and add to that sites like www.fightdivx.com (my favourite) that constantly have amazon.com coupons you can make quite a saving.

gandalf

Another one to add, www.dvdsoon.com

NIce low prices especially on pre-orders but be aware they charge your credit card when you order and not when they ship. But their prices are very low and I prefer with the current currency fluctuations to have it charged straight away. I've received one order from them and have another on the way.

Gandalf.

WhiteWashMan

sorry paul, but just looking up buffy and black adder on that site above i found them to be almost twice the price in CAD than northamericandvd.com

Winters

I have recently started to buy a load of DVDs from play.com. I think its due to the fact that i dont have to pay any del charge. Though playserver4 is really screwed up for some reason

justlurking

A good site for various dvd's is:
http://www.dvdoo.com

A danish site, free shipping to Irelando - and even with limited or no amount of the language it's easy enough to work out. Can be some great bargains - especially for those who like to punt stuff on eBay for the ubiquitous profit scheme.

Just be aware some boxes have Danish covers. And they also sell Region 1's too for those with multiregion players.

Tom B. Stones

Greetings.

Just posted the following in another thread. Noticed a link to this one, and thought I might as well put it here as well.

Originally posted by Tom B. Stones

Hi there. First post.

For prices and customer service, if not range, CD Wow (in any of its permutations) takes some beating.

Policy reversed, and prices dropped. And not before time! Thanks be to goodness for competition.

Get yourself a £3-off voucher code here. Use it even on the bargains (which tend to be genuine). How about "Gangs of New York" for UK£5.99 delivered?


I am happy to second this recommendation. After a shaky start (much delayed deliveries, under-staffed CS dept), DVD Soon has matured into a fine retailer.

Note that - for the time being at least - delivery charges are being waived. Yes, even to this part of the world. Details here.

Note also that prices at Soon may rise or fall, but what say you to such goodies as the two-disc "Once Upon a Time in the West" for Can$14.98 (= €9.81!!) delivered? (Mine shipped today. Paid Can$16.98 for it at the time of ordering, too. Still, beats €30 or 40 on Grafton Street. And no pitch-shift issues either. )

I would urge all to avoid Jersey-based Splash DVD like the plague. Some tempting prices, no doubt about it, but many, many reports confirm my own experiences that CS has gone to hell (to say the very least!) in recent months. (Have been charged over UK£100 for unfilled orders in a series of tempting promotions stretching back months, and e-mails are utterly ignored. Have Jersey Trading Standards on the case.)

Also based in Jersey, Play is an exemplary retailer with some equally tempting prices. Check out the bargain section for an eye-opening start. Free delivery to Ireland, every item in its own package.

Choices Direct is another retailer which knows how to treat its customers, but prices tend to be slightly higher than those at Play. Delivery to Ireland is UK£2 per order, regardless of size.


Utterly agreed on its usefulness. Beats the R1-only DVD Price Search by permitting price checking among DVD retailers world-wide. And you can even set the currency to Euros.


Excellent CS to boot, but in that neck of the woods prices are often markedly better (and CS satisfactory) at Devoted.

Elsewhere, Florida-based DVD Pacific has been getting some rave reviews for prices and service. I have my first order in the works at the moment, and can post back when I know more if anyone is interested.

Do bear in mind that DVDs from other regions may be better or worse than the "equivalent" local releases. (The afore-mentioned R1 "Once Upon a Time in the West", for example, boasts the film's original mono soundtrack as well as a 5.1 remix. The Irish/British release omits the former.) Reviews here. Comparisons here.

HTH.

joe_dunne

I can tell you where not to buy and that's from a website called "www.Best-Box-Sets.com". This website has been flagged by Irish Customs for selling counterfeit DVD's. If you buy anything they will be seized and forfeited.

Karl Hungus

6 feckin' years old this thread Joe!? 6 years!