This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the DVD region code article.
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Contents 1 dvd regional encoding hurts creativity 2 Merging with DVD 3 Please Stop Fighting Over Links 4 Factual Error in Map and/or Text 5 why aren't all dvd's region 0? 6 5 times changable 7 Region code map 8 U.S.-release Region 0 players? 9 Merger proposal into DVD-Video 10 Who invented the DVD regional divisions? 11 Neutrality? 12 DVD Regions apply to computers? 13 Appropriateness of links to "hack" sites 14 Possible inaccuracies 15 Region-free DVD players? 16 Another Factual Error in Map and/or Text 17 Expansion 18 External links 19 "Region 0" is NOT "Region ALL" 20 Fair use rationale for Image:DVD Region Codes2.PNG 21 PLEASE HELP, Woman moving back to UK from USA 22 Usual misunderstandings about regional borders 23 release dates 24 add, remove, add, remove, add...... 25 latest changes 26 PAL/NTSC/SECAM 27 Region codes prohibited in Australia and New Zealand? 28 First paragraph 29 Hong Kong 30 Legal issue, but going the other way?

[edit] dvd regional encoding hurts creativity

I spent three years living in Australia. During that time, I fell in love with a number of shows that are absolutely impossible to find in the US-region format. The same goes for English shows, and French shows, and on and on. For instance, how many of you loved the movie Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz? Only just now is Simon Peggs show "Spaced" going to be released on American-Region DVD, but this still ignores his other show, Big Train, which will probably never be released in the American-Region. Region encoding hurts creativity, and while there are a few valid reasons for region-encoding, the detractions far out-weigh the potential benefits of no-region encoding. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.230.195.27 (talk) 07:38, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

See above 'This is not a forum for general discussion about the article's content'. What would you like done to the article? BananaNoodle (talk) 11:06, 27 March 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Merging with DVD

I searched for "dvd region code" and was very happy to find the page "dvd region codes". I don't believe this page should be merged with "dvd." It is a valid topic unto itself.

Same here: I would like the two to stay separate, and this usually encourges more information given on both topics.

- I think it makes perfect sense to have a separate article for DVD region codes. They can be quite a hot topic; a small section under DVD would not do the subject justice.

seprate topics make perfect sense but the dvd page should indlude "see main article"

[edit] Please Stop Fighting Over Links

There seems to be a battle over what links to include or exclude in this article. You're fighting over nothing. The revision history shows the same links being added and removed over and over. Please just put them in and forget about it. Do we really need 50 edits over including 3 links? --Lostinlodos 02:44, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Yes, this is an encyclopedia, and only links appropriate for an encyclopedia should be included. As it is the last half of this article is highly biased and poorly written, full of original research. Ciotog 15:59, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Factual Error in Map and/or Text

There's an error in the fact that the text defines regions 2 as including the baltic nations, but the map shows the baltics (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) in region 5. Is the map wrong or is the text wrong? The text may have intended to say the Balkans (Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro). Can anybody confirm this?

I did not which to make the change to the text, incase the map was incorrect.

Because Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were in the USSR, there is large portion of the population in these countries that speaks Russian as either a first or second language. Therefore, DVDs imported from Russia (region 5) in the Russian language are popular. Now these countries are in the European Union, which is region 2. So, DVDs released in the local languages, as well as those imported from other countries, are in region 2. Therefore, the situation exists in the Baltics where DVDs from two different regions are commonly available. To be honest, I don't know which region DVDs players sold in these countries are meant to play, but I highly doubt that they're set to play both region 2 'and' region 5 DVDs. The best option for those who enjoy watching Russian films in the Baltics is to buy a region-free DVD player. Either that, or buy a region 2 player for your TV, and watch region 5 DVDs on your computer. That said, most Soviet films released on DVD in Russia are released region free, so they'll work on 'any' player, as are older post-Soviet Russian films. Recently, though, I've noticed that newer Russian films are being released as region 5, meaning they won't play on a region 2 (or any other non-region 5) player. --Ericdn (talk) 16:20, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

Yes I just saw that mistake too, and was about to bring it up. I am afraid I do not know whether the Text or the map is wrong, but I know they can't both be right. I think you may be on to something in saying that it is a mistake in the text and it's supposed to say Balkans instead of Baltic, but I have no way of Confirming this. Perhaps someone who knows these things can correct this discrepancy? --Hibernian 04:04, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

I noticed the mistake too. Living in Estonia, I'v seen both 2 and 5 region codes. 5 is only seen on russian related products such as movies with russian translation etc. All products with Estonian or English markings that have region code belong to region 2, but I don't know if this visual observation qualifies as references. I'v also found that major Estonian DVD reseller "DVD maailm" (DVD world) says on there website that: "Eestis on saadaval nii multiregionaalseid kui ka 2 ja 5 regiooni DVD mängijaid" translated to english: "In Estonia both multiregional as well as region 2 and 5 DVD players are available".

http://www.dvd.ee/faq/mis_on_dvd.htm

The question is whether the map should show the baltic countries in both colours (e.g. stripes) or in the colour of R2 or R5 only. I'll refrain from taking a position :-)

I think this would be a good idea. I think the "official" region of the Baltics is region 2 because these countries are in the EU, but region 5 DVDs from Russia, because of the large Russian speaking population, are very popular. That said, most (but certainly not all) Russian films are released region free, especially Soviet films on DVD. Recent Russian films, however, are generally released now as region 5. --Ericdn (talk) 16:20, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

Presumably there are other countries where DVDs of two neighbouring regions are commonly watched?

