Unlock the mystery of DVD region codes and learn how get around them.

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Q: I'm going buy a DVD that's coming out in the United Kingdom. I've been told that I will need a region 2 DVD-ROM drive to watch it on my computer. I do have a DVD-ROM but I don't know if it can play region 2. Can you tell me how to find out? Can a DVD-ROM be programmed to play any region so that I can change types of DVDs at my whim?

-- Stephanie via email

A: There are two types of DVD players: The DVD player that hooks up to your TV, and the DVD drive (DVD-ROM) that hooks up to your computer. DVD players and DVD movies have region codes that restrict play based on geographical location.

Region codes were created to please the movie studios that distribute DVD movies. DVD movies are released at different times all over the world (usually in the United States first), and different studios handle distribution. Without region codes, a person in, say, Belgium, could buy a DVD movie in the US before it is actually released in Belgium. That means the studio releasing the DVD movie in Belgium loses out.

Each player is given a code for the region in which it is sold. The player will refuse to play discs that are not allowed in that region. This means that discs bought in one country may not play on players bought in another country.

Following is a list of region codes and their corresponding geography:
  1. Canada, United States, US 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. Russian Federation, India, Pakistan, Africa (except Egypt), North Korea, Mongolia
  6. China
  7. Reserved
  8. Special international venues (airplanes, cruise ships, and so on)


Some DVDs may have a region code of "0," which means that DVD is region-free. You're supposed to be able to play these discs on any DVD player in the world, but there are other things to consider, which we'll discuss later.

How to play other region codes
DVD players and DVD-ROM drives in the United States are coded for region 1 playback. You can't play DVDs with other regions codes, unless you have a method of bypassing the region code check.

On the show, we'll talk about software that will let your DVD-ROM drive read DVDs from other regions. We'll also discuss DVD player modifications and region-free DVD players. Click the links below for more information on how you can read other regions on your DVD player.


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