Thread: Running a DVD bought from UK

DVD's have regional protection. Australia is region 4 and UK region 2. Typically your computer DVD is region free until you set the region. From memory it will let you change your region a few time and then it will lock it in. Many of the cheaper DVD players from year ago were actually region free so you could play any region, many of the name brand DVD players were locked on our region 4.

From the sounds of it you your computer DVD player is still allowing you to swap regions for the time being, your old DVD player is region free and your new blueray player is region 4.

Sorry - I just reread it realised that your old DVD also couldn't play the region. It must have regional protection like your blueray player.

there are plenty of websites that will givwe instructions on how to make your home dvd/bluray player region free.
You just need to search for the make and model and "region free" in google and it should bring something up.

You are going to need to do things like press setup then left then right then 5 the play and then 0 to make it region '0' (thats region free).

All the machines are made the same, they just code them to a region when they land here but it can be changed on most machines.
All the MAKERS agreed on the region setting.
Not all DVD disks are region coded either, some are region 0 so are good on all machines regardless of machines zone.

Pioneer was a great one, they ship them region free but because pioneer aus is not a maker they didn't need to do it so sold them all region free.

Start here maybe http://www.regionfreedvd.net/

If you can't find it your son may be able to.
The other thing is find a 15 year old and ask them to make you a BACKUP of the dvd that would be a region 0 disk and play on your regioned DVD player.

Most of the well know manufacturers will reset your DVD player to region free, it is a old policy as is no longer employed by most maufacturers

Thanks for all your efforts and suggestions. I bit the bullet. Our front room TV was an old analog that didn't work. I went and saw Ross Parke - The Good Guys in Geelong with my DVD. The guy said all DVD's players come with no region status anymore ?? Anyway he put my DVD in a TV - DVD combination and it worked. I bought the TV - 80cm - HD - LED - LCD for $300. Set it up - great picture - better than our main TV. Ran the DVD - no issues. All around win I reckon.

What's money for if you don't spend it ?


Thanks again

Regards

Keith

My two week old Panasonic BDT160 BD player was region coded "4" for DVD and zone coded "B" for BD.
It would not play my DVD region "2" discs.

I couldn't easily find a DIY region code change fix on the web, so I rang Panasonic Support who arranged a "region free" change by a local service agent for no charge.

BD is still "B" though, well I think it is, as I have no BD discs other than "B" to test it.
The service guy said he "couldn't" do that, whatever that means.

So it seems that DVD region coding is still around on some brand name gear.

Originally Posted by Keith_1

The guy said all DVD's players come with no region status anymore ??

Hi Keith

from memory, that's the outcome of an ACCC determination some years ago.
Region coding of DVDs was held to be anti-competitive as with it a retailer could only source disks imported by the "official" supplier who had a monopoly on supply.

good for us.

'Laser' brand Blue Ray players (sold at Big W for instance) are DVD region free and you can change the region for the Blue Ray as well but it takes a few button pushes to change - instructions in the box.

Toshiba include a DVD which can be used to set it to region free or you can choose any region as some DVD's have dodgy encoding so they only play on the 'correct' region player, but the big DVD manufacturers seem to have given that up due to customer action (like not buying their disks).