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Member Advice Summary
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DVD Regions Explained
by SirMontego | Apr 26 '00
Establishing separate regions on DVDs is one of the smartest things the movie industry has done. It has seemed to infuriate numerous consumers and consumer groups while simultaneously violating the laws of a few countries. Despite these problems, the...Return to opinion
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Helpful info, and your subjectivity understandable (Reply to this comment)
by raviman
Is is very helpful if you want to know why. And I think that every "region 1" resident may don't feel the same way about the topic like the rest of the world, and it's understandable. Well, as a region 4 resident I do not agree with this regional policy. Maybe a little bit of empathy may help.
Let's trade the release dates with people in region 1 and see what happen. And the effectiveness of the policy is not really good, at least in the region 4. Must of the people in region 4 own a multizone DVD, region 1 DVD or just a pirate version of the movie. This will never change. A guy that buys a pirate version of a movie is going to do it with o without region.
The price is another topic, in Central and South America, the price for the same DVD is different, but that is because our version sucks, they have stupid changed titles in spanish, and many of the extras of the DVD are lost.
Finally, Casablanca, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Singin' in the rain, Citizen Kane, etc, in Region 1??? What, is not yet released in theaters? C'mon. That's why I own a Portable Region 1 DVD
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Oct 15 '07
10:32 am PDT
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Regions are not fair to travellers (Reply to this comment)
by lexcen
As a frequent traveller I bought a Toshiba notebook to use for work & watch DVD's in my spare time. I hire DVD's or sometimes buy DVD's in the country I am in at the time. Quite legal but the PC will only let the region code to be changed 4 times then locks to the last code. How is this fair? I now have a notebook which I can't use for what I bought it for. Toshiba refuse to help and there is not firmware "fix" available for my model. I am the victim of the greed of the film companies.
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Aug 27 '05
4:28 am PDT
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Re: Make classic movies region free (Reply to this comment)
by yobonid
While region 1 people may have it better than some others, I keep getting frustrated by classic films that aren't available in region 1.
I've been looking for the original King Kong on DVD for years, but I can only find it in region 2.
That may be because they've been waiting for the remake to pump up the sales of the original...but why is it available in Europe then?
I also tried to buy a copy of the Japanese film Harakiri from Amazon, but it was only available in region 3.
This film was made in 1962 and there's no remake planned. I'm assuming it's not available in region 1 because they feel sales would not be high enough to justify publishing it here.
If they'd just make classic movies region free, I think worldwide sales would justify putting a lot more out on DVD.
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Apr 06 '05
2:38 pm PDT
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how do change the region code (Reply to this comment)
by amie12
hi i am an Australian and have been looking at buying dvds on e-bay but all the ones i want are from America and we have different region codes so i did a search on whether or not i can do anything about it. i found this site and it was very insiteful but u say how to play them, by changing the code to region #0 but how do u do that? do u open it up and press a button? or is it best left to a professional. im quite machanically minded is there somewhere where i can go which gives steps as to change the codes.
Amie.
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Mar 16 '05
4:47 am PST
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codefreedvd.com (Reply to this comment)
by hacienda
Thanks for the tip on the codefreedvd.com site! :)
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Jan 06 '05
7:41 pm PST
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Great Editorial! (Reply to this comment)
by skyshroud
I found this article while searching Google for the keywords "dvd region encoding computers". I wanted to know if I could play Region 2 DVD's on my laptop or PC since I thought you couldn't on a home stand-alone player.
Was looking for Knight Rider. Found 5 volumes in Region 2 format, but not a single one in Region 1. This really burns me up. I'll be orderin the Region 2 DVD's, and playing them on my computers now.
Also going to attempt a conversion to #0 (or at least #2 temporarily) on my stand-alone player.
Thanks for the information!
Thadius Miller
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Apr 10 '04
2:11 pm PDT
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computer DVD players (Reply to this comment)
by slangevar
"In regards to computer DVD players, there is a bunch of software and notepad files on the net, that will help to make your computer DVD drive read all DVDs. (check the codefreedvd site) "
Thanks for the article. Do you know where I can find out something about the software and notepad files you mention? I can't find anything on computer DVDs on the codefree site.
Thanks!
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Jan 13 '04
10:23 am PST
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Wanna hear something odd? (Reply to this comment)
by Ahab1973
I recently bought a new copy of Superman from my local Wal Mart. Took it home, popped it in the player, wouldn't play. Took it out and looked at it and guess what? Region 3 disc, bought right here in NW Indiana.
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May 26 '01
11:43 pm PDT
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One thing you didn't mention: (Reply to this comment)
by NetDanzr
There is another problem with the regions, one I ran into. Often, DVDs are released just in one region, and nowhere else. For example, the Blade Runner Director's cut was released as an American version, and as a European version, bot being rather different. I was unable to play the European version (which I consider to be better) until I changed the region on my DVD player.
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Sep 21 '00
2:17 pm PDT
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More info on DVD regions (Reply to this comment)
by iann
I would like to reaffirm SirMontego's description of region codes as accurate. However, from my experience with non-region 1 DVDs, I would like to add to his review.
First the discs. There are huge differences between issues in different regions. Usually, the extra features are different, often missing completely. This is a huge problem in region 2. The official explanations often invoke space limitations due to the multiple language tracks, but usually it is down to the complexity of intellectual property rights in so many different countries. In other words, the studios and distributors are too lazy to give good value for money. The price of the discs is difficult to compare due to different taxation levels, but the huge market in region 1 DVDs exported to Europe suggests there is a real difference. Japanese discs also seem to be expensive, but they fare better with the extra features. All of this assumes the disc is even available. Outside region 1, only a few hundred DVD titles are available out of the thousands issued in region 1.
