A: If a listing mentions "Region 1", a seller is letting you know they are selling a DVD for distribution in the United States. One of the first things you should look for in the auction description is what region the DVD is intended for. More often than not, you will see listings for "Region-Free" or "All-Region" DVD's. The majority of these DVD's are bootlegs (illegal copies) and not authorized for release.

If you check the back of a DVD package, you will see a region number stamped there. Region codes were created by the motion picture studios to control the home release of movies in different countries. By incorporating this code into the DVD standard, they can prevent the playback of certain discs in specific geographic locations. Region 1 is the code designated to the United States, U.S. territories, and Canada. All DVD players sold for use in the United States play Region 1 discs. All DVD's for release in the U.S. are Region 1 encoded. While the majority of DVD players sold in the United States are locked to only play Region 1 discs, there are Region-free players available which will play any DVD's from any region.

These are the current Region codes in use:

• 0 - Playable in all regions or region-free
• 1 - United States, U.S. territories, Canada, Bermuda
• 2 - Middle East, Western Europe, Central Europe, Egypt, French overseas territories, Greenland, Japan, Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland
• 3 - Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Taiwan
• 4 - Australasia (Australia, New Zealand), Central America, the Caribbean, Mexico, Oceania, South America
• 5 - The rest of Africa, Former Soviet Union, the Indian subcontinent, Mongolia, North Korea
• 6 - Mainland China
• 7 - Reserved for future use (found in use on protected screener copies of MPAA-related DVDs, and "media-copies" of pre-releases in Asia)
• 8 - International venues such as aircraft, cruise ships, etc.