[SOLVED] DVD writer region code questions.

[A Traveller]

Hi all.

I have just bought a DVD burner (in Europe, from the European website of a retailer) which I thought would automatically be able to play Region 2 DVD's, however, it does not play them.

I ran regionset and got the following.

"drive plays discs from region(s):, mask=0xFF"

I have a few questions.

1) I'm assuming the above means that the DVD burner does not have any region code set. If this is the case, which region codes can/should it play as it is (without changing/adding the code)?

2) I have only tried two Region 2 DVD's which both formed part of the same set. Is it possible that the DVD burner can play some Region 2 DVD's and not other Region 2 DVD's, or is this unlikely?

I am aware that specifying the code '2' will probably work, however, I would like to know if leaving it as it is may be a better option if there are other factors that can be changed. e.g. software codecs which would allow all regions to be played.

Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[hech54]

Hi all.

I have just bought a DVD burner (in Europe, from the European website of a retailer) which I thought would automatically be able to play Region 2 DVD's, however, it does not play them.

I ran regionset and got the following.

"drive plays discs from region(s):, mask=0xFF"

I have a few questions.

1) I'm assuming the above means that the DVD burner does not have any region code set. If this is the case, which region codes can/should it play as it is (without changing/adding the code)?

2) I have only tried two Region 2 DVD's which both formed part of the same set. Is it possible that the DVD burner can play some Region 2 DVD's and not other Region 2 DVD's, or is this unlikely?

I am aware that specifying the code '2' will probably work, however, I would like to know if leaving it as it is may be a better option if there are other factors that can be changed. e.g. software codecs which would allow all regions to be played.

Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks.

So does it play your DVD or not?

[A Traveller]

Sorry hech54, no it does not, which is why I'm wondering what DOES it play if it doesn't have a region code set? It's not likely to be faulty as it's the second one sent to me and both are the same.

Thanks.

[hech54]

You may need to assign the drive an initial region code first. Not likely in this day and age but you never know.
If it plays nothing then send it back for a refund.

[jagabo]

DVD drives don't play DVDs, software does. Most DVD drives don't care at all about the region code, they'll happily read any disc. It's the player software that checks the drive's region code and the disc's region code to make sure there's a match. Only licensed player software does that. Players like VLC, MPCHC, etc. don't care.

If you have one of the few drives that does check the disc's region code you should return it and get another brand.

[A Traveller]

Thanks for the replies.

hech54, it's a Samsung SH-224FB, which I think is the latest one of it's series.

jagabo, VLC is my default player, which is what I tried to play it with. I also tried Movie Player. As mentioned before, I thought setting the region code may work but I didn't want to restrict what can be played if there was another way, ie. installing codecs, etc. According to the VLC FAQ on DVD's, it is possible that the drive itself won't allow VLC to play the DVD (section 2.1 in the link below).

http://www.videolan.org/support/faq.html#DVDS

Seems like I have one of the few discs that checks the region like you said. How can I make sure before purchasing that the drive will work? Should it be RPC 1 and not RPC 2? The drive I've got is RPC 2.

Thanks.

[jagabo]

I don't know of anywhere that has a list of drives that aren't region locked in firmware.

[A Traveller]

I tried the drive on a different hard drive and managed to get it to work. Looks like you were right about it being software/codec related, jagabo.

Thanks everyone.