Does law require DVD players to be sold as region specific to country ?

[Panchogun]

Does law require DVD players to be sold as region specific to country/region ???

I've got a Toshiba SD-6100KU DVD player which I bought
at Best Buy about 6 months ago, so can't return it.
Problem is that it only plays Region 1 (USA), and have not
been able to find a hack for it to make it play 0 (all regions),
so, it looks like I have to buy another player.

When I search Best Buy, I can't find any mention of any
DVD player's region code. This leads me to believe that
it's just assumed that they all play only region 1.

So, is this a legal thing that requires them to sell only region 1 players ?
Can I legally buy region 0 players in the US.

thanks.

[aedipuss]

the short answer is yes. if a company want to license the rights to make dvd players, they have to agree to all specs, including drm.

[jagabo]

It's a licensing issue. If you want a license to manufacture a DVD player you must agree to include region restrictions.

[lordsmurf]

"So, is this a legal thing that requires them to sell only region 1 players?"

No, absolutely not. This is a mafia-like arrangement amongst electronics makers and studios, there is no such law specifying regions.

Indeed, a number of CE products don't give a crap (nor should they), and don't enforce region or even anti-copy. However, those same devices are bound by other restrictions, such as the ability to use certain technologies, patents and brand/logo markings. Notice that many DVDs do not carry the "DVD-Video" logo. Same for electronics, like players and drives.

[Panchogun]

Bummer, but I'm not surprised.
So, if I want a region 0 player, then I have to buy one off of the internet,
or get one hacked ? Are these my only options ?
Thanks

[filmboss80]

The price your paid for your Toshiba covered region 1 licensing. If you want a region-free or all-region player, it will cost extra. (Google search the various models. Oppo is a favorite.) Best Buy doesn't normally sell region-free units because there is not enough demand for them.

There is no requirement for units to have hack codes that can be knowable by the general public.

The next question is: are there a lot of foreign DVDs that have no American (region 1) counterpart that you can buy locally? EDIT: That question is answered by another one of your posts : https://forum.videohelp.com/topic359615.html

(BTW: It is not good to start a lot of different threads on a similar issue.)

[jagabo]

Many players can be "hacked" simply by pressing a few buttons on the remote control. For example, see the Philips DVP-5990 for an inexpensive, upscaling, NTSC/PAL converting, Divx certified DVD player with USB port (Divx or MPG via thumb drive or hard drive) that can easily be made region free:

https://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks/philips-dvp-5990/9370#28730

[aedipuss]

why bother with "region free" players? it's easy enough to remove all region codes and make them play in anything. putting a re-made region free dvd onto a dvdr costs what, a quarter? use dvdfab(free or paid) or anydvd.

[filmboss80]

Aedipuss is quite correct. I have a few region 2 and region 3 foreign DVDs that had no American counterpart available. What I did was simply back them up to DVD-R discs -- which are region free. DVDFab is great for that.

[jagabo]

Why bother ripping, shrinking, and burning a bunch of DVDs when you can get a region free player for $30?

[hech54]

Why do people still fail to mention the main issue with discs from overseas(especially if your home country in the USA)...and that is PAL Format? Only one person has even mentioned it so far.

[aedipuss]

all the players i've had have played PAL format without any problem. i guess that's why.

[filmboss80]

Good point about the PAL-NTSC issue. I forgot because my overseas discs came from Japan, Taiwan and South Korea -- NTSC countries. The OP gets many of his overseas movies from Germany, a PAL country. This is why it is better to search for an American DVD version of the film.

[Visitor69]

Hey, I searched all over the place for a region free hack for my Philips DVP5990K/75, and could not find it anywhere. I tried a few things and found something that works:

While the player is stopped, press "Setup"
Press right arrow 3 times (gives you display of Preferences page)
Press 1,3,8,9,3,1
Use Up/Down arrow to select 0
Press "Setup"

Enjoy viewing PAL/SECAM, NTSC DVDs from any country!

[jagabo]

Hey, I searched all over the place for a region free hack for my Philips DVP5990K/75, and could not find it anywhere. I tried a few things and found something that works:

While the player is stopped, press "Setup"
Press right arrow 3 times (gives you display of Preferences page)
Press 1,3,8,9,3,1
Use Up/Down arrow to select 0
Press "Setup"

Enjoy viewing PAL/SECAM, NTSC DVDs from any country!

The same thing is reported here:
https://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks/philips-dvp-5990/9370