| |
| Sep 30, 2008 - DVD Copy Protection - DVD Region Code! |
DVD video discs may be encoded with a region code restricting the area of the world in which they can be played. Discs without region coding are called all region or region 0 discs.
The commercial DVD player specification requires that a player to be sold in a given place not play discs encoded for a different region (region 0 discs are not restricted). The purpose of this is to allow motion picture studios to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and, especially, price, according to the region. Many DVD players are or can be modified to be region-free, allowing playback of all discs.
Region code 0: Informal term meaning "worldwide". Region 0 is not an official setting; discs that bear the region 0 symbol either have no flag set or have region 1? flags set.
Region code 1: Canada, United States; U.S. territories; Bermuda.
Region code 2: Western and Central Europe; Western Asia; Egypt, Japan, South Africa, Swaziland; British overseas territories, French overseas territories.
Region code 3: Southeast Asia; South Korea; Non-mainland China ( Hong Kong).
Region code 4: Oceania; Central and South America; Caribbean; Mexico.
Region code 5: Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Africa, Central and South Asia, Mongolia, North Korea.
Region code 6: Mainland China.
Region code 7: Reserved for future use (found in use on protected screener copies of MPAA-related DVDs and "media copies" of pre-releases in Asia)
Region code 8: International venues such as aircraft, cruise ships, etc.
Region ALL discs have all 8 flags set, allowing the disc to be played in any locale on any player.
DVDs sold in the Baltic States use both region 2 and 5 codes. DVDs sold in Japan use the region 2 code while Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan use the region 3 code, with Hong Kong sharing region 6 for releases after the reunification. Region 0 (playable in all regions, except 7/8) is widely used by China, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. DVDs in Latin American Spanish use both the region 1 and region 4 codes. Most DVDs in India combine the region 2, region 4, and region 5 codes; Disney discs contain only the region 3 code.
European region 2 DVDs may be sub-coded "D1" to "D4". "D1" are United Kingdom–only releases; "D2" and "D3" are not sold in the UK and Ireland; "D4" are distributed throughout Europe.
Any combination of regions can be applied to a single disc. For example, a DVD designated Region 2/4 is suitable for playback in Western Europe, Oceania, and any other Region 2 or Region 4 area. So-called "Region 0" and "ALL" discs are meant to be playable worldwide.
The term "Region 0" also describes the DVD players designed or modified to incorporate Regions 1?, thereby providing compatibility with most discs, regardless of region. This apparent solution was popular in the early days of the DVD format, but studios quickly responded by adjusting discs to refuse to play in such machines. This system is known as "Regional Coding Enhancement".
It may be difficult for American companies to enforce their copyright rights in the countries in the Region 5 area, and thus they may release Region 5 DVDs earlier than Region 1 DVDs to encourage consumers to opt for a legal version, rather than a pirated copy of a DVD screener. Many of the countries in the region 5 area were historically either incapable of or unwilling to uphold American copyrights. In many of the countries in the Region 5 area, war or extreme poverty make intellectual property rights a low-priority interest for the governments.
Use RZ DVD COPY, you can create DVD Copy without Region Code limit.
|
|
| |
Partners
Partner with RealZeal Soft, Become an affiliate to Earn up to 30% commission.
Click here for Detail!
Partner with RealZeal Soft, Become a distributor to Maximize your sales volumes and profit potential.
Click here for Detail!
|
|
|