User Abut 20:25, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Could someone paint Baltic States on the map to stripes.

i am confused about india, the map shows region 5 but in text region 2 says india. moreover, region 5 says indian subcontinet, which always include india. thanks to anyone who might correct the region. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.113.78.60 (talk) 18:51, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] why aren't all dvd's region 0?

why aren't all dvd's region 0?

Greed -- ProveIt ^(talk) 23:30, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

Indeed. Let's say a movie is released in the US one year, and then the movie company decides they want to release it in Europe the next year at the same time as the American DVD release. Region encoding theoretically keeps people in Europe from importing an American DVD and forces them to go see it in a theater. It also allows price differentials between markets, so you could sell a movie for dirt cheap in an emerging market but prevent people in more wealthy markets from importing the cheap movies. TomTheHand 19:54, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

It's quite stupid! If I were to go to America, buy a book, and bring it back home with me to Russia, then I'll still be able to read it. However, if I buy an American DVD, it would be useless if I tried to play it in a DVD player sold in Russia because of the regional lockout: America is region 1, Russia is region 5. That said, I have a region-free DVD player, so this situation doesn't apply to me. :)

---

Hi TomTheHand, I hear you when you said this about the different releases countries, because the business with theaters and movie rent stores, but what if I'm from France (Which is DVD Region 2), but I went on holidays to the USA (Which is Region 1) and buy legally a DVD movie or maybe not just 1, lets say 10 DVD movies Region 1, or even worst, I didn't go over ther I just bought all of them on Internet to a legal reseller like Amazon.com and all of them came in Region 1. I'm paying all the taxes and for sure not contributing to the piracy, so why would I be kept from change only 5 times the DVD Region Code? I think they should try and find some other way to avoid the people from seeing DVDs from different regions, because as I said I'm not doing anything illegal, actually I don't find the sense of the Region Codes, with the purpose they wanted to give.

--Mariano.groizard 13:44, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

Because the retailer may want to sell the DVD at a much higher price in the EU market and without regional coding to prevent you simply buying the cheaper American or more likely Chinese copy they would have no means to control your purchasing ability. They have a monopoly on the media content so there is no risk of you simply going elsewhere. Additionally with the broken DVD/Cinema release schedules the producer will need to prevent you from buying an American DVD before they show the film in the EU cinemas or their sales/box office tickets will suffer. In fact in this instance regional coding helps piracy as the only source of the DVD will be the pirated version for many markets.

Why they simply dont release the film around the world at once... well who can say.

Grand Moff Tanner (talk) 11:56, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

---

I disagree that region coding was introduced as an anti-piracy measure. It was - and still is - used as a method of restricting access to titles in certain countries, until the copyright owners are good and ready to sell it there. Presumably this is related to selling territories to authorised distributors. But a huge problem arises if no distributor is interested in selling to a particular country.

Are people from such countries supposed to be forever denied buying a legally available movie ? Despite the movie industry's semi-plausible explanations about controlled territorial releases, the bottom line is "Should we send consumers to jail for importing a legitimate DVD from Amazon ?". If the answer is "no", then there is no reason for region-coding to exist. DVD players already have anti-piracy (ie anti-copying) measures built-in, and it is illegal to circumvent them.

Australian consumers have long rebelled against the region coding system, and unlock sequences are freely available for most DVD players sold here.

220.235.89.162 02:07, 12 January 2007 (UTC) Darren Robinson moviesearch.com.au

As I've said time and again; it's about the M O N E Y !!! Another thing to keep in mind is that Many American/Canadian/UK films are released on DVD (and now BD and CH-DVD)in East Asia (China and Korea the most) the same time they are in theatres in their primary countries, for a fraction of the price, coded region 3/6 most often. It happens from time to time in Russia as well. So, technically it's an anti-piracy measure in that they are releasing these films in heavy-pirate locations coded for those locations, at FAR less cost than they are in their native countries (both for the disc price and even the theatre price), in order to give people in those countries a viable option to purchase the items rather than download/buy bootlegs. This was quoted (and referenced) in this or another DVD article. Lostinlodos (talk) 17:15, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

An aside, 222.235.89.162 --> "and it is illegal to circumvent them." This is true only in some countries, the minority of countries at that. Lostinlodos (talk) 17:15, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

---

I agree. The argument that distribution is based on the "wealth" of consumers is void - we in Australia are not wealthier than those in the US by any measure and yet we pay more for DVDs (as well as games, books, CD's, cute little import gashapon and anything else you care to think of). I strongly encourage all those in countries where goods are either too expensive or go unreleased to continue to import - it'll only reinforce the positive trend that Sony (never thought I'd say that about Sony of all companies) has taken in making Playstation 3 titles region free and giving publishers the option to release their Blu-ray titles without region protection —Preceding unsigned comment added by 120.17.21.127 (talk) 14:39, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

