COMPATIBILITY

[vixxie lee]

OK GUYS! i need help,
I live in Australia, i have been thinking about buying a DVD from Amazon, but i am unsure whether the coding will be compatible with my dvd player. Is there any difference between DVD coding in the USA or Australia?
hopefully this hasn't already been answered...if it has i am SORRY!!
thanks!
vixxie

[Akai Rounin]

Worldwide DVD Regions

I believe that Australia is Region 4. DVDs encoded for the US are Region 1. Those for Japan are Region 2, I think. There should be a listing of the regions somewhere online... Yeah, a quick search on Google turned up the following from DVDAdept.com:

DVD regions are defined as:
Region 1 - U.S., Canada, U.S. Territories
Region 2 - Japan, Europe, South Africa, and Middle East (including Egypt)
Region 3 - Southeast Asia and East Asia (including Hong Kong)
Region 4 - Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean
Region 5 - Eastern Europe (Former Soviet Union), Indian subcontinent, Africa, North Korea, and Mongolia
Region 6 - Peoples Republic of China
Region 7 - Reserved
Region 8 - Special international venues (airplanes, cruise ships, etc.)

So no, unless you are able to hack your standalone DVD player to make it region free (Region 9 and/or Region 0), US DVDs will not work on it. Check the OTHER | DVD Players and/or DVD Hacks listing in the menu bar on the left to see what is possible with your DVD player. A DVD-ROM on your PC can also be made region free. Some DVD-ROM drives do not need to be modified in order to RIP data from DVDs, even if they will not play those from other regions.

Toyoniya Hiyaku, Noromuoy!

Akai Rounin, The Cyber Sage