STeelbook Newbie...... please be gentle

Feb 1, 2019
3
So at the ripe old age of 45 I've discovered these things called Steelbooks.

I like them, I like them a lot.

I have started buying them but with a fair bit of ignorance about good bad ugly and so on.

Is there a thread (yes I have searched) to tell me what all the Steelbook terminolgy means (WEA? Lenticular? Double Lenticular??)

Also is there a Steelbook producer hierarchy out there? I can already tell that Mondo seem to demand a premium, does this mean that Zavvi and Bestbuy are the cut price brands?

Any help and direction would be great.

Cheers
Muzz
 
I'll answer the stuff I know:

Lenticular refers to the cover, usually of things that have a slipcase on them (carboard box to house the steel book). You've likely seen a lenticular effect before: it's a plastic ridged surface that created an animated/moving effect when tilted back and forth.

Mondo is definitely a sought after brand, mainly due to their reputation in the movie poster print industry, and their (usually) very nice designs. Design and "hierachy" wise, each retailer has only as much value as you give them. If you like a design, you should get it, I wouldn't really worry about the brand too much. Retailers like Zavvi and Best Buy definitely have some of the largest selection, just due to how established the companies are, but there are smaller, more film-focused retailers that release steel books that have plenty of fans such as Nova Media, KimchiDVD, Plain Archive, and FilmArena. These releases, especially for movies that are well-liked, are usually more highly sought after due to their high quality production design and limited quantity, but again, you should mainly just go for whatever design floats your boat. The only thing you should watch out for quality-wise are steelbook knock-offs, like MetalPak. They aren't terrible per se, they're just not Steelbooks.

Hope this answered some of your questions!
 
Mondo isnt a personal favorite

My recommendation would be to buy the movies you want, try not to get movies you dont really care for. Very easy to a huge amount fairly quickly that you don't really care for
 
So at the ripe old age of 45 I've discovered these things called Steelbooks.

I like them, I like them a lot.

I have started buying them but with a fair bit of ignorance about good bad ugly and so on.

Is there a thread (yes I have searched) to tell me what all the Steelbook terminolgy means (WEA? Lenticular? Double Lenticular??)

Also is there a Steelbook producer hierarchy out there? I can already tell that Mondo seem to demand a premium, does this mean that Zavvi and Bestbuy are the cut price brands?

Any help and direction would be great.

Cheers
Muzz

Welcome to the forums Muzz.

WEA stands for world exclusive artwork. WWA stands for worldwide artwork. It's just a way collectors came up with to identify if a given artwork is exclusive or not.

If, while browsing around the threads, and hopefully posting, you come across other terms that are not clear, feel free to ask and our friendly members will surely answer. You can also always count on a mod, so you can tag or PM if you need help around.

There isn't a hierarchy of steelbook sellers per say, though the likes of Manta Lab and Blufans etc... are considered among the very best.

There are other types of movie editions out there, and those would be indicated in the thread title and being in a different section, like FuturePaks, they got some really nice designs and finishes sometimes but some steelbook collectors don't like them due to the look of their spine.

This is a thread if you want to take a look at the differences https://www.hidefninja.com/communit...n-steelbook-ironpack-metalpak-futurepak.3430/

Also, Mondo X SteelBook "demand" a premium when sold out and sought after, that applies for any steelbook sold out and highly sought after really, regardless of retailer. :)

Again, as mentioned earlier, if you have any other questions, feel free to tag a mod you see online or PM etc...

Good luck with the hunt!
 
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Welcome to HDN @MadsteelNZ. It's great to have you here! :)

Feel free to give us a shout if you need further assistance with anything. :thumbs:
 
@MadsteelNZ welcome aboard! :cool: you will find us here in general a gentle bunch :joy:, and all as slightly obsessed with physical media as you are becoming. :D

fyi, premium retailers include blufans (China), Cinemuseum (Italy), Film Arena Collection (aka FAC, Czech), Black Barons (same company as FAC), HDZeta (China), Kimchi (Korea), Manta Lab (Hong Kong), Nova Media (Korea), Plain Archive (Korea), and Weet Collection (Korea). then there's other companies trying to break in, like everythingblu (UK), and the main standard release retailers like zavvi, zoom, amazon, and HMV (tbc!). sometimes the non-premium retailers put out some above average things, and sometimes premiums miss expectations, so it's always good to follow :watch: the threads here on HDN and see what fellow Ninjas think. :coffee:

and no questions are silly if you don't know the answer. there'll always be someone to respond here. :thumbs:
 
