Region Free DVD Players

[pleasurebay]

Can anyone suggest a source for region free DVD players. I'm looking to play Pal DVD's on a NTSC set so it should have a built in converter, I have looked across ebay and they all seem to be the same or similar players being sold cheaply with shipping at 300% of the real cost, and looking elsewhere they all seem to be +/- $300 which kinda makes the whole exercise pointless.

Can anyone point me in the right direction ?

[Luke]

Not sure if this thread will help, as it's now over one year old, but maybe it couldn't hurt:
http://www.ultimatedisney.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=320

I don't know much on the topic, and I still haven't gotten one myself....yet.

[AwallaceUNC]

I don't get why regions had to be created to begin with. They were, though, so I do want a Region-free player (w/ converter). That's not gonna be any time soon, though.

-Aaron

[2099net]

Check out:

http://www.hkflix.com/hardware/

[2099net]

I don't get why regions had to be created to begin with. They were, though, so I do want a Region-free player (w/ converter). That's not gonna be any time soon, though.

-Aaron

In theory, region coding is to protect licencing rights. For example, Terminator 3 is a Warner Bros title in the US, but a Columbia title else where. In theory, this stops UK (or where-ever) residents purchasing the Warner disc, and bypassing Columbia's copyright.

However, a little logic tells us this is not the real reason. Firstly a DVD can store gigabytes of information, and yet the DVD forum only created and assigned 8 region codes. Even worse two are not really used (I think 7 is reserved for "future use" and 8 is for airplanes and cruise ships, and hasn't been used to my knowledge).

So this means region codes are shared between lots of countries. Region 2 and 4 seems to suffer the most. For example region 2 covers the whole of Europe (except Russia), which is a nonsense situation as movie rights are more fragmented in Europe then anywhere else, due to all the various languages spoken in the continent. It's not uncommon for a film to have a different distributor in the UK, Germany and France (such as the Resident Evil film for example). Also, for some strange reason, instead of making a new code, the DVD Forum decided to lump Japan in with region 2. As if there is any logic to shared distributors between Europe and Japan, areas that are half-a-world away from each other. I guess they were thinking Europe is PAL (or minor varients) while Japan is NTSC. But for the past 10 years or so every new television bought in Europe can display NTSC images as well as PAL. Region 4 has similar problems being not only Australia and New Zealand but South America too (again, as if there is any logic to this decision).

If they were comitted to protecting licences, they would have split the world up more logically and created more regions (for example, Europe could do with about 3 regions) They could still make discs playable in more than one region, but they would of had the choice of enforcing licencing more strictly.

Here is a map showing the various region codes and areas. See how many are shared?:



But the biggest evidence against region encoding is Columbia and their RCE discs. These discs refuse to play on some multi-region players. However, the only discs Columbia RCE are R1 titles where Columbia themselves hold the worldwide rights to. So, for example, Columbia is perfectly happy to stop non-American users play "Hellboy" on their multi-region players, but perfectly happy for them to import "Resident Evil", a film Columbia only distribute in the US, as they didn't RCE protect the disc... almost as if they wanted additional non-domestic sales, even though they didn't have the rights, even though they are keen to protect their own rights. Now, despite the original DVD Forum stating region encoding was to protect licences, it states region encoding is to protect theatrical release windows. For example, our UK Hellboy doesn't even open until 2nd September 2004, well after the US disc has gone on sale. The reason for this is the UK will get sent all of the American and Canadian prints that are still deemed viewable, but even then they are likely to be covered in dirt and scratches. Yet we will still be expected to pay the going rate to see the film in the cinema (another reason I no longer see films at the cinema).

In other words, region coding has nothing at all to do with licencing and protecting the revenue streams of the various distributors, both from theatrical and home viewing. In other words it has everything to do with the studios operating monopolies in each territory, and fixing the price of the discs, and providing other territories with shoddy product (second hand film prints for the cinemas) as they (would of had, if everything had gone to plan) created monopolies.

Monopolies are frowned upon in free markets and in fact in several areas of the world, Region Encoding has been claimed as illegal, as it is used to support price fixing.

Hopefully, one day the studios will pay the actors less money, and use the savings to actually make more film prints so more films can have an almost simultanious global release date, and then region encoding won't really be required.

Rant over

[PatrickvD]

Hopefully, one day the studios will pay the actors less money, and use the savings to actually make more film prints so more films can have an almost simultanious global release date, and then region encoding won't really be required.

I second that. A very good point.

[Luke]

Thanks for the thorough lesson, 2099net!

[AwallaceUNC]

Very informational, Netty. Thanks!

-Aaron

[Disney Guru]

I love my little Daewoo Region Free DVD Payer. I paid $35 for it. And It is a really good one no matter what other people say. It is made well. I bought it at Christmas Time last year. It still works like new. I use it a lot. So that is deffinately a good one to buy.