[edit] 5 times changable

Software DVD players permit to change the computer DVD drive's region code up to 5 times. Can someone comment on this "feature"? --Abdull 19:22, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

DVD Copy Control Association discusses on this a little bit. --Abdull 19:27, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

i live in australia, so techinicaly i should be able to change it as many times as i want (although, i should not have to change it at all), but it says that i only have five times that i can change it. is there anywhere that i can go to that will help me to rectify this? --Alphamone 06:31, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Region code map

Why are the Baltic countries listed as R5 in the map while they are listed as R2 in the table? -- 88.112.176.223 11:31, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
See discussion above. User Abut 20:25, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] U.S.-release Region 0 players?

The article says that some recent players are Region 0 with no modifications. Apparently my Magnavox MDV456 isn't quite recent enough. Can anybody provide a list of recent DVD players commonly available in stores like Target or Best Buy that either have no regional locking or known unlock codes?--Tenka Muteki 00:42, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

For the most part, you're hard pressed to find them at BestBuy or Target. You can find them at Tweeter or other speciality shops, and Radio Shack has 2 the last time I went in to one. There's some kind of MPAA agreement that keeps them out of most places that also sell DVDs. I have no idea what it entails though. --Lostinlodos 03:38, 10 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Merger proposal into DVD-Video

I'm adding a merger proposal tag to this article. Since DVD-Video was recently split off from DVD itself, I think this article should go in it. That is assuming these region codes are only relevant on DVD-Videos and not on something else, but that is how I read it from the first paragraph of this article.

Each DVD-Video disc contains one or more region codes, denoting the area[s] of the world in which distribution and playback are intended.

If this is not the case, say it here and the tag will go away. -- Sirius81 | Talk 16:42, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

I don't think this should be merged. I got here by searching for "region code" and was happy to have only this page to look at. --Pharillon 18:54, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

I agree, I also wanted solely information on 'region code' and believe that searching through excessively long articles is contrary to easily finding only the desired information. Thanks : )

It wouldn't gain anything to remerge with the DVD article, and it would make the main article harder to read. Definitely a separate topic. Haikupoet 00:34, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

strong disagree There's no reason to put it back into an already length article. There's more than enough information regarding this topic to warrant it's own article. // 3R1C 21:42, 13 December 2006 (UTC) (( man, i should read over my comments first )).

Personally I think the two articles should be merged. Yeah, when I stumbled across the article i was looking for DVD region information but I also think that if someone just wanted some background info and history on the DVD, DVD regions are a big part of that and should be seen in the original DVD article. guest 3 January 2006 —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 70.54.94.33 (talk) 19:23, 3 January 2007 (UTC).

strong disagree region locks are alo used for other content dan video; games for example.

Separate. As a page of reference material addressing a single issue that readers might specifically want to look up, it's helpful to have the region page separate from the main DVD article.

As long as the articles are bidirectionally linked (which they are), those interested will find their way from one to the other.

-- Abut 20:25, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

Seperate. I was simply searching for information on regional codes. I agree that so long as the pages are linked, people will find their way to the regional code information if they require it. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 142.167.44.153 (talk) 19:35, 29 January 2007 (UTC).

I believe general consensus for removing the merge tag has been demmonstrated, so I've gone ahead and done so. Whitejay²⁵¹ 07:08, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Who invented the DVD regional divisions?

I am wondering who invented the DVD regional divisions that are unlikely to change. Today's EU zone has two different zones, 2 and 5.--Jusjih 09:56, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

What do you mean by that? The EU or Europe? All of Europe is Region 2. And all of the member states of the EU are also Region 2. But due to the large Russian minorities in the Baltic countries these three EU members also have Region 5 for sale. It's about proximity and minorities and the power struggle between the Baltic states and Russia (see the Estonian riots of 2007). Also all of the potential members of the EU are also Region 2. Though Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, Turkey are unlikely candidates to join even in the future.AndersH 16:36, 1 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Neutrality?

This article seems to be written primarily from a pov of resentment towards or opposition to region coding. A bit of the downsides are presented, but there's almost no discussion of why the coding scheme was invented, implemented, or is maintained today. I'm aware that (especially in the computer-savvy community) the prevailing opinion is against DVD region codes, but the fact that the codes exist is to me evidence that a significant number of organizations or individuals want(ed) them. Perhaps someone with a business or economics background, or someone from the film industry, can shed more light on the subject of why. Vid the Kid (t/c) Does this font make me look fat? 06:05, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

The only reason, officially given, was to protect investment in technology, in simpler terms, MONEY. For the most part, the only three countries that do maintain them to any degree today are USA, Australia, and England/UK. I've found most of what I buy in Europe and Asia (which is 99% of my movie purchases) are region 0 or region ALL. Also an interesting note; movies originally released on region-free media initially such as Ju-on, that then get an American distributor, suddenly become region-2/3/6 movies for future distribution runs. --Lostinlodos 03:48, 10 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] DVD Regions apply to computers?