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Best to start with the regular retailers in your own territory although you might find the same World Wide Art steelbooks cheaper from foreign retailers but you won't have English language product details on the O-rings or J-cards - something which may or may not be of importance - and the protective packaging may not be as good in some territories as in others. Also, the product may have to travel further with greater risk of damage in transit.
If pockets are deep then £17 - £30 for these regular old school steelbooks will not be an issue and you may gravitate towards the newer Premium Editions w/ slipcases, lenticulars, artcards etc. for approx. £50 + per release. These lovingly crafted products obviously have more cachet due to their high cost and more limited production.
 
Welcome @MadsteelNZ ! Members here are always willing to help and answer any questions you may have.
The members above have covered things pretty well as to the hierarchy and styles...
Soon enough, you will find out which companies tickle your fancy more than others...
There are no bad questions! We were all at the beginning at one time...:D
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Welcome to the forum @MadsteelNZ! Great to have you here, if you have any questions feel free to just give us a shout! There are a lot of friendly members here that will happy to help you out.:)
 
WOW!
Thanks for the warm Welcome from you all.

Hi to the Mods @Noodles @Sigill @Apollon @C.C. 95

Sounds like I'm on the right track, buy the movies I like to watch and buy the art I like the look of. Pretty much what I have been doing.

As my name suggests I'm in New Zealand so 1st thing I look for is region free or 2\B, which means a lot of the the US based Steelbooks are out for me, and frustratingly some of the US websites dont list what region they are so I'm having to email to get confirmation.

My 1st time seeing a Steelbook was just before xmas when I was trying to find the Bluray MCU Phase 3 part one boxset, it wasn't here in NZ, but I found it on the Zavvi Australia site, I saw the Steelbook drop down and clicked away, the rest is becoming history, or a very dangerous obsession.

I purchased the cheapest one I could find at Zavvi (Fantastic Mr Fox) just to see what they were all about, did some reading and been cruzing the web looking for things I like.

I then found a bulk lot of Star Wars Steelbooks for sale here in NZ (all 10 so far) for very cheap and all of sudden I had a collection of Steelbooks.

My big purchase so far has been the FAC#110 Terminator 2, released sometime in February. I think that will seal the deal as far as if I want to carry on the collection by going expensive and rare or cheap and bulk, or I'll just do both.

Question time, when FAC use a #110 in the title that refers to the number of Steelbooks they have produced? Same with Mondo? does this make the more collectible down the line?

Once again thanks for the welcome guys, hope the story telling wasn't to long.

Cheers
Muzz
 
WOW!
Thanks for the warm Welcome from you all.

Hi to the Mods @Noodles @Sigill @Apollon @C.C. 95

Sounds like I'm on the right track, buy the movies I like to watch and buy the art I like the look of. Pretty much what I have been doing.

As my name suggests I'm in New Zealand so 1st thing I look for is region free or 2\B, which means a lot of the the US based Steelbooks are out for me, and frustratingly some of the US websites dont list what region they are so I'm having to email to get confirmation.

My 1st time seeing a Steelbook was just before xmas when I was trying to find the Bluray MCU Phase 3 part one boxset, it wasn't here in NZ, but I found it on the Zavvi Australia site, I saw the Steelbook drop down and clicked away, the rest is becoming history, or a very dangerous obsession.

I purchased the cheapest one I could find at Zavvi (Fantastic Mr Fox) just to see what they were all about, did some reading and been cruzing the web looking for things I like.

I then found a bulk lot of Star Wars Steelbooks for sale here in NZ (all 10 so far) for very cheap and all of sudden I had a collection of Steelbooks.

My big purchase so far has been the FAC#110 Terminator 2, released sometime in February. I think that will seal the deal as far as if I want to carry on the collection by going expensive and rare or cheap and bulk, or I'll just do both.

Question time, when FAC use a #110 in the title that refers to the number of Steelbooks they have produced? Same with Mondo? does this make the more collectible down the line?

