TOPIC
I purchased a DVD-Video option for my Macintosh. I'd like to be able to view Region 1 coded DVD movie discs on my Macintosh. I have heard there are "region codes," "country codes," or "zone locks"? What are these?
DISCUSSION Motion picture studios want to control the home release of movies in different countries because theater releases are not simultaneous (a movie may come out on video in the U.S. when it's just hitting screens in Europe). Also, studios sell distribution rights to different foreign distributors and would like to guarantee an exclusive market. Therefore they have required that the DVD standard include codes that can be used to prevent playback of certain discs in certain geographical regions. Each player is given a code for the region in which it's 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. Regional codes are entirely optional for the maker of a disc. Discs without codes will play on any player in any country. It's not an encryption system, it's just one byte of information on the disc that the player checks. Some studios have announced that only their new releases will have regional codes, but so far almost all releases play in only one region. There are 6 regions (also called "locales"). Players and discs are identified by the region number superimposed on a world globe. If a disc plays in more than one region it will have more than one number on the globe. 1: Canada, U.S., 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: Former Soviet Union, Indian Subcontinent, Africa (also North Korea, Mongolia) 6: China If the number of the region where you bought your player is not shown, then the DVD will not work with your player. |
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| Document Information | |
| Product Area: | Computers |
| Category: | Power Macintosh |
| Sub Category: | General Topics |
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