DVD Regions Information
The DVD region code identifies a DVD's compatibility with the players typically sold in a particular region.
Region 0 (or "region free") is compatible with DVD players from any region.
The majority of all current titles play only in one specific region unless otherwise noted. DVDs sold by Amazon.co.uk are encoded for Region 2 or Region 0. Region 2 DVDs may not work on DVD players in other countries.
Region 1 DVDs sold by Marketplace sellers
Region 1 discs are intended for use with standard DVD players in North America (Canada and the USA). In most instances they can also be played on compatible "multi-region" DVD players (also known as "chipped" or "region-free" players).
They also require an NTSC-compatible television. NTSC is the standard picture format in North America, and differs from the PAL format adopted in Britain and Europe. Region 1 DVDs are usually presented in NTSC format, so you should ensure that your TV is capable of reading the NTSC signal before purchasing Region 1 DVDs.
Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE)
Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE) has been added by some film studios (specifically Warner and Columbia) to selected Region 1 DVDs, with the intention of preventing these discs from playing on some multi-region DVD players. We are therefore unable to guarantee that all Region 1 discs will be compatible with all multi-region players.
Global DVD region countries
This is not a definitive list and is intended only as a guide.
Region 1 - US, US Territories and Canada
American Samoa, Canada, Guam, Palau, Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Puerto Rico, Micronesia, United States, U.S. Virgin Islands
Region 2 - UK, Europe, Japan, South Africa and Middle East
Albania, Andorra, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Vatican City, Yemen, Yugoslavia
Region 3 - Southeast and East Asia
Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Phillipines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam
Region 4 - Australia, New Zealand, Central and South America
Antigua, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Barbuda, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Falkland Islands, French Guiana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, New Guinea, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad, Tobago, Uruguay
Region 5 - Former Soviet Union, Indian sub-continent, Africa, North Korea and Mongolia
Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, India, Ivory Coast, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, St. Helena, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Region 6 - China
China
Region 7 - Reserved for future use
Region 8 - International Territories (ships, planes, etc)
The geographical regions are as follows:
REGION 1 -- USA, Canada REGION 2 -- Japan, Europe, South Africa, Middle East, Greenland REGION 3 -- S.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 REGION 7 -- Reserved for Unspecified Special Use REGION 8 -- Reserved for Cruise Ships, Airlines, etc... REGION 0 or REGION ALL -- Discs are uncoded and can be played
Worldwide, however, PAL discs must be played in a PAL-compatible unit
and NTSC discs must be played in an NTSC-compatible unit.
The end result is that DVDs encoded for regions other than Region 1
cannot be played on a region 1 DVD player, also, players marketed for
other regions cannot play region 1-stamped DVDs.
To unlock the DVD code its defends upon what region you belongs or from
were you bought the DVD unit. Just click this site to hack the region
code ; http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks
To
keep it simple, this means that DVD players and DVDs are labeled for
operation on within a specific geographical region in the world. For
example, the U.S. is in region 1. This means that all DVD players sold
in the U.S. are made to region 1 specifications. As a result, region 1
players can only play region 1 discs. That's right, the DVDs themselves
are encoded for a specific region. On the back of each DVD package, you
will a find a region number (1 thru 6). The geographical regions are as follows: REGION 1 -- USA, Canada REGION 2 -- Japan, Europe, South Africa, Middle East, Greenland REGION 3 -- S.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 REGION 7 -- Reserved for Unspecified Special Use REGION 8 -- Reserved for Cruise Ships, Airlines, etc... REGION
0 or REGION ALL -- Discs are uncoded and can be played Worldwide,
however, PAL discs must be played in a PAL-compatible unit and NTSC
discs must be played in an NTSC-compatible unit.
The end
result is that DVDs encoded for regions other than Region 1 cannot be
played on a region 1 DVD player, also, players marketed for other
regions cannot play region 1-stamped DVDs
To unlock the DVD code its defends upon what region you belongs or from were you bought the DVD unit. Just click this site to hack the region code ; http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks
To keep it simple, this means that DVD players and DVDs are labeled for operation on within a specific geographical region in the world. For example, the U.S. is in region 1. This means that all DVD players sold in the U.S. are made to region 1 specifications. As a result, region 1 players can only play region 1 discs. That's right, the DVDs themselves are encoded for a specific region. On the back of each DVD package, you will a find a region number (1 thru 6). The geographical regions are as follows: REGION 1 -- USA, Canada REGION 2 -- Japan, Europe, South Africa, Middle East, Greenland REGION 3 -- S.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 REGION 7 -- Reserved for Unspecified Special Use REGION 8 -- Reserved for Cruise Ships, Airlines, etc... REGION 0 or REGION ALL -- Discs are uncoded and can be played Worldwide, however, PAL discs must be played in a PAL-compatible unit and NTSC discs must be played in an NTSC-compatible unit.
The end result is that DVDs encoded for regions other than Region 1 cannot be played on a region 1 DVD player, also, players marketed for other regions cannot play region 1-stamped DVDs
Q: What is Regional Coding enhancement(RCE)? A: It's a digital enhancement added to some Warner Bros and Columbia DVDs to stop region 1 (R1) DVDs from playing on Region-free DVD players.
Q: What's the difference between Region Coding and RCE? A: Regional Coding enhancement(RCE) is an additional layer of protection which some studios have placed on select REGION 1 DVDs to prevent them from playing on region-free or multi-region players. Region Coding is a part of the DVD spec which divides the world into 8 regions: Region 1: U.S., Canada, U.S. Territories Region 2: Japan, Europe, South Africa, and Middle East (including Egypt) Region 3: Southeast Asia and East Asia (including Hong Kong) Region 4: Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean Region 5: Eastern Europe (Former Soviet Union), Indian subcontinent, Africa, North Korea, and Mongolia Region 6: China Region 7: Reserved Region 8: Special international venues (airplanes, cruise ships, etc.)
Basically, DVDs released in each region will typically only play on players sold in that region. IE a DVD released in the UK *Region 2* would not play on a player sold in the us *Region 1*. You can tell what Region a DVD is coded for by looking at the back of the box for a Globe with a number on it. The number correlates to the region list above. If a DVD is listed as 'Region 0' it means that it isn't coded for any region and should play on ALL regions players.
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