# Can I play British CDs in the U.S.? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 6, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-play-british-cds-in-the-u-s/320368 "2005-09-06T17:17:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MizQuirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/94ad74/32.png) [@MizQuirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizQuirk)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-play-british-cds-in-the-u-s/320368/1 "2005-09-06T17:17:38Z")
I once understood our electrical systems are different so adapters needed to be used, and I think I heard that videos from there couldn’t be played on our VCRs here (at least without certain fixtures), so is it now the same with CDs? If a friend sends me a CD from England, would I be able to watch it on my CD player here? Without any fuss or muss? Thanks for any info. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-play-british-cds-in-the-u-s/320368/2 "2005-09-06T17:21:10Z")
Yep. You can play any music disc from anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![MrJackboots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MrJackboots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrJackboots)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-play-british-cds-in-the-u-s/320368/3 "2005-09-06T17:23:13Z")
I buy import CDs on a distressingly regular basis, and I’ve never had problems with UK CDs, or any import CDs for that matter. A friend of mine has had trouble using certain Japanese copy-protected CDs on his computer (even to play them), but that’s the extent of it. ---
**Author:** ![MizQuirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/94ad74/32.png) [@MizQuirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizQuirk)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-play-british-cds-in-the-u-s/320368/4 "2005-09-06T17:31:18Z")
Oh shoot – how dumb of me! I meant DVDs! Not CDs. So, to start over, can I play DVDs from England here? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-play-british-cds-in-the-u-s/320368/5 "2005-09-06T17:39:53Z")
If you have a region-free DVD player. ---
**Author:** ![MrJackboots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MrJackboots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrJackboots)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-play-british-cds-in-the-u-s/320368/6 "2005-09-06T17:54:26Z")
DVDs will be more of a problem. Some DVDs will be region-coded; others will not. The ones that aren’t will play anywhere; you’ll need a region-free player to do that, or at least a Region 2 player. Still, if you’re going to go to the expense, you may as well go all the way, right? A decent region-free player starts around $85-100. Alternatively, there are some rather enterprising individuals out there who have found ways to disable region-coding on your standard-issue region-coded DVD player; you may want to Google your particular model and see how easy it might be. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-play-british-cds-in-the-u-s/320368/7 "2005-09-06T18:02:35Z")
Not only do you need a region-free DVD player, you’ll need one that can do the PAL to NTSC conversion. I recently purchased a Philips DVP642 from Best Buy for $60. It came with the PAL conversion built in. It wasn’t region-free to begin with but it was possible to do so with instructions easily available on the internet. I’ve since purchased several UK DVDs from [Amazon.co.uk](http://Amazon.co.uk) and have had no problems playing any of them. (I also had no problems buying them for delivery to the US. The cheaper delivery method was international mail and I received all the DVDs in about a week.) ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-play-british-cds-in-the-u-s/320368/8 "2005-09-06T18:13:27Z")
Even if you can’t play them in your DVD player, if your computer has a DVD drive it can likely handle them. (My experience of this is limited to the PAL DVD that came with the Watersons CD box set from the UK. I couldn’t play it on my TV, but it plays fine on my iMac.) ---
**Author:** ![MrJackboots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MrJackboots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrJackboots)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-play-british-cds-in-the-u-s/320368/9 "2005-09-06T18:18:00Z")
Caveat for **Biffy** ’s advice: Lately computer DVD drives are set to change regions automatically to suit the DVDs inserted, then lock after seven switches (or some such ridiculous number). There are, as always, software/firmware bits of hackery to get around this, but it’s a good idea to find them before the DVD locks. There is also a nice piece of software, DVD X Player, that handles all of this, no hackery involved. Just install and go. ---
**Author:** ![MizQuirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/94ad74/32.png) [@MizQuirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizQuirk)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-play-british-cds-in-the-u-s/320368/10 "2005-09-06T18:38:15Z")
Oh m’gosh–you folks are all so knowledgable, and I’m way too old to get a handle on this. My DVD player is–I’m guessing–about three or four years old, and since it was a “floor” model, no booklet came with it so I have no idea if it’s regional-free or not. But since it works great for all I’ve used it for, I think I’ll just keep on with it the way things are. Unless I find out the DVD we’re talking about, from England, is bombastic enough to warrant buying a new player, that is. I really appreciate all the replies, and that you’d bother to explain so well. ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2005, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-play-british-cds-in-the-u-s/320368/11 "2005-09-06T19:53:28Z")
I found my computer DVD player to be more work than my regular DVD player regarding making it region free. The regular player needed a code typed on the remote to remove the region locking. God knows what I installed to remove the region locking for my computer. As someone who has recently moved from South Africa (region 2) to the United States (region 1) I have spent a not insignificant time enraged with what I regard as the attempted theft of my completely legitimate DVD collection by the film industry. The attitude appears to be “you shouldn’t pirate because it’s stealing … and only we should be allowed to get away with that!”