All-Region DVD Player

All-Region DVD Players are DVD players that can read DVDs from anywhere in the world, regardless of the disc's region-encoding. Blu-Ray discs have a different region encoding scheme and is voluntary. For DVDs, region encoding is implemented in both hardware (DVD drive) and software (player). The latest news and developments on region encoding for Blu-Ray and DVD discs are found on this page.

The intent of region coding was to allow movie studios to control the release (and pricing) of their movies around the world since Region 1 (US in particular) was typically the first to get a new DVD release.http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A5310-2001May31?language=printer http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#1.10 If one lives in the United States, region encoding typically was not a problem. But for anyone who travels or lives in an expatriate setting, it is problematic since your DVD player works on only a specific region or your computer DVD player locks the region code after 4 changes. Regional coding for Blu-Ray videos is simpler and optional (see below).

Although some DVD players are designed to be region-free, it is more common for owners to modify (hack) their DVD players to become region-free.DVD Hacks: Hack search There are a number of region free DVD utilities available for your computer. http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#6.4.2 Rather than employing a firmware and/or software hack (depending on device), consumers can opt for all-region DVD players that are readily available despite the ongoing tension between move producers and DVD player manufacturers.http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2006/02/6219.ars

Under construction

Region encoding for the Blu-ray standard is simpler than for DVD's and optional.http://www.blu-raydisc.com/en/Technical/FAQs/Blu-rayDiscforVideo.html Many studios have opted to make their Blu-ray videos region free.

Region A consists of the Americas (North America, Central America, South America) and much of Asia (Korea, Japan, South East Asia)

Region B contains Europe, Middle East, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand

Region C has Russia, India, China, and rest of the world

• AfterDawn.com: DVD Player Forum

• VideoHelp.com: DVD Player Forum

• DVDFile.com: Standard Definition Hardware Forum

• IGN Boards: DVD Home Theater Board

• • This page was created by Amber O, a Part Time Guide in the Mahalo Greenhouse (see the original), and curated by Brad.

• Region 1:
  1. U.S.
  2. Canada
  3. Other U.S. territories
• Region 2:
  1. Japan
  2. Europe
  3. South Africa
  4. Middle East
• Region 3:
  1. East Asia
  2. Southeast Asia
• Region 4:
  1. Australia
  2. New Zealand
  3. Pacific Islands
  4. Central America
  5. Mexico
  6. South America
  7. Caribbean
• Region 5:
  1. Eastern Europe
  2. India
  3. Africa
  4. North Korea
  5. Mongolia
• Region 6
  1. China
• Region 7
  1. Reserved
• Region 8
  1. Special international venues, including airlines, cruises, etc.DVD Talk: Regional Coding Enhancement