DVD Region Reset?

[StoneChucker]

This post is rated (M) - Mature Audiences - Basically for everyone but the author...
I don't quite understand why it is that something I paid good money for limits, then restricts me in terms of what I can use and where I can use it. I'm talking about the Region setting on DVD drives in computers. I get 4 or 5 switches/changes and then it's locked, for good. I mean, there is no way in hell you could transport a laptop overseas, so it's a hypothetical problem, but oneday someone might just find that a little annoying.

Whew, just reaslised that there's no way of buying stuff from overseas, so maybe it's not going to be an issue. I mean, you'd need some sort of internationally accessible network, where you could buy stuff, that's not going to happen. If it ever did, the best thing to do would be to isolate each region

What the hell is the point, to annoy/slow piracy? I'm not a fucking software pirate, I pay for every fucking piece of soft/hard-ware I have. But yeah, if my DVD played Futurama Volume Three - Region 1 (USA/Canada), I'd suddently shit black flags out my arse and run for the oceans. Stupid, restrictive douche-bags...

Oh by the way, does anyone know how to remove/reset the Region change count on a pc DVD drive? It is on the drive itselft isn't it? Not in the Windows software? Do you get external (USB/Firewire) DVD drives? If so, would Windows recognise two different regions on each drive?

The whole reason I got to where I am now, is because when you put the Volume (Season) 3 DVD's in, just after the Warnings/Copyright messages, a page of "Alien Alphabet" text is shown for about 5 or 10 seconds. I need to look at the page for alot longer as there is alot of "text", so was going to use my pc dvd player's vid capture to get a pic of it. Then I could translate it using the key/table given on the Season 2 Discs (I got it off the net though, much faster). And no, I can't use pause at that stage of the DVD, it's before you get even to the Title/Menu page!
This still doesn't change the validity/importance of my first arguement and question

[Gremlin]

First thing is to search your brand of drive on the net, and see if a zone reset reset mod has been made.

If you can't find anything to do it, then perhaps a liteon or possible pioneer drive that allows zone reset resets... or any brand that allows it...

[boomer]

google is your friend

Reason Price fixing aross regions and release dates...

cracks can be found by typing in your 'dvd brand' and 'model' followed by 'region crack'

[Brian d marge]

been there done that

My DVD is stuck on Australia, after I copied the dvd Elmo friends for my son.

I live in Japan, so a, region 1 , Elmo was region 4 .....

Dont panic

If it is firm ware , ou are screwed , you have to flash the chip
But most DVD coputer drives are software ....all you need to do then is down load freeware called dvd43
and it sorts everything out for you
just run it before you run dvd

its sweet as

i ws worried when the dvd said i was stuck watching elmo and friends !!!!\\

Stephen

[GR81]

i use http://www.dvd43.com/

[bungbung]

Dave, some DVD drives have a firmware patch which will set the number of changes left at 5 permanently. This means you will have the message about only having 5 left caome up each time you play a different region disc, but it is a useful workaround.

Have a look at http://www.videohelp.com/tools?s=25#25 for some software tools.

[Drunken Monkey]

Just purchase "DVD Region free + CSS", or even better, download a *cough* version with a key. Better yet, ask friendly fellow "l33t haXXor" Kiwibikers if they could send you the 1,177KB file. Problem solved.

[Lias]

On a PC DVD drive you can overwrite the firmware (the programs stored on a chip inside the drive that tell it how to work) with whats known as an RPC1 (Regionless) firmware.

This will make 99% of other zoned DVD's play, but some DVD's have additional copy protection that detect multizoned/unzoned players and have hidden looping menus that will stop them playing correctly on anything but a correctly zoned device.

www.rpc1.org has a few bazillion firmwares on it, but bear in mind that overwriting the firmware on a drive isnt for the faint of heart not technologically challenged, if you fuck it up your drive will be dead.

[StoneChucker]

Thanks for the info, I'll keep that in mind. I might try the software on my work laptop - that way if anything goes wrong it's not too much of a big deal.

[Waylander]

http://www.dvdidle.com/

Downloaded my copy from bearshare and havn't had trouble since.

Even put it on after my dvd drive had been locked.