Does anyone know if DVD regions apply to computers? If anyone does know, I think it should be included in the article.

--SaraFL 14:16, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

They apply to DVD movies, but not DVD-ROMS.69.216.143.46 05:06, 24 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Appropriateness of links to "hack" sites

I don't believe links to sites about dvd player hacks to defeat region coding are proper for an encyclopedia. Rather than continually removing links as they come up, I think it would be better to discuss the matter here, so we can come up with a consensus regarding the matter. Please add your comments below. Ciotog 14:29, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

Nope they are not, regardless of their legal status. However if there's a good source on those sites I have no problem with a link. L3TUC3 14:25, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

I bought a MATSUY 225 DVD player in England 18 months ago. I was given at the store a print of with instructions on how to set it REGION free (zero) so that I could play any dvd. It worked for a awhile and now it is not working. This is what happens.

 Problems with Matsui dvd 225? 

But now it is refusing to recognise any discs and when I try to re-enter code and enter region ) again , it says "Region Full" and will says " No valid disc" no matter what I put into it. Whats the solution here ? OS: I still have the instructions that was given to me at store.

Alba (April 2007)

You're describing an end-user problem with your dvd-player. This is not what the Wikipedia discussion pages are for. See Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not. You should try calling the support number found in your manual. L3TUC3 14:25, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

It would seem to me that a link to the wikipedia article DVD43 would be appropriate, in as much as if it's a legitimate wikipedia article, then it's relevant to this article too. Grj23 (talk) 10:05, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

I tried putting a link to the wikipedia page for DVD43 in, but it was removed. Could whoever did so please also put a rationale for this? Thanks Grj23 (talk) 18:34, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

I think it's pretty obvious - no particular piece of software warrants mention over any other, unless for instance it's the only one that performs a particular task. Especially when the link to the article about the specific software title is cloaked. Ciotog (talk) 02:47, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Possible inaccuracies

"DVDs that include Spanish in them use both 1 and 4 codes." I have a number of specifically region 2 DVDs that include a Spanish-language soundtrack. So the statement as it stands appears to be false - perhaps it is referring to DVDs sold in North America, or to DVDs that have Spanish as the only available soundtrack? (Although I have region 2 DVDs with Spanish as the only available soundtrack, plus optional English subtitles, or, in another case, burnt-in French subtitles.) The article says, "Even DVDs of UK produced television programmes are released in the US coded as Region 1 and in the rest of the world coded as regions 2–5 (Region 6 was always omitted due to fears of mass piracy in China)." Presumably this is referring only to some DVDs of UK TV programmes rather to all such? I have a number of BBC DVDs that are coded region 2+4. At least that is what it says on their packaging, I haven't verified it. -86.146.46.45 06:42, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

region 2+4 is done because it is easier to have the same disc with only minor differences released in both australia and the UK at almost the same time if the region code doesnt need to be changed. the biggest changes that I think that happen are the changes to the packaging to include the ABC logo on the australian release to show that they are doing the australian distibution.

"For example, in Australia every DVD-playing unit, excluding PC devices, is shipped modified with a region-free chip installed." I am fairly sure this is not correct either. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.170.127.249 (talk) 05:52, 8 September 2007 (UTC)

I understood this *was* the case in Australia due to legal requirements over there. SanderDolphin (talk) 08:23, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Region-free DVD players?

The article doesn't explain why the manufacturers of DVD plyers and DVD-ROM drives buy into this whole thing. Wouldn't any manufacturer who decides to market a region-free player, capable of playing discs from any region, be rewarded with increased sales? - Brian Kendig 12:45, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

To the best of my knowledge, this is actually the case. Here in Norway, it is eminently easy to get one's hands on a region-free DVD player or one with settings which can be changed. From what I hear (hear, mind you, I am not an expert), it is actually pretty common for DVD players to be either region-free or capable of having their settings changed. It is just that this is, for obvious reasons, practically never mentioed by the manufacturer. - —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.159.205.102 (talk • contribs)

"For obvious reasons"? Hardly obvious - why wouldn't a manufacturer prominently advertise that its DVD players can play discs from any region? - Brian Kendig 03:38, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

I heard that such a manufacturer couldn't sell these players under the DVD logo. But I wonder if this would really be such a big problem. 0xFFFF 12:41, 28 July 2007 (UTC)

I'd imagine is that the big electronic companies (most region free DVD players are from smaller manufacturers) are connected quite heavily to the film industry that is served by region codes. Also they can increase their sales by forcing people to buy new DVD players when they move region. (**end tin foil hat mode**) Grand Moff Tanner (talk) 12:03, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

They don't need to buy new DVD players when they move region, only when they want to play DVDs from the new region. (OK, so there's also the question of TV format compatibility, but that's independent of DVD region codes.) -- Smjg (talk) 15:01, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

Moreover, multi-region DVD players are always going to be of interest to anybody who has collected DVDs from around the world. I doubt many would pay to clutter their living rooms with six DVD players to play them all, so what you suggest is probably a false economy. -- Smjg (talk) 15:06, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

Player manufacturers have to license the DVD technology needed to make the player, and as part of that license agreement they have to implement region coding. However for player manufacturers it is typically more economical to produce one model of player that can be sold world wide. This means they often put in ways to change the player region without modifying the hardware. Resellers, users, and repairers are not bound by the DVD license agreement, so don't have to enforce region coding. In countries like Australia and New Zealand where region codes have no legal protection, it is not uncommon for the resellers to either configure the players to be region free themselves, or get a repairer to do it. Glenn Anderson (talk) 00:13, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Another Factual Error in Map and/or Text

On the map, the 3 (ex-Soviet) countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are colored orange and identified as "region 2". Yet in the text only Georgia is mentioned as being "region 2" and that the Former Soviet Union uses "region 5".

