Powerbook DVD region

[Sic]

is the DVD drive in a powerbook region-free? i'm going to order some anime DVDs and the reg 1's are better, but i don't know if they'll play on my player.

is there any way i can find out if i have a region-specific drive?

 

[840quadra]

is the DVD drive in a powerbook region-free? i'm going to order some anime DVDs and the reg 1's are better, but i don't know if they'll play on my player.

is there any way i can find out if i have a region-specific drive?

I believe it is still limited to 5 or less changes like all other drives.

If you don't mind 3rd party programs, it is said that you can use VLC to watch any DVD from any region without having issues..


http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20051130104135761&query=dvd+region

 

[Sic]

cool i never knew that about VLC. i use that to play DVDs anyway, but i've never put any other region than 2 into it.

thanks for your post

 

[eva01]

discountanimedvd.com

awesome place to get anime

 

[swiftaw]

If you don't mind 3rd party programs, it is said that you can use VLC to watch any DVD from any region without having issues..

I'm afraid that this is no longer true with newer Apple hardware

 

[Gokhan]

k

yep vlc does not work anymore on new hardware so unless there is a hack which i dont belive there is were screwed

 

[generik]

What did they change which break VLC compatibility?

It still works ok on my Windoze box

 

[840quadra]

I'm afraid that this is no longer true with newer Apple hardware

Thanks I read further into the link to verify this, and I attempted to load a DVD encoded to the UK to test. My iBook would not let me bypass the region setting issue so I had to abort.

What did they change which break VLC compatibility?

It still works ok on my Windoze box

It isn't VLC that changed, something in the drives chipset makes VLC incompatible with bypassing the DVD region settings. However it all depends on the brand and type of drive from what posters on OS X hints are referring to. Looks like DVD manufacturers have raised the bar again. Hopefully VLC will ketch up and give us back some freedom.

The link I posted in regards to this topic on OS X hints goes into some detail further down the page.

 

[mbopy22]

As far as I know all new Macs are limited to that 5 region changes, and the last region that you placed (5th) it will be block and you’ll only be able to play that region for ever...

 

[BlueRevolution]

would it work to use MacTheRipper to rip the DVD to your hard drive and watch that? (if you own the DVD you're well within your rights to make a copy for personal viewing, by my understanding anyway.) I'm just not sure where the region setting of the drive interrupts the playing of the thing.

what a silly little trick. like limiting where a DVD is playable is going to do anything to prevent piracy...

 

[IJ Reilly]

like limiting where a DVD is playable is going to do anything to prevent piracy...

I don't think that was the purpose of the zone system. I think the movie companies wanted to retain the ability to release films at different times in different parts of the world.