Disclaimer: I do not believe I am asking anything illegal.
When I moved to Japan two years ago, I brought my American DVD player so I could watch my movies. But it appears that in my last bit of house cleaning that the remote got accidentally trashed–and there is no way to navigate the menu screens elsewise.
Now when I first got my computer here it let me toggle the supported region five times. Though it is now long locked to Japanese only.
So my questions:
Are all PC DVD players toggleable out of the box or would this be something I would need to verify before purchasing?
Can you have differently regioned DVD players on the same machine?
Will toggleabity still function if it is a slave drive, or would I be safer to go for an external drive?
Yes. Depending on the model, you should be able to change the region code 5 times before the it locks onto the last code. This can be remedied by a firmware flash (this can be dangerous if your don’t do it right - you can toast the drive) or a software override that will bypass the hardware change.
I don’t believe it will bypass the DVD drive’s region control. It’s in the firmware, not something that can be bypassed by software. You still need a DVD drive whose region code matches the disk you’re trying to read. What they mean by “removes region code” is that this software allows you to create a copy of the movie without region code. This copy can be played on any DVD player or drive.
Azadeh, do you also have a DVD drive hacked to remove the region code limitations? I don’t think the software you linked to would bypass the drive’s region code.
It’s actually easier to deal with region codes on stand-alone DVD players. There are many DVD players out there that can be very easily hacked to remove region code, and you don’t have to deal with separate region controls on software and hardware. The Philips 642 is the one I use.
You’re absolutely right. I forgot to mention this, sorry.
Often, both the DVD drive’s firmware and the DVD playback software will have region restrictions. AnyDVD will remove the latter’s restrictions, but you still have to do something about the DVD drive’s firmware, as scr4 pointed out. (Conversely, after you fix the firmware, you still need something like AnyDVD or DVD Region Killer to deal with the DVD playback software)
AFAIK (or rather, remember) I haven’t attempted any hacks on my DVD drive, and I’ve been using DVD Region Killer for a good while with no problems. Then again, I also never reached the 5 change limit, which may be a factor?
For info on what players are available in Europe and North America (among other places) as well as conversion software, capturing TV, etc. best place on the net is:
Going to pick me up a Curtis 1084 tomorrow. Easily region hacked and plays DivX, Xvid, Mpegs, VCDs, SVCDs, DVDs, etc. burned to discs as well as on memory cards, memory sticks and external hard drives. All for $60CAD…
Going to the site, I get “You have been automatically redirected away from J-List.com because it looks as if you are accessing us from Japan.” which does not speek wonders for the legality.
If there is something wrong with purchasing a second DVD player then please tell me, but it is rather worrying when everyone is recommending to try things that will potentially break my computer over this path…
- Are all PC DVD players toggleable out of the box or would this be something I would need to verify before purchasing?
I believe so. I’ve never come across one whose region code cannot be changed several times.
- Can you have differently regioned DVD players on the same machine?
Yes.
- Will toggleabity still function if it is a slave drive, or would I be safer to go for an external drive?
It should work either way.
Now for the question not asked: Is that enough to watch an American DVD on my computer? The answer is: probably not. Most DVD playback software also checks for region code. So not only do you need two DVD drives on your computer, you also need two different DVD player software on your computer. That, or find a hack like the one Azadeh linked to.
If all you want to do is watch Japanese and American movies, I recommend buying a new stand-alone DVD player that is either region-free, or can be hacked easily to disable region code. Just google for “region free” on Google Japan, in Japanese.
Right, but if you can make a copy, that means the drive is letting you read the video data and AnyDVD is decrypting it, so you should be able to just play the disc directly. Since AnyDVD is filtering at that low of a level, it can modify all the region coding before your DVD player software sees it, and the player won’t even know the disc was intended for a different region. (Disclaimer: I haven’t used AnyDVD myself.)
You can always write directly to peter@jlist.com and see what he says. He has lived in Japan for some years now, is married and has a couple kids. No idea why he redirects if you are in Japan. Alternatively, do any of the shops in Japan sell the cheap Chinese made DVD players? I have yet to find one that can’t be easily hacked with a simple remote control access code. I have them for my Philips 642, Apex AD-1500, Norcent 300, Malata, the new Curtis deck I will be buying, etc. This means they will accept discs from anywhere. If you want a really good deck and you can get it from stateside, check out the Oppo DV971H.
Several of my friends have these and they really gush about them. I have seen one play some DivX files on a 102" projector and it does a really good job on playback. They will also accept discs from anywhere and play back in the correct aspect ratio any widescreen format discs (my bud gets discs from all over the world which is why he bought that deck).
Probably because Jlist sells Japanese adult publications as well as toys, neat and odd items from Japan, etc. Your software is probably going to block that site.
You can always write directly to peter@jlist.com and see what he says. He has lived in Japan for some years now, is married and has a couple kids. No idea why he redirects if you are in Japan. Alternatively, do any of the shops in Japan sell the cheap Chinese made DVD players? I have yet to find one that can’t be easily hacked with a simple remote control access code. I have them for my Philips 642, Apex AD-1500, Norcent 300, Malata, Daytek DP-30/Liteon 5001 DVD recorder, the new Curtis deck I will be buying, etc. This means they will accept discs from anywhere. If you want a really good deck and you can get it from stateside, check out the Oppo DV971H.
Several of my friends have these and they really gush about them. I have seen one play some DivX files on a 102" projector and it does a really good job on playback. They will also accept discs from anywhere and play back in the correct aspect ratio any widescreen format discs (my bud gets discs from all over the world which is why he bought that deck).
My point is that you can’t make a copy, not without a drive with the appropriate region code.
The OP has a PC with a DVD drive set to Region 2 (Japan & Europe), and wants to view a Region 1 (North America) DVD. From what I understand, the OP’s options are:
[ul]
[li]Add a new DVD drive to the PC, set it to Region 1, and do one of the following:[/li][list]
[li]Find a hack to remove the playback software’s region code restrictions.[/li][li]Buy a different DVD playback software, and set it to Region 1.[/li][li]Use something like AnyDVD to create a region-free copy of the movie, which can then be played on this PC or any DVD player.[/li][/ul]
[li]Buy a region-free stand-alone DVD player.[/li][li]Buy a stand-alone DVD player that can easily be hacked to remove region code.[/li][/list]