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| DVD 101 for the UK and Europe |
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"DVD 101" Tutorial for UK and European
Customers
Tutorials for other
locations: USA and Canada
/ Australia and New Zealand
As a UK or European Customer, you need what is commonly known
as a
"Region Free DVD Player" if you wish to play any DVD that is not
labeled with one of the following designations under technical details:
"All Regions", "Region Free" , "Region 0", "Region 2", "Non-Coded".
The tutorial that follows is designed to give you a logical and
thorough understanding of the issues that are important to collectors
of rare, uncut, and imported DVDs.
Why aren’t all DVDs compatible with all DVD players?
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 NTSC color format of American VHS cassettes was not compatible with
VCRs in Europe and the UK. 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 NTSC to PAL, for a
European TV (unless specifically blocked by the player, which is rare),
so the motion picture studios recognized their need to institute new
controls on consumers.
The industry adopted “regional coding” standards which allowed them to
further control their distribution into 6 primary segments (UK and
Europe is Region 2). A regional code restriction is embedded into most
DVDs, which blocks the average consumer from outside that region IF YOU
DON’T WANT TO BE THE AVERAGE CONSUMER, READ ON !!!
As you probably recognize, regional coding restrictions are terrible
for consumers who believe in choice and availability, but its very
favorable to the industry.... if that is any consolation...
There are also some DVDs with no coding restrictions, called “Region
Free DVD” also known as “All Regions” These are the most generally
compatible DVDs worldwide, although you generally want to get these
type of DVDs from only legitimate companies such as ourselves because
illegal COPIES are often marketed as being “region-free” on places like
eBay. We NEVER sell copies, of course.
If you are a consumer who doesn’t want to be restricted, what can you
do?
For MAXIMUM COMPATIBILITY, a consumer can buy what is known as a
“Multi-Regional” 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,
you just have to know what to ask for! Most commonly, such players are
sold by on-line retailers.
If you don’t have a Region Free Player now, you should be aware that
most computers with DVD-Rom drives WILL play DVDs with regional coding.
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