In other words, according to the map, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia use "region 2", but the text implies that only Georgia uses "region 2" and that Armenia and Azerbaijan use "region 5" with the rest of the Former Soviet Union. So if the text is correct, someone needs to write "Former Soviet Union (excluding Georgia)" under "region 5" and the map needs to be fixed. If the map is correct simply add Armenia and Azerbaijan to the list of "region 2" countries and exclude them from the rest of the Former Soviet Union countries in "region 5".--Waterfall999 10:44, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Expansion

Someone who knows more about the technical details of this stuff should look it over. These might be useful as "further information" links:
http://web.archive.org/web/20050320091202/xvi.rpc1.org/rpc1regions.html
http://forum.rpc1.org/viewtopic.php?t=239
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=114021
124.148.64.56 14:07, 23 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] External links

Any links added must comply with the external links guidelines, ie they should contain information beyond what the article would contain if it became a featured article. None of the recent additions comply. Kevin 08:43, 7 September 2007 (UTC)

Agreed, but don't you think they do include extra information? For example, the first site contains lists of DVD players that are compatible with RCE, while the second lists all known DVDs protected with RCE. I'm not a big fan of external links, especially on articles like this - they tend to turn into dumping grounds - but I think these pages contain useful information that we couldn't/wouldn't/shouldn't duplicate.

As an aside, I didn't add them - I readded them. Looking through the history, I see three categories of links:

1. sites with lists of "unlock" codes
2. sites with extra information on DVD region codes in general
3. sites with in-depth information about RCE

I think that with the constant edits to the external links section (which I've been a part of too), we should decide which ones should be included in the article (or whether there should be any at all) here first. To this end, I've listed all the external links ever added below (within reason), grouped into categories, with some comments on each one.

1. "Unlock" codes
   As a general note, I favour one or two links to the biggest or major sites that have these. This is because actually attempting to unlock players is what seems to make people look this topic up. However, there has been a tendancy to have links to minor sites that charge for this information (i.e. information freely available elsewhere). Thus, I am beginning to think that maybe we should have none and so do away with the problem. Not my preferred route though.
   • videohelp.com/dvdhacks – a major site. Is recommended in Doom9's forums. I added this one, and removed several "copycats"; however, it was eventually removed and replaced with the site below. If we chose one, this would be my pick.
   • dvdhacks.co.uk – seems sort of thorough and non-commercial. Not as comprehensive as videohelp though. Passes Google test.
   • DVDexploder.com – pay-for site that leads round in circles. Refuses to provide any justification when confronted with WP:SPAM. Terminate with extreme prejudice.
2. General explanation sites
   • www.dvdexplained.co.uk – I removed this one as all its information is already in either this article or DVD.
   • www.hometheaterinfo.com/dvd3.htm – all information on this page is in our article. However, it is the entry point into this site's RCE-related stuff - which we don't have (ATM) and might never have (list of RCE players, for example).
3. RCE-specific
   • dvdtalk.com/rce.html – highly detailed page on everything RCE. IMHO, we could do away with hometheaterinfo and feature this. At any rate, I think at least one of them should feature.

So, which should we have (if any)? 124.148.75.247 13:30, 7 September 2007 (UTC)

I used to be more forceful about removing links, but I think it's important to compromise and the three that were left seemed to satisfy most people from both camps (or perhaps those adding the "hack" sites just got tired of having them removed). I think the videohelp.com and dvdhacks.co.uk sites have little value outside of hacking, so don't pass WP:EL guidelines. the dvdexploder site has more general info, but I never navigated far enough into it to see that it's a commercial site. At any rate I don't think wikipedia is the place to go if you want help hacking your dvd player, any more than it's the place to go for recipes or video game cheat codes (which are arguably more encyclopedic). Ciotog 03:19, 8 September 2007 (UTC)

Leaving those two links in sounds good to me (though maybe with a better description). As for hack sites, my reasoning went something like this: since the sole purpose of region codes is to prevent DVDs playing in certain areas of the world, everyone's interest in them (apart from the movie studio's) centers around nullifying them. I saw that as relevant content that we certainly couldn't include in Wikipedia. Much like our articles on various digital rights management solutions (example: Windows Media DRM) link to one or two of the main "DRM circumvention" sites, I thought that here too it might be appropiate.

