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tericee
Alien Abductee
USA
2579 Posts |
 Posted - 01/03/2003 : 4:20:56 PM
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Since we got way off topic in the Once Were Warriors thread, I thought I'd post an interesting article here and see if discussion ensues...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/sci_tech/2000/dot_life/2197548.stm
By Paul Rubens
Hollywood fixed the DVD market so films could only be played in the region they were purchased. But viewers got round it with "cheat codes" and now the system is on the verge of collapse.
American film studios are rapidly learning what computer software makers found out long ago: people will always find a way to get around almost any systems put in place to restrict the copying or distributing of digital products.
Digital Versatile Discs (DVDs) can store digital copies of films, and a great deal of time and money has been spent trying to devise a way to ensure their use can be controlled. A key part of this is the Region Coding system, which is designed to stop European film buffs buying DVDs in America.
This is now on the point of being abandoned because so many DVD manufacturers have deliberately undermined the system.
The attraction of buying DVDs on the other side of the Atlantic is clear: not only are they usually considerably cheaper, but more importantly films are available on DVD in America up to a year before they appear on disc in Europe, and often before they have even been released in the cinema here.
The Region Coding system works by dividing the world into six regions, with the United States in Region One and the UK in Region Two. DVD players sold in any region can only play DVDs from the same region, so a film bought on DVD in the USA (Region One) won't play on a DVD player bought in the UK (Region Two).
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Guide: The world in DVD regions
Region One: US, Canada
Region Two: Europe, Japan, South Africa, Middle East
Region Three: Southeast Asia, East Asia
Region Four: Australia, New Zealand, Central and South America
Region Five: Eastern Europe, Indian subcontinent, Africa
Region Six: China
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That's the theory anyway. But many DVD player manufacturers have borrowed the concept of "cheat codes" from the video games industry to enable retailers or buyers to alter their machines to play DVDs from any region, rendering Region Coding completely ineffective.
DVD manufacturers' cheat codes are made up of combinations of button presses on the machine's remote control. When entered correctly, users are presented with a "secret" menu inviting them to reset the DVD player to "multi-region" - to play discs from all regions.
How are these cheat codes distributed? Although the manufacturers don't print them in their instruction manuals, they are made available directly or indirectly to retailers who often include the cheat codes on a photocopied slip of paper in the packaging, or publish them on the Internet.
Endre Lock, UK sales manager of CyberHome, a German company selling DVD players which can easily be turned into multi-region players, says the firm does not officially acknowledge its players are multi-region for legal reasons.
"We don't ship them as multi-region any more because we got into trouble. When you buy one of our DVD players now it is set to the right region for the country it is sold in," he says.
"If you find codes to make it multi-regional then good luck to you - it's not our responsibility. You can find codes for more or less all brands of DVD player including ours."
When asked where codes for CyberHome products can be found he cited a website where they are available.
CyberHome is by no means unusual - the evidence is that the sale of multi-region-capable DVD players in the UK is extremely widespread, according to Graham Sharpless, a member of the UK DVD Committee, a trade association for the video publishing industry within the UK.
"In practice, most if not all DVD players sold in the UK can be made to play discs from other regions and many, perhaps most, do," he says. "This does not mean that manufacturers are shipping players that are multi-region, but that they can be modified by retailers, or can be made multi-region by the user."
Although Region Coding was a key plank in the film companies' strategy to maintain control of their products when released on DVD, industry sources suggest they are already admitting defeat, and a new system is emerging called Regional Code Enhancement.
This system adds another layer of security to select Region One discs - preventing them from being played on region-free DVD players.
But a more likely scenario is that Region Coding will be abandoned altogether, Mr Sharpless hinted.
"The whole issue of region coding is now somewhat irrelevant as the release windows in USA and Europe are getting closer," he says. If this happens then DVD owners will finally be able to buy films whenever and wherever they choose. |
teri 
Twittering about the DC adventure since Dec '09...
(Micro)Blog * Photo Album
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enthuTIMsiast
Alien Abductee
6990 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2003 : 4:28:28 PM
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While I couldn't find this information myself on the net, someone in the lab told me that Playstation 2s ARE universally compatable. I think it's known as "Region 0" or something. I'm not wholly convinced, however, that they are.
Sorry Teri, that might have nothing to do with what you said, but it does have to do with Region coding, which I do think sucks, but I can at least partially understand it. Probably be simpler to just release the movie at the same time all over the world and do away with the segregation of region codes.
DOWN WITH REGION CODES!
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Tim Reynolds Downloads
I am not the albatross of love, I am the human ellipsis. I am dot dot dot. - Leo Kottke
I hate beating people over the head with anything. We can all make up our own minds. What we don’t have is enough music. More music please. - Leo Kottke |
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tericee
Alien Abductee
USA
2579 Posts |
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PJK
Alien Abductee
USA
4159 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2003 : 4:47:16 PM
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I feel so stupid. Never knew about this regional crap! Since I am not moving anytime soon, I guess all mine will keep on playing. Thanks for the info. though. |
"It is hard enough to remember my opinions, without also remembering my reasons for them!"Friedrich Nietzsche |
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enthuTIMsiast
Alien Abductee
6990 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2003 : 5:00:04 PM
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It's amazing that anyone can ever figure out those hacks. How do you think they do it?
