PDA

View Full Version : DVD Region Limiter




Ven0m
Oct 8, 2004, 09:42 AM
Can anyone tell me how can i turn that off???... i have lotīs of dvdīs from different regions and now my g4 is blocked in region 2 :eek:

Thanks in advance :)



grapes911
Oct 8, 2004, 09:59 AM
Can anyone tell me how can i turn that off???... i have lotīs of dvdīs from different regions and now my g4 is blocked in region 2 :eek:

Thanks in advance :)

It may be illegal. ;)

With windows burners, you can sometimes find firmware that will play all regions. Then you use software to change the firmware to the specific region you currently want. I don't know if mac can do this.

Easier, get VLC (http://www.videolan.org/) . I'm pretty sure it plays DVD's of all regions.

redAPPLE
Oct 8, 2004, 10:02 AM
it has been said, that in macosxhints.com, that there is a haxie for this. i never tried it. ng

i know it must be frustrating.

good luck.

zv470
Oct 8, 2004, 11:08 AM
I also know of a firmware hack... but it voids AppleCare so I never bothered. DVD Zones aren't a problem for me... I only rent zone 4 movies and for the movies you can't get over here (New Zealand) I suprnova ;) It's far less hassel.

blodwyn
Oct 8, 2004, 05:37 PM
If you can find a DVD-ROM drive which has a firmware hack available to make it region-free, and then install it into an external firewire enclosure, that may work. At least that way you're hacking the external drive and not your Mac.

Brize
Oct 8, 2004, 06:23 PM
Can anyone tell me how can i turn that off???... i have lotīs of dvdīs from different regions and now my g4 is blocked in region 2 :eek:

As others have stated, you need to flash the firmware of your optical drive to remove the region protection. The region-free firmware should be readily available, depending on the model of your drive. I flashed the Pioneer 107D inside my Power Mac G5 with no problems. I was aware of the warranty issue, but figured that if something went wrong, I could always buy another drive. They're not that expensive, and I doubt that Apple would have a problem with you 'replacing a defective drive,' if you catch my drift.

However, much depends on the type of Mac. Optical drives are pretty easy to swap out on a Power Mac, but this would doubtless present more of a problem on an iMac or PowerBook. Many of my friends have updated the firmware on their PowerBooks, but I just want to echo the caution that others have expressed.

You would also need Region X (http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/22116), which knocks out the region protection at a software level.