DVD region

[Jumbo]

Hello!

I watched my first dvd using my apple but there was this message that popped up saying that i must choose what region i should use. If i remember i was only given 5 chances to change my region, then it will have that permanent region set. What does that mean? I cant watch dvd's from other regions after 5 changes? If so, is there a way not to set the region permanent? If there's no other way around it, whats the best region? region 1 or 3? Thanks!

[gonz]

The world of DVD is divided according to regions, eight of them. USA/North America is Region 1, Philippines (and the rest of Southeast Asia, including Hong Kong) is Region 3. There is no "best" region, except to say that different regions get their movies on DVD released at different times -- some earlier, some later. Obviously, Hollywood movies get released first in Region 1, nine times out of ten. That being said, some DVD fans in the Philippines prefer to stock their collections with Region 1 DVDs rather than Region 3. Bear in mind, though, that patronizing Region 1 DVDs over Region 3 is detrimental to the development of the DVD industry in the Philippines.

Yes, your Mac's DVD drive will allow you to change the region five times before it permanently sets itself to the last region to which it was set. This limitation is actually built into the firmware of the DVD-ROM drive, and is not exclusive to Macs -- DVD drives in Windows PC's are subject to the same region-switching limit.

Bottom line: if your DVD's are predominantly Region 3, then set your DVD-ROM drive to Region 3. If your DVD's are primarily Region 1, set your drive to that region.

Having said that, there are ways to reset the five-change-limit, or on certain drives to remove the limit entirely. Be warned that these a) are not sanctioned by Apple, b) will void your warranty, and c) are potentially dangerous to the health and well-being of your DVD-ROM drive. I'm not going to go into these methods here; if you're interested you must research them yourself and apply them at your own risk.

[Edited on 4-25-2004 by gonz]

[Henjie]

Originally posted by Jumbo
Hello!

I watched my first dvd using my apple but there was this message that popped up saying that i must choose what region i should use. If i remember i was only given 5 chances to change my region, then it will have that permanent region set. What does that mean? I cant watch dvd's from other regions after 5 changes? If so, is there a way not to set the region permanent? If there's no other way around it, whats the best region? region 1 or 3? Thanks!

You've got a 15" AlBook, right? SuperDrive or combo drive? Can you post the exact model number of your PowerBook's SuperDrive (or combo drive)?

In case you don't know where to look for the model number, go to the Apple Menu and click on "About This Mac". Then click on "More Info". On the left column, highlight "ATA". Under "ATA Device Tree" (right column), look for hte drive model. The drive will probably be a Matsushita or Sony drive. Highlight it and list down the exact model number (Model) as well as the firmware version (Revision). There might be a region-free firmware available for your drive although like Gonz said, flashing it with a hacked firmware will void the warranty. :-)


~Henjie

[Jumbo]

Yup its the 1.33ghz Al. powerbook. This is what i saw under your instructions.
Um the warranty is only upto a year rite? without the applecare plan? So i guess i have to wait? Thanks for the help!

MATSHITA CD-RW CW-8123:

Manufacturer: MATSHITA
Model: MATSHITA CD-RW CW-8123
Revision:

[Henjie]

Originally posted by Jumbo
Yup its the 1.33ghz Al. powerbook. This is what i saw under your instructions.
Um the warranty is only upto a year rite? without the applecare plan? So i guess i have to wait? Thanks for the help!

Model: MATSHITA CD-RW CW-8123

Yup, standard warranty period is 1 year. 3 years with AppleCare (1 year + 2 years additional).

Unfortunately, there's no region-free firmware for the CW-8123 yet.

Another way to sidestep the DVD region codes is to use VLC instead of Apple DVD Player to play your DVDs. VLC will just ignore the whole region-coding BS instead of forcing you to change your combo drive's region setting. :-)

After downloading and installing VLC, make sure that you set it as the default DVD player to prevent Apple DVD Player from starting up whenever you insert a DVD. To do this, go to System Preferences -> CDs & DVDs and change the settings from there. First, choose "Open other application..." for the "When you insert a video DVD:" field then navigate to the location in your hard drive where VLC's installed. Select the app and you're good to go. ;-)

Good luck!


~Henjie

[carlo ledesma]

Personally, I never understood the logic behind this. Why allow just 5 region changes when the point of having a portable Mac (like a PB) is being able to travel and watch DVDs wherever we go, whatever the region? Having recently moved to Australia, it sucked big time switching to Region 4 to watch local DVDs here and having to switch back to Region 3 when I go back home to Manila. Why have a 5 change limit anyways?

[the_diva]

CARLO!!!! musta na? ricci chan here. who else pa ba ang diva sa buhay mo?

hehehehe, after that brief sidetracking, here's my take on DVDs and region coding: tama si henj. thank god for VLC, although yesterday, i had a difficult time watching my sex and the city region 1s because VLC doesn't have DVD menus like the apple DVD player (anyone cre to enlighten me on this?). otherwise, tarush siya. no need to switch regions. carlo is right: what's the point of switching if you're using a DVD player that is portable and precisely what you lug around the world to view DVDs from everywhere!?

although my advice is: go to system preferences and then go to DVDs and CDs, and then instead of making VLC the default program for DVDs, just choose ignore. don't you just love having the control of whether to use the apple DVD player or the VLC player right at your very hands?

=)

[NoisyCricket]

Hey Henj,

Does the Matshita DVD-R UJ-825 have region-free firmware already?

Revision: DAND (whatever that means)



[Edited on 3-11-2005 by NoisyCricket]

[dude_funk]

Originally posted by carlo ledesma
Personally, I never understood the logic behind this. Why allow just 5 region changes when the point of having a portable Mac (like a PB) is being able to travel and watch DVDs wherever we go, whatever the region? Having recently moved to Australia, it sucked big time switching to Region 4 to watch local DVDs here and having to switch back to Region 3 when I go back home to Manila. Why have a 5 change limit anyways?

Blame the DVD consortium (or whatever they're called). Having DVD Regions is a control at limiting which feature titles are released at certain time and location around the globe. If the DVD Regioning scheme is non-existent, there _won't_ be a need for Region changes altogether.

[kilgore]

Originally posted by NoisyCricket
Hey Henj,

Does the Matshita DVD-R UJ-825 have region-free firmware already?

Revision: DAND (whatever that means)



[Edited on 3-11-2005 by NoisyCricket]

@NoisyCricket, I'm not Henjie but no, there is no hacked firmware out yet for the UJ-825. :dry: As previously mentioned, if you do find such firmware, use at your own risk and do note that they're hacked.

Yeah the 5-change limit is a real bummer, and on a portable! Or more accurately, the implementation of region-locked FIRMWARE on a portable is purty stupid. Someone at Cupertino was not thinking.

[Edited on 3-14-2005 by kilgore]