[78-L] Playing European DVDs ^

[Michael Biel]

From: "Mark L. Bardenwerper, Sr." <citroenid19 at sbcglobal.net>

> Keep in mind that most computer DVD player/burners will only
> allow you to do this a limited number of times. 

But what we are discussing is making a stand-alone DVD player
permanently Region-Free, not changing a drive from one region to another
and then back again.  Once the entire machine is Region-Free it ignores
the region code and the drive will play any region disc and switch an
unlimited number of times.  You can play hundreds of different region
discs going back and forth between regions without any effect on the
machine.

> I am in the US. I have a few documentaries sent from England,
> recorded off BBC television on Citroens I had to do this with.

If these were discs that had been recorded off the air on a home
stand-alone DVD recorder, most likely they were recorded Region-Free. 
I've never seen an amateur recording machine with an option to insert a
region code.  Only commercially produced discs have a region code, and
many of these made outside the U.S. are actually Region-Free.  Did you
try playing the discs on your normal DVD player?  If they were home
recorded, they probably would have played.

> In Windows XP, go to Control Panel/system/hardware/device manager/DVD-CD 
> Rom Drives. Drop down to the particular drive you wish to change. right 
> click on Properties. Look for the DVD Region tab. change there.

You probably used up your limited number of changes unnecessarily.

> I played them once, converted them to WMV. Mark L. Bardenwerper, Sr.

If they were home off-the-air recordings, this was probably an
unnecessary way to watch them.

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com  



David Lennick wrote:
>> This may be of interest..it may also not be off topic if it enables you to play 
>> English and European DVDs containing material by vintage entertainers. I was 
>> able to make the appropriate adjustment in my Philips DVP 3140 in ten seconds.
>>
>> Go here and enter the make and model of your machine.
>>
>>  www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks
>>
>>