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 DVD 101 for the USA and Canada |
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US DVD Tutorial
"DVD 101" Tutorial for US and Canadian
Customers
Tutorials for other
locations: UK and Europe
/ Australia and
New
Zealand
There are 3 Questions we are asked repeatedly by customers:
- Can I play all "Region Free" DVDs?
Reading the extensive tutorial below, you'll learn that most customers
can view all Region Free DVDs, whether PAL or NTSC, but that some can
not. To be safe, you might want to order
an inexpensive "tester", which is simply a Region Free PAL DVD from
our overstocks. We've priced it such that essentially you are just
paying our flat rate shipping and handling fee plus $1 to get such a
tester. You can then be assured that each of your DVD Players or
DVD-Rom drives that successfully plays the tester will successfully
play any Region Free DVD.
- How do I
watch DVDs that are coded to block playback on standard US Players?
(ie: Region 2, Region 4, etc.)
Some customers use computers with a DVD-Rom drive, which prompts them
to "OK" a Regional Settings change, but for DVD collectors we recommend
getting what is commonly
known as a "Region Free DVD Player" in order to play any DVD, without
restrictions.
Assume you will need such a player to play anything on our site that is
not labeled with one of the following designations under technical
details: "All Regions", "Region Free" , "Region 0", "Region 1",
"Non-Coded".
- Can I buy a DVD Player that will
play anything and everything?
Players that solve all regional issues are available at similar price
points to
similar quality players that are subjected to the regional coding
restrictions, they are just harder to find, and more frequently sold by
disingenuous sellers. If a high-profile retailer stocked region free
players, restrictive manufacturers like Sony would almost certainly
cease
to do business with that retailer. Thus, there are few legitimate
sources
for these players and there are a lot of sellers which offer players
with various side effects. Remember, you get what you pay for. Click
here to browse our recommended Region Free DVD Players.
The 3
questions and answers above are what most customers "need" to know. If
you "want" a more thorough understanding of Compatibility issues, feel
free to read on. Please be aware that there is a lot of information
below, and that it can be difficult for some consumers to fully grasp.
A Thorough Discussion of Compatibility Issues:
Motion picture studios (which produce DVDs) want to control the
home release of movies in different countries. This is mainly because
theater releases aren't simultaneous or that editing is different for
various countries due to movie ratings for the area. Also, studios sell
distribution rights to different foreign distributors so that they can
make more money.
In the VCR age, the studios were able to segment their market
because the PAL color format of European VHS cassettes was not
compatible with VCRs in the USA, just as the NTSC color formate of
American VHS cassettes weren’t compatible with VCRs in Europe. Because
of the PAL/NTSC exclusive capabilities of VCRs, no type of further
regional restrictions were deemed necessary.
In the digital age, DVD players easily convert a PAL image to
NTSC, or NTSC to PAL, when manufacturers want them to, so the motion
picture studios recognized their need to institute new controls on
consumers.
They adopted “regional coding” standards which allowed them to
further control their distribution into 6 primary segments. A regional
code restriction is embedded into most DVDs, which blocks the average
consumer from outside that region.
As you probably recognize, regional coding restrictions are
terrible for consumers who believe in choice and availability.
There are also some DVDs with no coding restrictions, called
“Region Free DVDs” also known as “All Regions.” These are the most
generally compatible DVDs worldwide.
Now, Grip your seat, you are about to hear the Really Bad Part:
High End DVD Player Manufacturers sometimes even take an extra
step of restrictions that even prevent you from playing some “Region
Free DVDs” because of color format. Yes, it IS ironic that the most
expensive DVD players sometimes have additional blocks. More often than
any other manufacturer we hear of this problem with Sony (please be
aware of the fact that Sony operates movie studios in addition to
producing electronics)...
Such extra-restrictive players can recreate the analog block
(PAL/NTSC), despite using digital media. If you have a product
manufactured by Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic, Samsung or another high end
company, we recommend checking your manual to make sure your player
doesn’t have this further block. If your manual refers to needing an
“All” logo on a DVD case, that is the worst news you could read. This
block is also common also in VCR Combo units, although, much easier to
understand.
If you are a consumer who doesn’t want to be restricted, what can you
do?
At bare minimum, make sure your player doesn’t block by color
format (PAL/NTSC) in addition to regional code. If it does, contact the
manufacturer and retailer and tell them what you think.
For maximum compatibility, a consumer can buy what is known as
a “Multi-Region” or “Region Free” Player. Whether referring to players,
or DVDs, “Region Free” refers to a product not being subjected to
regional coding restrictions.
A Region Free Player can play a DVD coded for a region you
don’t live in, just like a Region Free DVD can be played even if it is
from a different region. This can get a little confusing if you confuse
players and dvds, but remember, as long as at least one of the two
products (DVD, DVD player) are region free, you will NOT be subject to
regional coding restrictions.
Region Free Players are available at similar price points to
similar quality players that are subjected to the regional coding
restrictions, they are just harder to find, and more frequently sold by
disingenuous sellers. If a high-profile retailer stocked region free
players, restrictive juggernauts like Sony would almost certainly cease
to do business with that retailer. So there are few legitimate sources
for these players.
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