subject: Regional Coding For Dvd Players [print this page] Why Do DVDs have Region Codes Why Do DVDs have Region Codes
In simple terms, this 'lock' has been put on DVDs so that the films copyright can be protected against redistribution. Because many films are released far earlier in the US than in other parts of the world, the region coding allows for new release films to stay just that when the reach the European, Asian and Australian markets.
The region codes that are found on DVDs are as follows:
* Region One = The United States and Canada (North America)
* Region Two = Greenland, South Africa, The Middle East, Europe and Japan
* Region Three = Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and some areas of South East Asia
* Region Four = New Zealand, Australia, Latin America (which also includes Mexico)
* Region Five = Africa, India, Eastern Europe and Russia
* Region Six = China
* Region Seven = Unstipulated special use
* Region Eight = For use on cruise ships and airlines
* Region Zero = These DVDs are not locked by a code and therefore can be played anywhere in the world. However if they specify that they are PAL or NTSC then they must be played in the appropriate player to be viewed properly.
In essence this means that when you purchase a DVD player in Australia, it will be coded to play DVDs from region four.
There are DVD players available on the market that are not locked to one specific region and are readily available over the internet and in many retail home theatre stores. This means that any DVD from any region can be played, regardless of where it was purchased.
Unfortunately, these code-free DVD players are obviously costing the film distributors a lot of money and therefore, they have now released newer DVD players with more coding, but the good news is that it is only being implemented on region one areas (The USA and Canada).
If you are not quite sure as to what region your DVD player is set to, look up your instruction manual as it will have all the information you need to find out. Once you know what your region code is, or whether it even has a region code at all, you will then be able to know whether you can buy DVDs just from your country or internationally as well.
