This page last updated 11/21/00
What is a region code?
Those familiar with this can skip to the next header, for everyone else, read on.
Region codes are a "feature" that is required to be built in to DVD players by the contract you have to sign to get the specifications that make building a player possible. Each player is required to have code in the disc-startup routine that checks to see that the DVD is allowed to play in the player. Each player is required to have a region number built in to it, and the player is required to refuse to play a disc that does not contain the same number in the region field of the disc. Some post messages, some eject the disc, some do both. The reasons given for this vary, but in the end it all comes down to control. This scheme allows video makers to control which items are marketed in which areas at times of their choosing. This can be a nuisance as some materials may be made available months or years later in different areas, if the materials are released at all in some areas. Compare any domestic US supplier with what you can find at BlackStar to see the differences in distribution.
With video tape, you can generally watch any tape from anywhere on the planet if you get appropriate equipment. With DVDs, this is still possible, but you have to work a little harder at it. An entire industry has sprung up to combat the region coding system of DVD. Modified players can be had from Planet3000 and CodeFreeDVD, just to name two. A search engine can easily turn up many other dealers.Planet3000 also sells standards converters and multi-system TVs for dealing with PAL format discs.
The regions are:
1 US/Canada
2 UK/Europe/Japan/South Africa/Middle
East
3 Asia
4 Australia/New Zealand
5 Russia/Africa/Mongolia
6 China
7 Reserved (for what, I wonder)
8 Special venue
These are dredged out of memory, if you require
precision, look elsewhere.
A map is available here.
What is RCE/REA?
Region Code Enhanced (I don't know what REA
de-acronyms to) is a new software trick apparently devised by Warner Brothers
to defeat 'Region Free' players. Reports indicate that they have had mixed
results. Players that have been modified to believe they are in Region 0
(there is no such region) will attempt to play any disc, and are reportedly
affected by this system. At the time this is typed, the results on
smart-adaptive players are mixed. Manual region switched players appear to be
unaffected by this new trick. As far as reports I have read so far are able to
determine, the trick works like this: Discs encoded with RCE/REA are actually
listed as all zones accepted in the zone field of the disc. The disc starts to
play on any player. The software on the disc loads into the player, where it
asks the player for its region code. There is much speculation as the the
details, but the upshot is that if the software doesn't like the answer it
gets, you get shown a static menu with no selections that explains that there
is nothing wrong with the disc, it is meant for region 1 unmodified players
only. All buttons except for eject and power are disabled. If they did not
disable stop, some players would allow you to jump directly to things on the
disc by stopping and selecting a chapter or title number. If you have a
manual-switch player, you can check this by setting your player to an
incorrect region and playng the disc. The resulting display will be some text
over the map linked to above. One disc known to have this encoding is Mel
Gibsons The Patriot.