By Andy G Cooper
I'm a George Clooney placid kind of guy (without the good looks, sadly), but nothing gets me madder than the issue of DVD Region Codes.
Never heard of them? Let me explain.
Just imagine you buy a music CD from another country while on vacation, or maybe order it online. But when you put said disc in your player there's no sweet music - just a terse message telling you "Wrong Region: North American CDs are coded to only play in North America, European CDs will only play in Europe" . . . and so on.
You'd feel like smashing a guitar or putting your foot through a drum set, right? (Relax, music fans - CDs will play anywhere on the planet).
Not so with DVDs. There really IS a Region Code preventing you from playing DVDs acquired from other countries.
So say you live in the U.S. or Canada and you or your Uncle Joe just returned from Europe, for instance, with the latest James Bond flick Casino Royale - or a fascinating tourist documentary on the Rhine Valley. You pop it in the DVD player and get that darned "Wrong Region" message. Ditto if you live in London and bought a Grand Canyon tourist DVD on your trip to the U.S.
Hello, that's one expensive Frisbee you just bought!
A few small companies issue "Region-free" DVD discs that will play anywhere in the world, but the studio majors don't.
Let's be blunt: The whole region coding issue (there are six different regions!!) is a gigantic scam perpetrated by the movie industry. The studios want to control when DVDs will be released in different parts of the world and they also want to stop YOU picking up a bargain while on your travels. For example I've seen the three Jurassic Park movies in a box set for $15 U.S. while visiting England. Citizen Kane special edition? $8 U.S. in London. Ditto Bridge on the River Kwai 2-disc edition. The classic Brief Encounter special edition? An astounding $5 in the UK.
Remember - there's nothing illegal about buying whatever DVDs you like from anywhere you like on the planet. Hollywood just doesn't want you to be able to watch them! But it goes beyond getting a bargain. Some foreign material, like documentaries or obscure art films will NEVER be available in North America. What about the rights of the consumer - why shouldn't you be able to buy what you like and bring it home to use here - just like you can with music CDs?
Well you should. All power to countries like Australia and New Zealand that argue DVD Region Codes violate international free trade rules - and want to ban this vile practice.
Now, here are the current codes: REGION 1 -- USA, Canada REGION 2 -- Japan, Europe, South Africa, Middle East, Greenland REGION 3 -- South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Parts of South East Asia REGION 4 -- Australia, New Zealand, Latin America (including Mexico) REGION 5 -- Eastern Europe, Russia, India, Africa REGION 6 -- China
The good news for DVD fans is that you CAN beat the Region Code scam - and there isn't a thing Hollywood can do about it!
How? Buy a Region-Free DVD Player. You'll find lots of them on sale at leading electronics stores and "big Box" discount stores and some of them are astoundingly cheap. For example, I picked up a Norcent player for less than $50 from Wal-Mart and it lasted three years, happily playing PAL discs from Europe and NTSC discs from North America.
I got an even better deal with my latest region free model: I picked up an Accura player (made by Citizen) in a fire sale at a big box grocery store for an amazing $29.99!!
These cheap players will do an excellent job, but if you are willing to pay more for an upconverting player for superior picture I can also recommend the LG brand. Some are less than $100. Toshiba, Philips and Daewoo are some of the other companies offering Region Free DVD players.
You might not think this Region Code thing is a big deal, but I believe it is. Guaranteed, if you travel you are going to see must-have DVDs at great prices.
I'm watching with interest to see how the movie industry plans to maintain this Region Code nonsense when more of us download movies online, presumably from anywhere in the world.
Andy G. Cooper is a Canadian journalist. Check out his DVD reviews and features at: http://www.andysdvdreviews.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andy_G_Cooper
I'm a George Clooney placid kind of guy (without the good looks, sadly), but nothing gets me madder than the issue of DVD Region Codes.
Never heard of them? Let me explain.
Just imagine you buy a music CD from another country while on vacation, or maybe order it online. But when you put said disc in your player there's no sweet music - just a terse message telling you "Wrong Region: North American CDs are coded to only play in North America, European CDs will only play in Europe" . . . and so on.
You'd feel like smashing a guitar or putting your foot through a drum set, right? (Relax, music fans - CDs will play anywhere on the planet).
Not so with DVDs. There really IS a Region Code preventing you from playing DVDs acquired from other countries.
So say you live in the U.S. or Canada and you or your Uncle Joe just returned from Europe, for instance, with the latest James Bond flick Casino Royale - or a fascinating tourist documentary on the Rhine Valley. You pop it in the DVD player and get that darned "Wrong Region" message. Ditto if you live in London and bought a Grand Canyon tourist DVD on your trip to the U.S.
Hello, that's one expensive Frisbee you just bought!
A few small companies issue "Region-free" DVD discs that will play anywhere in the world, but the studio majors don't.
Let's be blunt: The whole region coding issue (there are six different regions!!) is a gigantic scam perpetrated by the movie industry. The studios want to control when DVDs will be released in different parts of the world and they also want to stop YOU picking up a bargain while on your travels. For example I've seen the three Jurassic Park movies in a box set for $15 U.S. while visiting England. Citizen Kane special edition? $8 U.S. in London. Ditto Bridge on the River Kwai 2-disc edition. The classic Brief Encounter special edition? An astounding $5 in the UK.
Remember - there's nothing illegal about buying whatever DVDs you like from anywhere you like on the planet. Hollywood just doesn't want you to be able to watch them! But it goes beyond getting a bargain. Some foreign material, like documentaries or obscure art films will NEVER be available in North America. What about the rights of the consumer - why shouldn't you be able to buy what you like and bring it home to use here - just like you can with music CDs?
Well you should. All power to countries like Australia and New Zealand that argue DVD Region Codes violate international free trade rules - and want to ban this vile practice.
Now, here are the current codes: REGION 1 -- USA, Canada REGION 2 -- Japan, Europe, South Africa, Middle East, Greenland REGION 3 -- South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Parts of South East Asia REGION 4 -- Australia, New Zealand, Latin America (including Mexico) REGION 5 -- Eastern Europe, Russia, India, Africa REGION 6 -- China
The good news for DVD fans is that you CAN beat the Region Code scam - and there isn't a thing Hollywood can do about it!
How? Buy a Region-Free DVD Player. You'll find lots of them on sale at leading electronics stores and "big Box" discount stores and some of them are astoundingly cheap. For example, I picked up a Norcent player for less than $50 from Wal-Mart and it lasted three years, happily playing PAL discs from Europe and NTSC discs from North America.
I got an even better deal with my latest region free model: I picked up an Accura player (made by Citizen) in a fire sale at a big box grocery store for an amazing $29.99!!
These cheap players will do an excellent job, but if you are willing to pay more for an upconverting player for superior picture I can also recommend the LG brand. Some are less than $100. Toshiba, Philips and Daewoo are some of the other companies offering Region Free DVD players.
You might not think this Region Code thing is a big deal, but I believe it is. Guaranteed, if you travel you are going to see must-have DVDs at great prices.
I'm watching with interest to see how the movie industry plans to maintain this Region Code nonsense when more of us download movies online, presumably from anywhere in the world.
Andy G. Cooper is a Canadian journalist. Check out his DVD reviews and features at: http://www.andysdvdreviews.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andy_G_Cooper
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