And sPam, the problem might come in with regions if you bought a dvd off ebay and it happened to come from Japan or somewhere....probably wouldn't play if it was in their region's code. But just buy your dvd's at good old Best Buy and I don't think you will ever have a problem.
Let us know how the hack goes Teri. I'm way too chicken to try something like that, most likely. |
Tim Reynolds Downloads
I am not the albatross of love, I am the human ellipsis. I am dot dot dot. - Leo Kottke
I hate beating people over the head with anything. We can all make up our own minds. What we don’t have is enough music. More music please. - Leo Kottke |
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tericee
Alien Abductee
USA
2579 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2003 : 5:34:25 PM
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I normally don't do this stuff either, but I bought my old DVD player -- made by unknown Chinese manufacturer Oritron -- almost four years ago when it was the cheapest thing available at Best Buy. Needless to say, it's a piece of crap.
I have since bought a Kenwood 5-disc DVD changer and a Panasonic portable DVD player. If I ruin the Oritron I will just rely on my other two.
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teri
Twittering about the DC adventure since Dec '09...
(Micro)Blog * Photo Album
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PJK
Alien Abductee
USA
4159 Posts |
Posted - 01/03/2003 : 8:24:01 PM
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I'll do as you said Jason and stick to good old Best Buy!
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"It is hard enough to remember my opinions, without also remembering my reasons for them!"Friedrich Nietzsche |
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tericee
Alien Abductee
USA
2579 Posts |
Posted - 01/06/2003 : 10:48:33 PM
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I realized I'll have to hold off on hacking my dvd player/remote until I actually OWN a DVD from a different region. My friend Julia is moving to Australia this month, so maybe she can send me the "Once Were Warriors" DVD set Fluffy was telling us about in the other thread...
Do they have import sections in DVD stores? |
teri
Twittering about the DC adventure since Dec '09...
(Micro)Blog * Photo Album
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PJK
Alien Abductee
USA
4159 Posts |
Posted - 01/06/2003 : 11:19:52 PM
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| Hummm I think they have a foreign film section. I think Hollywood video does too. I didn't think to look there for Once Were Warriors. I will try that section the next time I'm there. Thanks for the thought! |
"It is hard enough to remember my opinions, without also remembering my reasons for them!"Friedrich Nietzsche |
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tericee
Alien Abductee
USA
2579 Posts |
Posted - 01/09/2003 : 2:59:02 PM
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I just checked the Hollywood Video and Blockbuster websites; Once Were Warriors is listed (as VHS)! I wonder if every store has the stuff they list there...
That doesn't help my experiment though.  I was able to find a local independent music & video store that has other regions, but Once Were Warriors costs $28! |
teri
Twittering about the DC adventure since Dec '09...
(Micro)Blog * Photo Album
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tericee
Alien Abductee
USA
2579 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2003 : 7:16:53 PM
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Success! Sort of.
I successfully hacked my DVD player so that it will play ALL regions. The only problem is that my TV will only display DVDs in [url=http://www.world-import.com/the_chart.htm]NTSC format[/url]. The only kind of foreign DVDs I could find at my local independent DVD rental store were PAL, so I rented one just to see what would happen.
Before hacking the player with my remote, the DVD player couldn't see the disc at all. After I had pushed the required buttons on my remote, the DVD was readable, but it came across my TV screen all garbled since PAL transmit at 50 frames per second, and my NTSC TV reads 60 frames per second. It's like my vertical hold is all screwed up, but there's no vertical hold knob for fixing the problem.
So today, after going FOURTEEN MILES with my marathon training group, I drove to the very cool Ameoba Music on Sunset Blvd. They sell import DVDs in both PAL and NTSC format. I was able to find a Region 3 (Thailand/Hong Kong, I think) NTSC version of The Big Hit, which is a very funny movie with Mark Wahlburg and a few other big names, for a mere $4.99. I brought it home and it works GREAT!
Unfortunately, most of the cool import DVDs they had were in PAL, so now I have to figure out how to convert my TV to be able to temporarily accept PAL format.
teri
p.s. Since they had it, I also bought the DVD (Region 1 - normal) of Traffik, the British mini-series on which the American movie was based. If anyone else wants to see it when I'm done, let me know. At the very least, I'll probably loan it to Fluffy next time he goes on tour so he can watch it on his computer. |
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tericee
Alien Abductee
USA
2579 Posts |
Posted - 04/06/2005 : 04:28:23 AM
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If anyone is still interested in owning a Region-Free DVD player, there are several available on ebay from a seller called "ElektroMart":
All Zone Portable Region Code Free DVD Player NTSC PAL
(ends soon)
All Zone Portable Region Code Free DVD Player NTSC PAL
(ends later)
All Zone Portable Region Code Free DVD Player NTSC PAL
(ends even later)
They come pre-hacked so all you have to do is plug them in a press play. I bought one for John and tried it out last night with a UK DVD of "Men in Tights." (We also tried a U.S. DVD just to make sure it would work both ways.) It works great!
It looks cheap, but watch out for the shipping and insurance!
"Continental US Shipping Fee for the 1st Unit is $19.99. Shipping for each additional unit is $14.99. Insurance is $2.90 per item. No refund on shipping fee. Please add additional $8 shipping fee for delivery to APO/FPO, PO BOX, PR, HI, VI, AK address. We ship only to US." |
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DVD Region Coding
