So, this is the first time I try to watch a DVD disc on my (new) Mac and I wonder if I can keep it as fresh-new by not choosing any region and just play discs from anywhere.
I understand the media industry made that lock for copyright and whatever, but do I absolutely have to choose a region to be able to play disks, even if I got original ones from different places? Why can I "change region" just 5 times, why even allowing changing?
(new) In other words: How much would it cost us, end users, to have a region free DVD player?
Also, on a side-note, I wonder how to disable the regular DVD Player.
3 Answers
First off I would verify that the disk actually works in something. Either a standalone DVD player or another computer, it doesn't matter just something.
Next I would attempt to rip it off the disk using Mac the Ripper. Try different regional settings.
If you can't find anything else that will play it, and you can't rip it, the disks themselves might be bad.
Standalone DVD players
Usually a configuration flag is set in each player's firmware at the factory. This flag holds the region number that the machine is allowed to play. Region-free players are DVD players shipped without the ability to enforce regional lockout (usually by means of a chip that ignores any region coding), or without this flag set.
However, if the player is not region-free, it can often be unlocked with an unlock code entered via the remote control. This code simply allows the user to change the factory-set configuration flag to another region, or to the special region "0". Once unlocked this way, the DVD player allows the owner to watch DVDs from any region. Many websites exist on the Internet offering these codes, often known informally as hacks. Many websites provide instructions for different models of standalone DVD players, to hack, and their factory codes.
