DVD Region Codes: Everything You Need to Know [Review]

Have you experienced difficulty and errors when trying to play a disc on your DVD player? This isn’t a common issue, but when it does occur, it's often due to region code restrictions. DVD region codes are an embedded form of digital protection that controls where a disc can be played based on its geographic location. These codes were created by studios to manage the release timing, pricing, and distribution of films across different regions of the world.

In this article, we are going to learn what DVD region codes are, why they were implemented, and how you can bypass them. Ready to start watching your DVDs anytime, anywhere? Continue reading!

Part 1. Why There Are DVD Region Codes

Movie studios introduced DVD region codes to control the distribution and release timing of films in different parts of the world. DVDs are embedded with region codes to restrict playback to specific geographic areas and make the content available only in certain countries or regions. The following are the other reasons why there are DVD region codes:

1. Market Control and Release Timing:

In order for the studios to control their market and timing releases of their movies, they need to create DVD region codes. If there’s a film that might be released earlier in the United States but later in other regions like Europe or Asia, region codes can help as they prevent or restrict DVDs from being watched in regions where the film hasn’t been officially released yet.

2. Pricing and Economic Differences:

The second reason for this is that DVD pricing varies across different regions. In consideration of economic differences, some DVDs may be priced lower in some areas, such as in developing countries, than in wealthier regions. That’s where DVD region codes take place to prevent consumers from buying cheaper DVDs internationally and using them in higher-cost regions.

3. Content Regulation and Licensing:

Different countries have unique regulations for media content, such as censorship and language requirements. Region codes help studios comply with these regional laws by controlling where each version of a DVD can be played. Additionally, certain distribution rights are licensed on a per-country basis, so studios may use region codes to comply with contractual agreements with distributors in different parts of the world.

Part 2. DVD Region Code List with Related Regions

The following is the list of DVD region codes, along with the regions they cover:

DVD Region 1: United States, Canada.

DVD Region 2: Europe, Japan, the Middle East, Egypt, South Africa, Greenland.

DVD Region 3: Southeast Asia, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong.

DVD Region 4: Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Caribbean

DVD Region 5: Eastern Europe, Russia, India, Africa, North Korea, and Mongolia.

DVD Region 6: China.

DVD Region 7: Reserved for future use, often unofficially used in South Asia.

DVD Region 8: International territories, including cruise ships and aircraft.

DVD Region 0, 9, or Region ALL: These DVDs are not region-locked and can be played in all regions.

This region code system is embedded in DVDs and DVD players to control the areas where content is accessible. Players designed for a specific region are typically restricted to playing DVDs encoded for that same region unless they are set to be region-free or modified to bypass these limitations.

Part 3. How to Check My DVD’s Region Code

You can find the region code for your disc or player by checking for a small, standardized globe icon with a number on it that indicates the region. If the disc is compatible with multiple regions, it will display more than one number on the globe. Discs without any region restrictions will show 0 or ALL, meaning they can play in all regions.

Part 4. How to Bypass DVD Region Code

Now that you’ve identified that there’s really an incompatibility issue with the region code that is embedded in your DVD. In this part, you are going to learn how to easily bypass them. The following are the three ways to bypass DVD region codes:

Solution 1. Using the FVC picked Video Converter Ultimate

FVC izabran Video Converter Ultimate is an all-in-one video converter tool that allows users to convert any video to formats of their choice. This tool supports a wide range of input formats like DVD and Blu-ray discs, and MKV, MP4, MOV, and more as output formats. That’s why you can use this tool to bypass DVD region code by ripping the DVD to a digitalize file.

Glavne značajke:

• Convert DVD to digital video for PC and iOS/Android device playback.

• Can rip DVD to digital formats like MP4, MKV, MOV and more.

• Uses Blu-ray hyper technology and advanced encoding technology to enhance the converted video.

• Supports batch conversion for converting multiple DVDs at once.

• Has built-in video editing features like trimming, cropping, watermarks, and effects.

• Customizable output settings like the encoder, sample rate, channel, and bitrate.

• The user interface is very straightforward.

To change the DVD region code by ripping it, follow the steps below:

Korak 1. Najprije trebate preuzeti i instalirati alat na svoj uređaj.

Korak 2. Sada pokrenite alat i kliknite Dodaj datoteku icon to load the disk.

3. korak Nakon toga kliknite na Izlazni format below and choose the digital format that you prefer from the Video tab. Kada završite, samo kliknite na Pretvori sve gumb za početak kopiranja DVD-a.

That’s it! You can now play your DVD on various devices and streaming platforms. FVC picked Video Converter supports a wide range of formats, and its ability to load DVD content makes it the best way to bypass DVD region codes.

Bonus Reading: How to burn MP4 to DVD.

Solution 2. Change the Region Code with a standalone DVD Player

To change the region code on your standalone DVD player, you can use a simple sequence on your remote control. This can allow your DVD player to play discs from different regions or even set it to a region-free mode. Follow these steps to adjust the region code on your DVD player:

Korak 1. Power on your DVD player and ensure that there is no disc in the tray.

Korak 2. Sada idite na Početak gumb, odaberite Upravljačka ploča, select System and Maintenance, and then click on Upravitelj uređaja.

3. korak With your remote, press 3 1 4 1 5 9. You should see CODE or FF displayed on your TV screen. Now, enter the region code you want.

4. korak After that, press the PAUSE button on the remote again.

Korak 5. Lastly, after making changes, turn off the DVD player to save the new region code settings.

Solution 3. Modify DVD Region Code

The last solution to bypass the DVD region code is to modify it. Below are the steps to modify the DVD region’s code:

For Mac:

Korak 1. Insert the disc into your Mac’s optical drive. Next, in the dialogue box, select the region code that is the same as your DVD player, and click the Set Drive Region dugme.

Korak 2. Nakon toga kliknite Zaključaj button to save the changes you’ve made.

For Windows:

Korak 1. Insert the disc into your computer’s disc drive. After that, press and hold the Windows tipka, and then press the R key to access the Trčanje program.

Korak 2. Next, enter the devmgmt.msc i kliknite u redu button. Then, on the Device Manager window, access the DVD/CD-ROM pogoni opcija.

3. korak After that, right-click your Pogon i odaberite Svojstva option. Meanwhile, on a new window, select the DVD Region tab, choose your current region, and click u redu.

Part 5. FAQs about DVD Region Code

Zaključak

Now that you have understood what DVD region codes are and you know how to determine and bypass them, you can start changing the code of your DVDs so that you can watch them without restriction. Go ahead and check your DVD region codes now!