Once again thanks for the welcome guys, hope the story telling wasn't to long.

Cheers
Muzz
Hi Muzz, you are correct. The #110 refers to what number it is in the line. Sometimes the numbers are released out of order or one will be held up so you might see that before you see an earlier number though! Lol.
The Mondo’s are the same, the early numbers don’t necessarily make them more valuable, it generally depends how popular the title is. Having said that Drive Mondo goes for a decent amount and that’s the first one in the Mondo line! That is a popular movie though!:D

Region coding is a tricky one, a lot of times they state region A when they are actually region locked. Members here should be able to help you out if there’s any titles you are unsure off.:)
 
WOW!
Thanks for the warm Welcome from you all.

Hi to the Mods @Noodles @Sigill @Apollon @C.C. 95

Sounds like I'm on the right track, buy the movies I like to watch and buy the art I like the look of. Pretty much what I have been doing.

As my name suggests I'm in New Zealand so 1st thing I look for is region free or 2\B, which means a lot of the the US based Steelbooks are out for me, and frustratingly some of the US websites dont list what region they are so I'm having to email to get confirmation.

My 1st time seeing a Steelbook was just before xmas when I was trying to find the Bluray MCU Phase 3 part one boxset, it wasn't here in NZ, but I found it on the Zavvi Australia site, I saw the Steelbook drop down and clicked away, the rest is becoming history, or a very dangerous obsession.

I purchased the cheapest one I could find at Zavvi (Fantastic Mr Fox) just to see what they were all about, did some reading and been cruzing the web looking for things I like.

I then found a bulk lot of Star Wars Steelbooks for sale here in NZ (all 10 so far) for very cheap and all of sudden I had a collection of Steelbooks.

My big purchase so far has been the FAC#110 Terminator 2, released sometime in February. I think that will seal the deal as far as if I want to carry on the collection by going expensive and rare or cheap and bulk, or I'll just do both.

Question time, when FAC use a #110 in the title that refers to the number of Steelbooks they have produced? Same with Mondo? does this make the more collectible down the line?

Once again thanks for the welcome guys, hope the story telling wasn't to long.

Cheers
Muzz
Nice! That FAC T2 looks good!
Remember that some of the "non-premium" label stuff (released through Zavvi, Best Buy, Target, etc.) can be quite good. (And often end up as the steelbooks inside the slipcovers of premium editions). A few years ago a Zavvi steelbook was voted the steelbook of the year (Ex Machina).
If you can - you may wanna look into a region free player. That really makes the world your oyster. Here in the US, they can be had for as little a $99. So, depending on where you are - your mileage may very. (Bombay Electronics out of Chicago ships worldwide: https://www.bombayelectronics.com/collections/region-free-blu-ray-player/Sony-Region-Free-Blu-ray)
And, of course - 4K UHD has no region coding.
 
WOW!
As my name suggests I'm in New Zealand so 1st thing I look for is region free or 2\B, which means a lot of the the US based Steelbooks are out for me, and frustratingly some of the US websites dont list what region they are so I'm having to email to get confirmation.
My best advice to you before you go any further in your collection is to buy a region free BD player. Trust me, you'll be saving a lot of money and trouble in the long run. You can find them pretty cheap nowadays.

Also, keep in mind some Region A locked discs can be actually region free. Meaning it will play in your Region B player even though it says otherwise on the disc.

Oh and welcome to the forum. Remember to have fun while you are here. :thumbs:
 
some of the US websites dont list what region they are so I'm having to email to get confirmation.

When in doubt, post in the relevant release thread asking other members and you should get an answer there. Provided someone has it in hand already.
 
Great!! I was woundering if there was a way of getting a Bluray player that was region free. Looks like there are some good options right here in NZ. Anything I should watch out for with the conversion of the players?

Cheers
Muzz
 
Great!! I was woundering if there was a way of getting a Bluray player that was region free. Looks like there are some good options right here in NZ. Anything I should watch out for with the conversion of the players?

Cheers
Muzz
Believe it or not - I have never heard anyone complain about an issue with a region free player (neither on steelbook sites or on AVS forum, etc.)
Just do your due diligence on the retailer and make sure they have a history and track record of happy customers.