I just had another look through DVDexploder. It contains no information relevant to this article except 1) a brief description of what region codes are, and 2) a list and map of the regions. We already have this information in the article (in far greater depth). The rest of the site is dedicated to selling a subscription to these codes. I think we can do without that. 124.148.75.247 02:10, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

OK, so based on what's been said here, I'm adding the two links (hometheaterinfo.com/dvd3.htm and dvdtalk.com/rce.html) that nobody objects to. I still think we should link to a DVD code site, but due to the amount of spam, I'll leave it out (for now anyway). If anyone disagrees, please post here. 124.148.48.20 00:34, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

I've just re-added DVDExploder to the links section. I think it 'is' a valid contribution. After all, it refers to why it's in the DVD manufacturers' better interest to create a barrier of protection. It also gives a map and some history. Yes, it's a subscription site, but it 'does' have free downloads and usable content - ie. www.dvdexploder.com/multihacks. Nothing wrong with it in my opinion. Terminate with extreme predudice? Too harsh. I mean, check out alldvdcodes.com which keeps popping up and compare the two. We might want to think about this. (Please note - the free page successfully unlocked my player so I'm a bit biased, in that I'm happy with the content) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dvdwikiguide (talk • contribs) 18:40, 19 July 2009 (UTC)

[edit] "Region 0" is NOT "Region ALL"

I know that there are common misconceptions regarding the use of these two unofficial terms; however anyone who has ever used a "Region 0" player or software such as Any DVD could point that out to you quickly. A "Region 0" disc is locked to "Region 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6" where as a "Region ALL" disc will show either "Locked to Region 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, " or "Media is not locked to Region: !". There is NO deviation from that in terms of media released. The two terms are commonly confused but there are differences. Lostinlodos (talk) 06:54, 17 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:DVD Region Codes2.PNG

Image:DVD Region Codes2.PNG is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 06:47, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

RobNYC54 (talk) 20:08, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

Not that it could respond; but... Bad bot, bad! :) Lostinlodos (talk) 13:11, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

[edit] PLEASE HELP, Woman moving back to UK from USA

Hi I am Lorna, I am currently in the process of moving back to England from USA after 18 yrs. When I came here CD's had started to hit the market. I am now worried as I have a DVD collection of 500/1000 movies & numerous still on VHS. Is there anyone out there who can help, I need to know if my DVDs will play in UK, do I need to buy a special DVD player. It is confusing with the different regions and NTSC/PAL etc. I know a little about electronics but this is really confusing me. I know VHS do not work, but unsure as to everything else. DVD's, CD's, Computer Games/Jpeg's & other files, Flash Drives, also Games for the WII, X-BOX 360, Playstation 2 (Black Slim kind), Game Cube, Nintendo DS System & Games and my daughters I-pod Apple 30 GB. PLEASE HELP, I have had to sell everything to start over again but there are some things I really do not want to have to let go, I would never be able to buy these all over again. 1. I need to know if my movies will play on a British DVD player, and/or if I should buy a particular brand, or where to find the codes I have read about? 2. If I was to record my VHS tapes to DVD is there a particular DVD Disc I should use, so that it will play in the UK? 3. Also will my computers discs work on UK computers, ex: games, files etc. Are all computers worldwide basically the same as far as software? 4. I also have a flash drive to download some of my files that I must take with me, will this be compatible with UK computers, if yes, is there a particular one I should use, if no, do you have any suggestions? 5. I have games approx. 50 games for WII, Playstation 2 and 1, Game Cube all of which I want to keep, are these compatible with British Game Systems? Is there any alternatives if none of these are compatible? I have a great collection and do not want to loose them, I will sell just about everything except these above things. Our voltage in England is different fom USA and it would mean buying a dual TV/DVD and transformers just to be able to play any of these. It would be much simpler if they were compatible, I have done some research and it seems that some may work, my DVD player in USA plays just about any disc, but I am worried that I will take all these home to find out they don't work. The games too, which I have got complete sets and have saved over a number of yrs., I really am hoping that the Game Systems are already set up to play them. CAN someone please help? Would I be better off taking the Game Systems home too, and getting the dual electronics and transformers or will they play. I know I have asked a lot of questions but I have been through so many pages on the computer and I feel even more lost than before. Or if this is too much to answer could you please just point me in the right direction to get the answers I need. Thankyou Sincerely Lorna —Preceding unsigned comment added by [[User:Britwit@bellsouth.net (talk • contribs) 21:24, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

Ipods can be used anywhere in the world, they aren't zoned like games (except Nintendo DS) and DVD's, but you should check the power supply to see if it takes only 110 (USA) or is compatible with 240 volts. (UK) If not, you will have to buy a power supply. Or you could decide to sell it and buy one in the UK, but consumer electronics are much more expensive in the UK, they sometimes cost twice the US price, so it might be more reasonable cost wise to just buy a converter, if you need one.

1) DVD's unfortunately are region coded, the US is in region 1 while the UK is in region 2. The simplest solution is simply to buy a new DVD player that is region free, they are now very easy to buy and quite cheap in Europe. In doubt, you can ask the shopkeeper to tell you iftheir players are region-free or not, sometimes it is not written on the box, but the manufacturer includes a special code you have to input and which transforms the player into a region-free one. Unless your current player is region free I recommend you buy a new one in the UK.

