Search - Ultimate Live (Arg) on DVD

The region problem and Pulp Ultmate Live

J. Kerwin | Washington, DC United States | 09/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I first read these reviews, I wondered "what on earth is going on with Amazon and this new Pulp DVD?" Well, I got my DVD yesterday (having purchased it from another online retailer), and now I see what it's all about. Actually, the problem has nothing to do with Amazon - they are being misinformed, as are people who buy this DVD.

The back of the DVD cover clearly states "Region: All." This means it is supposed to play in any region. But when I put the DVD in my Sony player/recorder, I immediately saw a message stating that the disc has an incompatible region code. Fortunately, I also have a region/format-free DVD player, so I put the disc in that, and it played just fine.

Clearly, the folks who manufactured the DVD and its cover (at least the ones for North American distribution) have goofed up, and Pulp fans here have every reason to be ticked off. The band should be ticked off too, if they are aware of it.

So, what are common people like you to do? To enjoy this DVD, you basically have two options. The first option is get yourself a region/format-free player - if you're a fan of British music, it's worth the investment (I got mine several months ago mostly so that I could watch a Saint Etienne DVD that hasn't been released in the U.S.). These players can be bought for 50-80 bucks. But you won't find them in your neighborhood big box electronics store (Hollywood frowns upon it). Do a search here at Amazon and you'll find some sellers from whom you can order one. Your second option is do some research on the internet and see if your player has a "hack." This is a code that you can enter on your remote which will essentially convert your region-restricted player to one that plays discs from any region. Despite the term "hack," I understand there's nothing illegal about doing this. Not all DVD players have a hack code, however.

So is the "Pulp Ultimate Live" DVD worth all this trouble? Absolutely. It's two full concerts, and both are wonderful. One is in an intimate venue with a small but wildly enthusiastic audience, the other is outdoors before many thousands of people. I've only watched bits of each so far, but the picture quality is great, the sound is great, the band's performance kicks ass, and Jarvis....well, you know Jarvis. He's the coolest damn person on earth, right?"

Wrong Region

Simon John Williams | Los Angeles, CA USA | 08/28/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, this is an ALL region DVD which wont work on American DVD players. So, I just ordered an ALL region DVD player of Amazon for $85, which should show up early this week. However, this DVD does work in my computer so I watched it. It has 2 concerts on it, one of which I just realized I own on "The Park is Mine" VHS I bought a couple of years ago. This is still a good amount of PULP on one DVD featuring an important band in its prime. Worth getting, but like the PULP HITS DVD I doubt this will be released in a US format. I suggest getting an All region DVD player if you are into English music and movies."

Excelente

Alex Vidal | 12/29/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Excelente sonido,grandes temas, muy buena imagen, me hubiera gustado que tuviera las letras de los temas pero no todo es perfecto en este mundo.....sobre las zonas, mi reproductor de dvd es multizona y multinorma, no tengo problemas con eso..

Saludos desde Chile

Alex"