Why you might want a region-code-free DVD player

[k4kyv]

Almost every commercially available DVD is manufactured with a region code designating a particular geographic market. These codes correspond to settings in DVD players, and vary according to where they are sold. Manufacturers of DVD players are required to use region settings in order to license the copy protection technology that nearly all DVDs use. You can play any region 1 DVD in any region 1 player, but you can’t play, say, a region 6 DVD in a region 1 player or a region 1 DVD in a region 2 player. The main reason for this scheme is that motion pictures are released at different times in different parts of the world. If a film hasn’t been released in a certain area yet, the last thing a studio wants is for everyone to go rent it on DVD, because that would severely reduce the profits from the theatrical release.

Although it’s not illegal to own such a device, it makes studios unhappy, so they are constantly trying to come up with new ways of encoding DVDs so they won’t work on code-free machines. (The modifications, in turn, evolve to outsmart the new techniques, and round it goes.)

http://itotd.com/articles/460/code-free-dvd-players/

[flintstone mop]

I lucked out buying a DVD player that was sent to the Phillipines and I was able to get into the settings and select NO REGION. It was something from E-bay. Lottsa little surprises on E-bay. I also purchased a Sony XM radio that played its little heart out FOR FREE for almost two years before there was some sort of crackdown by XM. I'm now happily paying for it and one other in the car.
FM radio still sounds much better, though. Even though FM has a lot of processing and, what I call, FAKE BASS. You can't beat the high end audio frequencies from an FM station. WHY are they messing with it and trying HD or digital???
I know I'm off track here,,,,,,,,,,sorry
Fred

[k4kyv]

But how many people still tune in terrestrial off-the-air radio and TV?  Most high school kids say they get their video off DVD's, satellite or cable.  They don't listen to music on the radio much any more.  Instead they use I-pods and those little MP3 players that you wear like an ear plug, or buy (or copy) CD's.  About the only people who listen to AM radio these days are those who want call-in shows and political propaganda.

One problem I have with "HD" radio (I still haven't fugured out exactly what HD is supposed to mean when applied to radio - with TV it's "high definition" but with radio?) is that the FCC has approved a monopoly for one system that the broadcaster must pay an annual licence fee to use, and receiver manufacturers have to pay a one-time licence fee for every receiver they produce.  So in order to  legally run digital, you have to pay this private company a big fee every year, and on top of that, over-the-air analogue TV is supposed to be phased out so that the government can auction off the TV spectrum and collect billions of $$ of new revenue for the Treasury, that is ultimately extracted from the general public.  Therefore, a broadcaster will ultimately have to pay a fat licence fee to Ibiquity in order to legally broadcast over the air.

As for AM, DRM seems more promising than IBOC.  The German DRM signal on 3995 is exactly 10 kHz wide.  It fills the whole 10 kc/s with white noise of uniform density, but at least there is a sharp cutoff beyond the channel allocation.

I think it is IBOC trash that I hear in the BC band these days as white noise to each side of certain strong regular AM broadcast signals.  I even hear it at night, despite the fact that they are supposed to run it daytime-only until the FCC gives the green light for nighttime operation.

They need to start offering better programming with the existing systems before worrying about "HD" signals on both TV and radio.  I don't think the general public gives a damn about quality anyway - MP3's don't sound much better than cassette tapes, and Rush Limburger fans wouldn't care if the audio sounded like slopbucket.

After the FCC and the industry succeed in killing AM broadcasting once and for all, maybe we'll get another band expansion to take 160m all way down to 540 kc.

[flintstone mop]

Hi Don,Back to your original thread...........It's a cat and mouse game with encoding to prevent playing or copying then 6 mos later someone has a little box or software to copy or play the precious piece of S**T!!!!! Sorry the studios make a lotta money for their crap!
Fred

[KL7OF]

How is a consumer supposed to tell if a DVD player is region code free?  Doesn't say on the box!

[Ed/KB1HYS]

probably could just by older equipment.  a first generation DVD player probably couldn't handle the new code... so either you DVD wont play or your home free.

FWIW- I heard that you could disable the DVD codes (write protect and such) with a sharpie marker and a steady hand... no idea if its true or urban legend.

Pet Peeve!  That the new DVDs FORCE you to watch the previews and FBI WARNINGs ETC..  at least with VHS you could skip that. (OR cut it clean out - old fashioned tape editing!!)   The XYL wants me to convert all our VHS stuff to DVD...  oh well.

Oh-- I am the only guy on my block with a TV antenna and rotator box that are actually in use... got them both for free from a cable junkie.
It was even a "Digital Ready" antenna (LMAOF)...  there's so much more time in the day when you  don't waste it in front of that damned box...   

Now if I could only get off the internet addiction.... 

[k4kyv]

Pet Peeve!  That the new DVDs FORCE you to watch the previews and FBI WARNINGs ETC.. 

On my player you can still fast forward the rubbish. Click once for 2X speed, again for 4X speed.

I seem to recall that with the very first DVD player I ever tinkered with (but was too expensive to purchase), you could manually enter the elapsed time, hit the play button, and the disc would start, beginning at the point you entered on the clock.

The audio CD player on older Apple computers worked the same way.  The latest player lets you select the track, but you can only start each track at 00:00.  The same on my Windows XP machine.

Can anyone tell me how to gain access to the hidden settings of a DVD player?  Mine just has the standard menus and buttons, but I have no clue how you would re-program anything at a level beyond that.

[Ian VK3KRI]

Actually I'm not quite sure if a region free player would be much of an advantage in the US. Out here on the edge of the earth, a region free player means you can order checp disks from the US and  (GASP ! )bypass local suppliers. My understanding was that the region code was designed in as a restriction on trade on DVDs so prices could be set in different markets.

Interestingly, I now occasionally hear 60 Hz frame buzz as well as 50Hz (the local standard) which I guess maybe from multi standard TVs playing back Region 1 DVDs which I presume have a 60Hz frame rate.
                                                                                              Ian VK3KRI

[WB3JOK]

If I got a region-free player, could I play European DVD's into my (NTSC video 60 Hz) television? In other words, does the video output signal (PAL, SECAM( ) or NTSC) have any relationship with the contents encoded onto the DVD itself? 

-Charles

[flintstone mop]

Charles,
You are still dealing with the TV standards of the different countries. The regional thing is for regulating the distribution of the disc and pricing.
Fred

[Ed-VA3ES]

I have a British DVD, issued by BBC, for internal UK consumption (it came bundled with a UK only magazine).. I also have a "region-free" DVD player. The UK DVD plays fine on my NTSC SONY.    I believe the video encodeded  on DVD's is a generic world-wide standard, but that the player convets it to your own standard.  On my player I can select different standards, PAL, NTSC, SECAM, etc.

[wa2zdy]

Found on another message board:

Region codes on players were put in place to regulate & control movie release times, price etc. Each region, or group of countries has it's own code. Australia has recently abolished selling DVD players with the code, as it violates 'free trade'
There is more info here if you are interested in learning more about region codes.

This website will allow you to enter a simple code to 'unlock' your DVD player in seconds, & play DVDs from all regions. Scroll to the bottom of your page to find the brand of your player, rather than entering the info at the top.

Your mileage will vary.   I can see players sold in the US being set to make this impossible.  The movie companies here are pretty darn powerful.

[k4kyv]

There is more info here if you are interested in learning more about region codes.

This website will allow you to enter a simple code to 'unlock' your DVD player in seconds, & play DVDs from all regions. Scroll to the bottom of your page to find the brand of your player, rather than entering the info at the top.

What is the url of the website?