Can't play the DVDs I acquired outside of the USA. What Gives?

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DVDSP Basics
Can't play the DVDs I acquired outside of the USA. What Gives?
By Bruce Nazarian "the DVD Guy" [tm]
Mar 3, 2002, 20:28

A recent question sent in went:
"On a recent trip to [somewhere] I bought several movies on DVD. I can play some in my computer, but others I can't. One of them says I should change the area and it list several geographic areas but I am not able to make any changes. Can you help? Thanks"

Sure thing!
You probably have encountered DVDs with region codes that have been set to something OTHER than the one your DVD drive of software have been set to; Quite possibly Region 2 (Europe)
You should be able to change the Region of your DVD drive in your computer, but you can only change it a few times before
it locks up and will not permit further changes (usually 4 changes, max). Your only choice for playback is to change region on the drive, if you really need to see the DVD, or acquire (borrow, rent, etc) a DVD player that includes the proper region code
Look on the back of the DVD for a little Globe icon with a number in it. That's the region the DVD was prepared for:
there are 7 current regions available:

1 - North America
2 - Europe, Japan, South Africa (!)
3 - Indonesia, Taiwan
4 - South America, Australia
5 - Russia, India
(India is VCD more than DVD, but DVD is getting bigger)
6 - China
7 - not used yet
8 - Special Venues - Airplanes, Boats

These codes can be set in DVD Studio Pro when you author your own DVDs - Look for the region codes in the DISC PROPERTIES - DVDSP always sets them ALL ON by default when you start a new project - keep them that way for worldwide playability of your DVD project.

Bruce