Here's a website with a list of codes to unlock DVD players: http://www.dvdcodes.net You can check after you've seen a player in a store to see if it's unlockable or not.

CD's are not region coded though.

2) If you want to play VHS' in the UK, I know there are special VCR's that can play both european and US tapes but they are not very common and might be expensive, I don't know much more. However, if you want to record your tapes on DVD's, I think any blank DVD's sold in the US will work, I haven't heard that blank DVD's are zoned.

3) There should be no problem with computer video games,Jpegs,other files and flash drives, and yes computers are the same worldwide as far a software.

4) Yes.

5)-games on the Nintendo DS are region free so you will be able to play US bought games on a DS from the UK and likewise. -the same for computer games -Wii, Xbox360, PS2 and GameCube are unfortunately region coded (like DVD's) so US games are only playable on US consoles but there are workarounds: 1) bring your US game systems to the UK and use a voltage converter 2) buy UK versions of your consoles and have them modded, there are chips which can be installed that makes your system region-free, this may be the best solution because it will also allow you to buy games in the UK and play them, while if you keep your US consoles, if you want to buy more games, they will have to be US versions, also you don't have to buy converters. You should Google chip + the name of the console. You can also decide to keep your US consoles and have them modded and use them with converters.

But no matter which choice you make, I suggest you read these links: http://www.ntsc-uk.com/tech.php?tech=ImportHardwareFAQ http://www.ntsc-uk.com/tech.php?tech=SoftwareFAQ http://www.ntsc-uk.com/tech.php?tech=HowToPlayImportedGames

As for TV, you can simply buy a new one in the UK, but it should be able to display 60hz pictures (in the past most TV's in the UK could only display 50hz), if not it won't display any American DVD's or games.

RobNYC54 (talk) 20:08, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

You're going to be better off getting information for DVDs from a less, restricted site such as http://www.videohelp.com which is allowed to (or doesn't care about) tell you more details about how to bridge the region code on a DVD as well as the PAL/NTSC issue. It includes a full lists of DVD player codes, software for computers, compatibility and also has a listing of formats supported. At the least worth a look. On the left side of the page you have DVD Players, DVD %&codes%& and a Tools link as well. Lostinlodos (talk) 13:27, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

VHS is a no-brainer compared to DVD. Most European VCRs - those sold since the late 90s, at least - are able to play both PAL and NTSC tapes, though most can only record in the PAL format. 217.155.20.163 (talk) 17:46, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

This is something that also upsets me. I use to be in the military and had the other problem. Buying DVDs and then bringing them back here. I bought a DVD player in Germany and when I got home and started buying DVD here they will not play. I think it is just a way for the big company's to get us to pay out the nose for everything and then for people who are in the Military or Businesses who have offices around the world they say, "Lets make them pay every time their bosses move them. It's nor their faults but then how else can we get rich and make them pay for the same movie with out coming up with new technology!"

This is not a site for discussing the topic, rather discussing the article. What would you like added or removed to/from the article?!BananaNoodle (talk) 11:12, 27 March 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Usual misunderstandings about regional borders

Hi, There are a number of misunderstandings about the regional DVD borders. This is due to inaccurate RCE map (that fills the screen on RCE discs), reunification of certain territories and the general lack of geographical knowledge.

Misunderstandings concerning region... 1 - which are USA, Canada and US territories (all 5 of them) are that also territories such as Bermuda, Cayman Islands, St. Pierre and Miquelon and the three ex-USA territories in mid-Pacific that got independence in 1994 (can't remember their name right now)are included. I CAN'T FIND ANY EVIDENCE OF THAT. I own over 30 Region 1 DVDs, and only USA, Canada and US territories are mentioned on them. None of the other territories. This must prove as some sort of evidence. I belive the reason for the misunderstanding to be inaccurately sea borders drawn on the region maps, making people wrongly believe that more territories are included in Region 1. 2 - which is Europe (except territories of former Soviet Union), Greenland, Middle East, South African Republic, Lesotho, Swaziland and Japan and all it's islands. Also included are all french territories around the world as they have no local autonomy at all and therby count as french soil —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.209.86.36 (talk) 16:12, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

I'd hazard a guess that you bought them in the USA/Canada. If you went to somewhere other than where you bought them and got that countries version, it would list that country. The region code is different than the licensing agreement. Region codes are broken into general blocks. The disc will play on any player that is authorized to play that code (in the player's software). The "only for use" type messages placed on the backs of DVDs are licensing agreements. That is where that version is allowed to be sold/used according to the originating country's licensing agreements. Lostinlodos (talk) 17:37, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] release dates

why doesn't the movie industry release movies across the world at the same time? Wesgarner (talk) 19:30, 1 September 2008 (UTC)

[edit] add, remove, add, remove, add......

