What is a Code free DVD player?
A Code free DVD player is a DVD player that is capable of playing DVD discs from around the world. DVD discs are encoded into 8 different regions.

Why are there different regions?
Motion picture studios in the USA wanted to control the release of movies around the world using DVD region codes.. Movies are released on DVD at different times around the world, typically America and Canada first, Australia and Japan 6 months later, and Europe 12 months after US release. In some instances, DVD movies are available for purchase in America and Canada before they are released in European cinemas. Due to the high quality of DVD and the movie release system used by Hollywood, 8 regions were established to prevent people from watching Region 1 movies before they were released on Regions 2-8.

DVD Region Locking is a system used to control which DVD movies play on which DVD Players. The regions are broken down as follow:

Region 01
U.S., U.S. Territories, Canada

Region 02

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, Yugoslavia

Region 03

Southeast Asia, East Asia (including Hong Kong)

Region 04

Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, Caribbean

Region 05

Former Soviet Union, Indian Subcontinent, Africa (also North Korea, Mongolia)

Region 06

China

Region 07

Reserved

Region 08

Special international venues (airplanes, cruise ships, etc.)

What does this mean to the end consumer?
This means that movies from Region 1 (USA & Canada) WILL NOT play on a DVD player regions 2-8. Effectively Region 1 discs play only on Region 1 DVD players, Region 2 discs play only on Region 2 DVD players and so on.

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 The Good Guys or Circuit City, then you have not purchased a 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 & number scheme, MGM/UA titles state: "This disc has been encoded for Region 1: The United States, U.S. Territories and Canada." In the cast of Lumivision's discs, they are labelled "Available worldwide," which means that the discs contain no regional coding and will play on any player in any country.