We at JC's Collectibles have received numerous questions regarding DVD Region Codes. We hope this guide will be both informative and help when purchasing DVD's from around the world.

JC's Collectibles DVD Region Guide

What are DVD regions?
DVD regions are codes that specify and require a DVD player to be "hard-coded" to accept the DVD disc's in a particular region. For example a region 1 disc cannot play in a region 3 DVD player. There are eight regions in total, six of which are designated as world regions.

Which DVD regions apply to which area?
Region 1 - United States, United States Territories, and Canada

Region 2 - Albania, Andorra, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, European Union, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Iran (Islamic Republic of) Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia (the Former Yugoslav Republic), Malta, Moldova, Principality of Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Kingdom (Channel Islands) Vatican City State, Yemen, and  Yugoslavia

Region 3 - Southeast Asia, East Asia (including Hong Kong)

Region 4 - Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, and The Caribbean

Region 5 - Former Soviet Union, Indian Subcontinent, and Africa (also North Korea, and Mongolia)

Region 6 - China

Region 7 - Reserved for private use

Region 8 - Special international venues (airplanes, cruise ships, etc.)

What is region 0?
Region 0, or region free as they are sometimes called, are DVD's with no region. They are meant to play on all DVD players. These discs can be illegal; and most commonly are pirated and come from Hong Kong, however this is not always the case.

What is the purpose of different regions?
Most films are theatrically released in the United States first; around six months later those same films are theatrically released in Japan and Europe. An additional six months after that the film will be released to the rest of Asia, followed by Australia and Mexico as they are released in order of region coding. It is approximately six to twelve months after the initial theatrical release that the film will come out on DVD in the United States. This DVD release in the states conflicts with the theatrical release of that same film in other countries throughout the world. In order to stop people from importing the film. Instead of going to see the movie in movie theatre's in their own country and then buying the movie once released on DVD, different DVD regions were created. Furthermore regions were created so companies can sell DVD's for inflated prices in the United States, where people will pay the higher prices. This also allows the companies to sell them for prices more aligned with manufacturer cost in locations where demand is not as high with no decline in the profit margin without having to import.

Is there a way around different regions?
There are several companies that sell region free, sometimes called code free, DVD players. Unfortunately the Motion Picture Association of American (MPAA), has created a new technology called Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE) which is included on most new region 1 DVD releases. This technology allows the DVD to check the region of your player and if it is set to 0, which is region free, the disc will not play. There are ways around this too though as some region free DVD players allow you to change your region manually which will ignore the RCE if set to region 1. These region free DVD players are illegal in New Zealand. Then again in our personal opinion using DVD Regions violates the World Trade Organization laws for global world trade.

If you have a DVD-R drive on your computer then you can use a DVD decoder, which will allow you to change your DVD-R drive's region to that of your choice.

I currently have a DVD player. How do I know if mine is Code free?
If you purchased your DVD player at any large electronics chain store like Best Buy or Circuit City, then you HAVE NOT purchased a Region free, Code free DVD player. If you're still unsure, simply attempt to view an overseas DVD to see whether it will play or not.

How do you tell what region code a DVD disc is?
The Region Code is usually specified on the back of the individual DVD packages, either with a Regional Coding logo of a globe with the region number superimposed over it, or specifically spelled out. For example, while currently-released New Line and Warner DVD titles use the globe logo and number scheme, MGM/UA titles state: "This disc has been encoded for Region 1: The United States, U.S. Territories and Canada." In the case of Lumivision's discs, they are labeled "Available worldwide" which means that the discs contain no regional coding and will play on any player in any region without problem.

Can I modify my own DVD player to be Code free?
It is possible, but unless you're an engineer, it is definitely not recommended. Far too many people attempt to do this and end up damaging their DVD players. Additionally, by attempting to modify the DVD player yourself, you void any manufacturer warranty.

Please contact us at our eBay store JC's Collectibles (UserID athcd) with any further questions you may have regarding DVD Regional Coding. We also have Brand New, Factory Sealed DVD's delivered directly to your door!