I'm not even going to stay on top of this anymore. It's just to much fighting over the constant add/removal of the same countries over and over. Give it up, or lets start a debate thread, but really, how many times are we going to change this page for ONE country. Lostinlodos (talk) 22:53, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Welcome to the lofty standards of Wikipedia... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 202.63.240.9 (talk) 07:38, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] latest changes

Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Bahrain, UAE, Oman, Israel, are all part of Western Asia (and in some circles Europe). Lostinlodos (talk) 16:19, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

[edit] PAL/NTSC/SECAM

This section contains a lot of inaccurate info. (For instance, DVDs are still coded PAL or NTSC.) Section needs a complete rewrite. --Janke | Talk 08:30, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

• I see that this section was deleted entirely on January 24, 2009, but it may help the reader to have some mention in this article of the difference between DVD region codes and PAL, SECAM, and NTSC video. For example, an American tourist in Europe may wonder if Region 2 (European) DVDs will play on his NTSC TV set back home. Clarifying this for the non-technical person would be desirable.  JGHowes  ^talk 02:22, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Region codes prohibited in Australia and New Zealand?

As far as I can find, region codes are not yet prohibited by law in Australia or New Zealand, at this point they simply have no legal protection. While this means it is legal to sell region free players, and to modify players and drives to make them region free, manufacturers are not yet being forced to sell region free players and drives. There is no special Australia or New Zealand RPC-1 firmware available for computer DVD drives. Glenn Anderson (talk) 00:45, 14 August 2009 (UTC)

I'm an Australian who's been living in Region 2 countries for the last 6 years, so it's good to know that my vast collection of DVDs will work when I get home. But if I was to walk into the Apple Store in Sydney and buy a new MacBook, are you saying that it would be hardcoded to Region 4? 80.4.202.8 (talk) 00:51, 20 September 2009 (UTC)

I can't speak for New Zealand, but Glenn is exactly right when it comes to Australia. While it's not illegal to defeat region coding if you can work out how, there is no immediate prospect of region-locked players becoming illegal—despite a preference indicated by the then-ACCC chairman in 2001, which has no legal effect. And to the above, your MacBook will not have its region set but will require you to select a region when you go to play your first DVD, and will only allow you to change the region 5 times. This counter can't be reset with most of the drives sold in new MacBooks (which tend to be RPC2). Matt Rubinstein (talk) 21:30, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

I live in Australia and have been told by retailers when purchasing on more than one occasion that there was a federal court case which set the precedent of requiring any DVD player sold in Australia to be either region free, or be able to be unlocked via some simple mechanism. E.g. by pressing a sequence of buttons on the remote. However, I am unable to find a reference for this case. Related to this -- if it is indeed true about the legal requirement for region unlock, why can't the same precedent apply to video game consoles such as the Xbox 360 and PS3? 118.209.183.194 (talk) 06:35, 25 November 2009 (UTC)

Try court case perhaps? —Aladdin Sane (talk) 05:39, 13 December 2009 (UTC)

[edit] First paragraph

I think this line should be removed:

Also, major DVD player manufacturer countries (Japan, United States etc.) all have different regions, which caused problems for many. This is fixed in Blu-ray, as Japan (and other East Asian countries) and the Americas all have the same region.

I wasn't aware the United States was a major DVD player manufacturer country, nor do I see why this is relevant to the region allocation.

Also, the Blu-Ray regions are clearly "broken" from a Europe-Japan perspective, not "fixed", as Japan was the same region as Europe for DVD but is now a different region for Blu-Ray. This creates a big problem for people in Europe wanting to import Japanese media and vice versa, that they didn't previously have with DVD, and if anything it just illustrates how arbitrary and ridiculous the whole thing is. 217.155.20.163 (talk) 17:41, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Indeed. Thanks to your clear explanation, I've had a go at rewriting the original section to remove viewpoint ('fixed' is gone). It's still a bit unwieldy though so please feel free to refine. 80.4.202.8 (talk) 00:36, 24 September 2009 (UTC)

I think we're getting there; any thoughts on my changes?Lostinlodos (talk) 16:28, 27 September 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Hong Kong

As a Hong Kong resident, I cannot find any conclusive evidence to suggest that Hong Kong supports DVD region 3 (Hong Kong) and region 6 (Mainland China). DVDs in Hong Kong are either region 3 or region free. There is a reason why Hong Kong and China have different regions, partially due to China's strict laws regarding certain film - Blu-ray region codes also are different for Hong Kong and China respectively. The Chinese Wikipedia article for DVD region code also lists "China" exclusively as region 6, with "Hong Kong" as part of region 3 only. When you look up DVD region codes on search engines, no website that I found lists Hong Kong as part of region 6. Crescent8 (talk) 11:33, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Legal issue, but going the other way?

The article has a section about region codes being potentially illegal. But I'm wondering about the other way: at least one place I found claims that "By international copyright law, DVD players can be sold set only for the region in which they are to be used." Is there any truth to this? It sounds suspicious to me -- and it's certainly not hard to find region-free players, even from big-name merchants. Is there, in any jurisdiction, a legal requirement for players to be region-coded? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.16.40.113 (talk) 07:50, 20 December 2009 (UTC)

Welp, when I hire a lawyer, remind me not to hire one from NAD. —Aladdin Sane (talk) 09:05, 20 December 2009 (UTC)