Region 1 DVDs in Region 2 at DVinfo.net

Will Pherigo · May 11th, 2005, 01:23 PM

'Scuse my ignorance!....

Does anyone know: if I (or someone else) create a DVD in the US (Region 1), will it play correctly in a DVD player someone in Scotland (Region 2) would have?

My apologies if this question has been answered somewhere else. Please point me to that and I'll look there.

Thanks.

-- Will

Joel Guy · May 11th, 2005, 01:38 PM

This might have been answered before elsewhere, but bascially, it depends on what kind of DVD player the person in Scotland has. The DVD you make in the States is not only encoded as Region 1, but also outputs an NTSC signal. Region-free, NTSC-PAL enabled DVD players are much more popular internationally than they are in the States. If he has this kind of DVD player, then it will play your disc. If he doesn't, then it won't.

I would recommend that everyone buy a region-free DVD player the next time they are upgrading (they are really no more expensive than the standard DVD players). Your selection of movies will increase exponentially, and you will be empowered to see movies that the American press and distributors have decided you don't care about. The more people that start to buy DVD's internationally, the more these money-men will catch on and start to make this movies available here.

Will Pherigo · May 11th, 2005, 02:21 PM

Thanks for the info! I'll have to keep an eye out for a DVD player like you suggest for myself, also.

Boyd Ostroff · May 11th, 2005, 02:45 PM

AFAIK, region coding is something you specifically must add to a DVD. So unless you put region codes on your DVD's for some marketing reason, then there should be no issue playing them anywhere.

Will Pherigo · May 11th, 2005, 02:59 PM

That sounds reasonable.

So, is region encoding something the Hollywood movie industry does, but that probably no one else bothers with?

I can't imagine why most other video producers would want to limit where their videos could be played.

DVDs produced with consumer type hardware and software probably don't have region encoding, then, I guess. I suppose that's what Region 0 coding is -- plays in all regions.

Dan Euritt · May 11th, 2005, 03:10 PM

we had a big thread on this a year or two ago, do a search.

afaik, region coding is not part of the dvd-r, dvd+r, etc., standards... you could use the best authoring technology that hollywood has to offer, and you still wouldn't get region coding capability with those formats.

Joel Guy · May 11th, 2005, 08:22 PM

Will,

The region encoding has to do with licensing of the films. It's a way for the studios to control the distribution of their films around the world and protect their theatrical/DVD revenue. Or, it's a way for them to price-gouge certain markets, while dumping cheap DVD packages into other less profitable ones. A DVD company might not want to encode their disc for a particular region (because, of course, they could make more money if they didn't), but usually DVD distributors are only sold the rights to the film for one region. For example, a company like the Criterion Collection usually only owns the licenses to sell their films on DVD in North American, Region 1; which is why you can look on Amazon.co.uk and find the same films in different versions. Many films which are available elsewhere have been deemed unprofitable by whoever holds the rights to the films in North America. And vice-versa, though less often. From a consumer stand-point, region-encoding is extremely prohibitive.

May 11th, 2005, 01:23 PM	#1
Will Pherigo New Boot Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Garland, TX Posts: 16	Region 1 DVDs in Region 2 'Scuse my ignorance!.... Does anyone know: if I (or someone else) create a DVD in the US (Region 1), will it play correctly in a DVD player someone in Scotland (Region 2) would have? My apologies if this question has been answered somewhere else. Please point me to that and I'll look there. Thanks. -- Will

May 11th, 2005, 01:38 PM	#2
Joel Guy Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: NYC, NY Posts: 151	This might have been answered before elsewhere, but bascially, it depends on what kind of DVD player the person in Scotland has. The DVD you make in the States is not only encoded as Region 1, but also outputs an NTSC signal. Region-free, NTSC-PAL enabled DVD players are much more popular internationally than they are in the States. If he has this kind of DVD player, then it will play your disc. If he doesn't, then it won't. I would recommend that everyone buy a region-free DVD player the next time they are upgrading (they are really no more expensive than the standard DVD players). Your selection of movies will increase exponentially, and you will be empowered to see movies that the American press and distributors have decided you don't care about. The more people that start to buy DVD's internationally, the more these money-men will catch on and start to make this movies available here. Last edited by Joel Guy; May 11th, 2005 at 01:58 PM.

May 11th, 2005, 02:21 PM	#3
Will Pherigo New Boot Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Garland, TX Posts: 16	Thanks! Thanks for the info! I'll have to keep an eye out for a DVD player like you suggest for myself, also.

May 11th, 2005, 02:45 PM	#4
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,802	AFAIK, region coding is something you specifically must add to a DVD. So unless you put region codes on your DVD's for some marketing reason, then there should be no issue playing them anywhere.

May 11th, 2005, 02:59 PM	#5
Will Pherigo New Boot Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Garland, TX Posts: 16	That sounds reasonable. So, is region encoding something the Hollywood movie industry does, but that probably no one else bothers with? I can't imagine why most other video producers would want to limit where their videos could be played. DVDs produced with consumer type hardware and software probably don't have region encoding, then, I guess. I suppose that's what Region 0 coding is -- plays in all regions.

May 11th, 2005, 03:10 PM	#6
Dan Euritt Trustee Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Carlsbad CA Posts: 1,132	we had a big thread on this a year or two ago, do a search. afaik, region coding is not part of the dvd-r, dvd+r, etc., standards... you could use the best authoring technology that hollywood has to offer, and you still wouldn't get region coding capability with those formats.

May 11th, 2005, 08:22 PM	#7
Joel Guy Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: NYC, NY Posts: 151	Will, The region encoding has to do with licensing of the films. It's a way for the studios to control the distribution of their films around the world and protect their theatrical/DVD revenue. Or, it's a way for them to price-gouge certain markets, while dumping cheap DVD packages into other less profitable ones. A DVD company might not want to encode their disc for a particular region (because, of course, they could make more money if they didn't), but usually DVD distributors are only sold the rights to the film for one region. For example, a company like the Criterion Collection usually only owns the licenses to sell their films on DVD in North American, Region 1; which is why you can look on Amazon.co.uk and find the same films in different versions. Many films which are available elsewhere have been deemed unprofitable by whoever holds the rights to the films in North America. And vice-versa, though less often. From a consumer stand-point, region-encoding is extremely prohibitive.