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DVD's
and region codes |
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Nothing
has impacted the home entertainment world like the DVD. It has been the fastest
accepted
consumer good ever. Players and discs have been flying off the shelves as
players and discs become cheaper and the range increased. The DVD offers
superior picture and sound quality and better accessibility, ever remember
trying to repeat a scene on VHS with out the aid of A-B repeat ?. Add to that
the ability to create a small cinema in your home with Dolby Surround sound, and
the effect is amazing.
However not everything is as easy... for example region codes
Not All DVDs Play In All DVD Players
Because of region codes. The purpose was to supply us with region (or Continent)
specific programmes and to protect copyright and distribution rights. For
example a distributor for say Terminator in Japan will almost certainly be
different than Europe. Some say it was to enable the studios to charge us more
depending on where we live. There would always be a tendency for cheap DVD's to
be shipped to parts of the world which command higher prices, for example the
Far East to Europe.
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DVD Region Code Designations
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| DVD
Region |
Geographical
Region |
| 1 |
USA, Canada |
| 2 |
Japan, Europe,
South Africa, MiddleEast, Greenland |
| 3 |
S.Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Parts of South East Asia |
| 4 |
Australia, New
Zealand, Latin America (including Mexico) |
| 5 |
Eastern Europe,
Russia, India, Africa |
| 6 |
China |
| 7 |
Reserved for
Unspecified Special Use |
| 8 |
Resevered for Cruise Ships, Airlines, etc...
(basically things that move about, Space Shuttle!) |
| 0
or Region All |
Discs are uncoded and can be played Worldwide,
however, PAL discs must be played in a PAL-compatible unit and NTSC discs must
be played in an NTSC-compatible unit. Although is becoming increasingly common
to for DVD's to be format auto- sensing. Meaning that a PAL disc will play
on a NTSC player. Always check this when buying a new player. PAL and NTSC
are basically TV standards referring to how many lines make up screen. |
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The idea is that you are sold a DVD player
label with a region code, for example 1 for the USA & Canada region, and when
purchasing discs you need to buy region 1 discs. A region 1 player will not play
a region 2 disc. If you buy your equipment from well know stores your probably
never have to be aware of this. The trouble only occurs when you buy a cheap DVD
player or disc off the web or market. It is important in these circumstance to
check the region of the player or disc. If they don't say, ask, if they still
don't say assume the worst, and avoid. There is growing pressure particularly in
Europe and New Zealand to end region coding.
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Is that the end of it ? |
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Region coding can be a right pain for the end
user, for there is no real benefit to the viewer of region codes. It stops you
shopping around, hinders international trade, promotes regional pricing policies
and prevents the system being universal. VHS was a global format.
There are ways to reduce the effect of this
region code frustrations. The number of multi region players is increasing,
suggesting it is starting to effect the market. I purchased a DVD last summer
from a well know store and it player region 0,1 & 2 despite it being designed
for a region 2 market.
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