Why won't a DVD play in my DVD player?
Q: Do you know why the DVDs I purchased in the tianguis on Wednesday will not play in the DVD player I brought with me from home?
A: That's a good question. Lots of people have wondered why a DVD someone gave them or one they purchased here won't play in their DVD player.
In may be because the DVD is not compatible with the region your DVD player was made for. The DVD world is divided into six major geographical regions, with two additional regions reserved for specialized use.
To keep it simple, this means that DVD players and DVDs are labeled for operation within a specific geographical region in the world. For example, the U.S. is in Region 1. This means that almost all DVD players sold in the U.S. are made to Region 1 specifications.
The end result is that DVDs encoded for regions other than Region 1 cannot be played on a Region 1 DVD player. Also, players marketed for other regions cannot play Region 1-stamped DVDs. That means that a DVD bought or given to you in Mexico (Region 4) may not work on your DVD player.
The Reasons For DVD Region Coding
Why does DVD region coding exist, you ask? According to what the public is being told, such coding is a tool to protect copyright and film distribution rights (in other words, movie studio profits).
Movies are released in theaters in different parts of the world at different times throughout the year. That Summer blockbuster in the U.S. may end up being the Christmas blockbuster overseas. If that occurs, the DVD version of the movie may be out in the U.S. while it is still showing in theaters overseas.
In order to preserve the financial integrity of the theatrical distribution of a particular film, it is not possible (under normal conditions) to have a friend in the U.S. send a DVD copy of the film to the country where it is in theatrical release and be able to play the DVD on a player there.
Region Coding - The Good and The Bad
Depending on who you are, region coding can be considered a blessing or a curse. If you are movie studio executive, it's great...not only do you reap maximum profits from the theatrical releases, but also from the DVD releases for your film. However, if you are a consumer wanting to see a movie that is available on DVD in your relative or friend's country but not in yours, you may have to wait quite a while.
However, another rationale for region coding is possible price-fixing of DVDs depending on region. If this practice ever sees the light of day in court and is legally proven to be true, it may just put the heat on Hollywood and manufacturers to discontinue region coding as a marketing practice.
What About Home DVD Recording
With the advent of DVD Recorders and DVD Camcorders for consumer use, the question comes up as to how this is affected by DVD Region Coding. The good news is that since DVD Region Coding is a commercial application, any DVD recordings you make on a consumer-based DVD recorder, DVD camcorder, or even a PC, are not Region Coded.
There is a Solution
The solution is to purchase or see if your DVD player is a multi-region player. You may be saying "OK, but a player with those features is probably going to cost a lot more." Not necessarily. Karen and I were in Soriana's (Mexico's equivalent to Wal-Mart here in Lakeside) and picked up a DVD player that not only played any DVD for any region, but also MP3s and CD2s (more on this in another article) for around $30 USD.
Today it is possible to purchase a multi-region player at almost any place that sells eletronic equipment. One should ask if the player you are interested in is multi -region. It should have this information on the box, but if it doesn't, make sure you ask before you buy if all of the different playing options are important to you.
If you already have a DVD player and would like to see if you can change the region encoding, try this link: http://www.dvdcity.com/codefree/instructions.htmlor go to Ask.com and type in "Changing DVD Region Codes" in the search box. You should be able to find good instructions on changing the encoding yourself. Good luck.