What are the “regions”?
When a DVD disc is manufactured, a region code is applied at the authoring stage such that the final disc will play only on those players distributed in the designated world region. There are 6 regions throughout the world: – Region 1 – Canada, United States and its Territories – Region 2 – Japan, Europe, South Africa and the Middle East – Region 3 – Southeast Asia and East Asia – Region 4 – Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central and South America – Region 5 – Indian Subcontinent, Former Soviet Union and Africa – Region 6 – China For more information on the DVD format, http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.
A security system introduced to DVD at the request of Hollywood’s major studios to ensure that DVDs released and sold in one region will not play on DVD machines in other regions. Movie distributors therefore maintain control over release dates of their films, as well as enabling discs to be produced that conform to different censorship laws, language and subtitle requirements. When a DVD disc is manufactured, a region code is applied at the authoring stage such that the final disc will play only on those players distributed in the designated world region. There are 8 region codes in use throughout the world: Region 1 – Canada, United States, U.S. territories, Bermuda Region 2 – Europe, Western Asia, Egypt, Japan, Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland, British overseas territories, French overseas territories, Greenland Region 3 – Southeast Asia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan Region 4 – Australia, New Zealand, Oceania, Central and South America, Caribbean, Mexico Region 5 – Africa,