So maybe consumers can live with getting their movies later than the US, maybe the price difference is not so great, maybe most people don't really care that much about the extra features, and maybe the poor consumer is lucky enough to be able to get his fdavourite movie in his market, but he still may be getting fleeced. Many DVDs outside region 1 are not being mixed with Dolby Digital audio. Perhaps, this is laziness again, not wishing to do proper audio mixes in many different languages.
If all this sounds like a bit of a diatribe against region coding, SirMontego said it himself. Region codes are a great thing for studios and a terrible thing for consumers.
Take heart though. Those resourceful foreigners have found many ways around the problem. Region 0 (play anywhere) discs are very rare, but DVD players which can handle DVDs from any region are quite easy to find. Many can be reset through hidden menu configurations. Most of the rest can be modified through their firmware to handle any DVD. Perhaps the best solution, to avoid warranty problems, are external plug-ins which adapt players to read DVDs from any region. One small caveat: just because a player can read a disc from another region doesn't mean your TV will be able to show the picture. Region 2 DVDs will be decoded to a PAL signal and your good-ole US NTSC TV will not make much out of that. On the other hand, most multi-region players will convert NTSC movies to a PAL-60 format which can be shown on PAL TVs.
This is all very complicated, but so long as you stay inside the US you will be fairly safe. We have the best selection of discs, usually with the best content, and quite reasonably priced. The rest of the world is getting a raw deal, but stay home and enjoy the show.
--ian
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Jul 20 '00
3:23 pm PDT
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Excellent review... (Reply to this comment)
by Mordred
...but you left out one bit of information. There are DVD players on the market from a company called Apex who makes regionless players. These probably aren't available in any retail store, but I'm betting you can find them pretty easy over the internet. From what I've heard, those who have them, love them.
Excellent editorial BTW. It gave lots of pertinent information to those people who probably don't know a whole lot about the region issues. For most of us (me included though) it's nothing we have to worry about :)
Keep up the good work.
Mordred
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Jun 01 '00
7:25 am PDT
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Cool (Reply to this comment)
by Dark-Angel
I pretty much knew about the regional encoding thing but it's nice to see you were able to explain far better than I would have been able to. I guess one of the advantage is selling something in the digital format is the increased ability to manipulate how and where it's sold.
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May 31 '00
6:07 pm PDT
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Re: Yes, but not really (Reply to this comment)
by pronoblem
no... I could care less about the tickets, I would have done something about them if I did. The problem is your attitude. Flamer.
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May 28 '00
7:59 am PDT
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Good explanation (Reply to this comment)
by bgrand
Thanks for a well thought-out and informative review. It's unfortunate that the first comment you see is such an obnoxious one, but your review stands out regardless. Thanks again.
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May 01 '00
11:58 pm PDT
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Very Interesting! (Reply to this comment)
by Remind
Who would have thought of that!!!! Very interesting! Thanks for the review!
Zo
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Apr 29 '00
7:37 am PDT
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Yes, but not really (Reply to this comment)
by SirMontego
From what I last heard, the industry has not been using the 7th and 8th region codes. Put simply, you could not get a region #7 reserved disc because there are none out there. I guess this code was made to allow growth in the industry, but as of now, there doesn’t seem to be a purpose for it.
As for the 8th region, I heard that none of the electronic manufactures wanted to make yet another small change in their production process for such a small market. So I think they agreed that cruise ships and airplanes would use DVDs and players from their principle place of port or country of registration. Additionally, movies on airplanes and cruise ships are so old (because of the licensing/public viewing process) that they do not seem to need the regions to enforce the time issue.
I did see the list you presented at http://www.zdnet.com/zdtv/screensavers/ answerstips/story/0,3656,2410817,00.html, but decided to just write about the 0-6 regions because explaining the last two would be confusing. Additionally, I found enough places that gave only the 0-6, so I figured that the last two were not significant.
In all, I have only heard rumors about these two regions so I did not feel it responsible to put it in the review. (the main reason I wrote the review was to answer a few e-mails asking about how the different regions work)
--SirMontego, look for me on battle.net
p.s. does your tone have anything to do with the tickets on your profile?
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Apr 28 '00
12:06 am PDT
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Re: You stupid feces-breath! (Reply to this comment)
by pronoblem
oh... 9 if you include 0: no region
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Apr 27 '00
10:29 pm PDT
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You stupid feces-breath! (Reply to this comment)
by pronoblem
There are 8 regions... and they call you an 'expert'... more like a lame-ass who does not do her research. See below:
There are 8 regions (also called "locales").1: U.S., Canada, U.S. Territories
2: Japan, Europe, South Africa, Middle East (including Egypt)
3: Southeast Asia, East Asia (including Hong Kong)
4: Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, Caribbean
5: Eastern Europe (Former Soviet Union), Indian Subcontinent, Africa (also North Korea, Mongolia)
6: China
7: Reserved
8: Special international venues (airplanes, cruise ships, etc.)
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Apr 27 '00
10:28 pm PDT
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Great! (Reply to this comment)
by Jaywa
Devin-
Hello! This was a great article! I appreciate how informative and thorough it is. Again, great job!
Best,
Jay
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Apr 26 '00
4:50 pm PDT
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