Total Newbie -- Best/cheap way to rewrite a Region 2 DVD to Region 1

[jteselle]

I bought some DVDs (legally) that are Region 2 and won't play on my dvd player because they are Region 2.

They will play on my computer -- a Dell -- I guess because the DVD drive is not region-specific.

I want to read these onto my computer, convert to a non-region format or to Region 1, and then write them to a new DVD -- USING A MAC! My DVD drive on the Dell does not write, it only reads. My neighbor has a Mac that writes, but it won't read the DVD because of the region code. A mess.

So could I do this somehow:
- Read the DVD on my computer, convert to some neutral format
- Copy these files onto a USB drive
- Put the USB drive in the Mac, and write the DVD from there.

And can I do all this with free or low-cost software? I don't think I will ever be doing this again, so I'd rather not spend a lot on it.

Thanks!

[hech54]

Removing/changing the region code is only half of the battle. A simple copy of the DVD makes it region free. You need to figure out how to play PAL format videos on your American NTSC equipment...THAT will be your main problem to solve.

[jagabo]

If you plan on watching more than one import DVD consider getting a region free, PAL/NTSC converting player like the Philips DVP-5990 or DVP-5992.

[jteselle]

Ok, so the fact that it plays on my computer just means the computer can read the PAL as well as NTSC?

Since the computer can read and play it, can it be converted on the computer to MPEG or something, and then written back to a new DVD in NTSC?

What would be the software that could do this conversion?

[hech54]

Yes. Computers don't care about video formats.
Yes but....you can convert it to NTSC but it is not easy....especially if you want to keep the menus. I'd imagine it is even tougher on a Mac...I'm just guessing.

[filmboss80]

First of all, what country do the DVDs come from? Not all Region 2 discs are PAL. Japan is a Region 2 country, and it produces NTSC discs. If, by chance, your discs are Japanese, find a Mac-based DVD ripping tool. As an alternative, you could buy a DVD writer for your Dell and rip with a tool like DVDFab HDDecrypter. Even if the movie is PAL, it should play on your computer once it's ripped to your hard drive.

[jteselle]

The DVDs are from the UK, and they do say PAL on them so that must be it.