How do DVD manufacturers convince DVD player manufacturers to cripple their product by include region restrictions?
How do DVD manufacturers convince DVD player manufacturers to cripple their product by include region restrictions? The parties interested in region coding get together and define a standard. It includes support for things like region coding and may require Macrovision or similar copy-protection schemes. They then get everyone to sign on to the standard. Finally, they market the standard to consumers. If you want to put a little “DVD” logo on your player, you need to follow the spec and pay the licensing fee. Not all DVDs ahve region codes, but all DVD players are required to respect the codes. Players that are region free violate the spec, so technically they can’t carry the DVD logo. That’s why when someone discovers a debug mode, it disappears in the next production run. Most region free players have 3rd party modifications. Also, keep in mind that there was a competing standard called “DiVX” (not to be confused with the codec) pushed by circuit city. DiVX disks required that the pl
