I love BluRay, I hate BluRays, I love the EU.

I think I have to explain this now…

I have a HDTV and of course, ever since I had it, I wanted a source which provides Full-HD to get the best out of it. I don’t have HD cable (since UPC charges ridiculously for a hand full of HD channels), but I have an XBOX 360 (720p gaming), a Macbook Pro running Frontrow (connected via VGA - not full HD), and a Playstation 3. Even when I bought the Playstation 3 I knew that for the (better) half I’ll use it as a BluRay player. And so I do. And so I can experience Full-HD. And I love it.

But I hate BluRays - more precisely the available assortment and pricing in the german market. For new BluRays they charge up to 30 €, and for back catalogue discs they still cost about the double price of the DVD of the same movie. I’m willing to pay a little bit more as an early adopter and I accept the higher resolution as a surplus which I have to pay for. But for me the higher resolution is not worth the doubled price. Therefore I hate BlueRays in the german market.

But thanks to the EU I don’t have to deal with the lunatic german market - I can bypass it. I can buy my BluRays in the UK even before they get released in the german market, for a cheaper price tag. So I did e.g. with Wall-E (great film!) on Amazon UK. There it’s available since November and currently sold for £17 (I admit that this price is a limited bargain, but still…). On the german Amazon it will be released in February for 29€. When I order in the UK I have to pay for the shipping, but no customs or anything. Therefore I love the EU.

I admit I’m a little bit more picky when it comes to movies (compared to games) concerning the available audio tracks. So while it’s perfectly OK (even normal in the meantime) for me to play games in English only, I still like to have the possibility of both audio tracks on movie disc. Nevertheless - If you know where to order, you definitely better of. Thanks to the EU.