dvd country codes

[jkramb]

I'm currently in austria learning german and am wanting to buy seinfeld in german to help me learn. the only problem is the fact that you can only change the country code on the dvd player 5 times. is there a way to reset that when it runs out? if i rip the dvds to my hard drive will it still make me change the country code whenever i want to watch them?

 

[Guiyon]

If you rip the DVD using something like MacTheRipper, you can remove any RPC protection on it and any DVD player will consider it to be region-less. As for changing your region multiple times, the simple answer is no, after 5 times the region is permanently locked.

If you do want to get your hands dirty, however, there is a more complex answer to the region change limit: Not always. Many DVD drives will allow you to reset the 5-lock count 2 or 3 times but you need special utilities to do that. After using up those secondary resets, however, it is permanent. Your other option is to reflash your DVD drive with an RPC-1 firmware. It effectively unlocks the drive and allows you to play any DVD from any region, regardless of the RPC lock on the disc. This is not a trivial task as it depends on your comfort level (it involves flashing the drive with a new firmware) and if there is even an RPC 1 firmware available for your drive model. As with any flash, there is a risk of bricking your DVD drive.

 

[mrblu]

Vlc

Download VLC (free) which plays DVDs without bothering with region codes. I use it for all local (Mexican) DVDs and the built in DVD player for US discs.

 

[Guiyon]

Heh, that solution is much easier! I completely forgot about VLC being able to ignore the region locking on DVDs.