Hi can anyone help me with playing a question about playing US DVDs? - Home Entertainment Technology

Christa · 07-11-2009, 17:16

I have a multi-region DVD player, and wanted to buy some US DVDs. However a note on US Amazon says some buyers have had problems playing US Region 1 on multi-region players from other countries.

I have in the past bought US DVDs & played them on a multi-region player without a problem, & this Amazon message is relatively new.

Has anyone bought some US DVDs recently & experienced problems or been able to play them fine?

I'd love to hear from anyone who knows...

Many thanks.

bobcar · 07-11-2009, 19:19

I'd be very (extremely very) surprised if there was a problem. I haven't seen the note you talk about but at the most it
seems like Amazon US might be bowing ever so slightly to pressure on selling R1 overseas. DVD has region coding on the DVD itself and as long as the player supports that and along with the TV will handle 60Hz (just about all here will handle 60Hz) then there really should be no problem.

I would (and will) by R1 without any hesitation in the future if that represents the best choice.

David (2) · 07-11-2009, 19:41

I have used our UK Sony LCD and Panasonic combi to play R1 NTSC DVD's a few times now. The Sony tv switches mode on its own.
But the Pansonic DVD/Harddisc drive has to be switched over in the menu before putting the disc in.
I am playing discs back through an HDMI cable.

One limiting factor with the Pansonic machine is that if you adjust the menu to play R1 NTSC DVD's, any Freeview recordings it makes from the aerial to the hard disc will all be in black+white and of poor quality. You have to re-adjust the menu again to UK R2 PAL to correct this. Its only an issue if it making a recording while also playing a R1 DVD.

bvmjain · 08-11-2009, 20:40

The warning from Amazon is to take account of the small number of discs out there (Mainly: Sony/Columbia/Tristar), that have Regional Code Enhancement (R.C.E.)

When hacks to make players multi-region became available, some studios responded by introducing RCE. on their discs.

These R1 discs perform a 'handshake' with your player to confirm the correct region code.

As multi-region players are set to Region '0' - RCE discs do not play back on these players, unless you are able to select Region 1 from the hack screen / menu on the player.

It is just a warning to cover themselves (You can see the same warning on Playusa.)

It is highly unlikely that you will end up buying a title that has RCE - if you do- then hopefully, you are able to select the playback region on your dvd player to overcome the problem.

You can of course play back the dvd on your computer & make a Region Free back up if need be- using the free software out there.

bsnalex · 08-11-2009, 21:28

I moved to UK from USA in '04 and as such brought a slew of my R1 DVDs with me. We bought a bog standard Asda-branded DVD player which I managed to unlock and have never had any problems playing any R1 disc on it. I can't imagine using any old DVD will cause a problem.

BTW, there's better places to get DVDs than amazon. Look around for pricesearch sites.

07-11-2009, 17:16	#1
Christa Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Up Myself Posts: 4,816	Hi can anyone help me with playing a question about playing US DVDs? I have a multi-region DVD player, and wanted to buy some US DVDs. However a note on US Amazon says some buyers have had problems playing US Region 1 on multi-region players from other countries. I have in the past bought US DVDs & played them on a multi-region player without a problem, & this Amazon message is relatively new. Has anyone bought some US DVDs recently & experienced problems or been able to play them fine? I'd love to hear from anyone who knows... Many thanks.

07-11-2009, 19:19	#2
bobcar Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 4,464	I'd be very (extremely very) surprised if there was a problem. I haven't seen the note you talk about but at the most it seems like Amazon US might be bowing ever so slightly to pressure on selling R1 overseas. DVD has region coding on the DVD itself and as long as the player supports that and along with the TV will handle 60Hz (just about all here will handle 60Hz) then there really should be no problem. I would (and will) by R1 without any hesitation in the future if that represents the best choice.

07-11-2009, 19:41	#3
David (2) Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: the middle of nowhere Services: Sony Bravia LCD, Freesat-HD, Freeview HDD/DVD combi, DAB, 6.3Mb Broadband Posts: 10,478	I have used our UK Sony LCD and Panasonic combi to play R1 NTSC DVD's a few times now. The Sony tv switches mode on its own. But the Pansonic DVD/Harddisc drive has to be switched over in the menu before putting the disc in. I am playing discs back through an HDMI cable. One limiting factor with the Pansonic machine is that if you adjust the menu to play R1 NTSC DVD's, any Freeview recordings it makes from the aerial to the hard disc will all be in black+white and of poor quality. You have to re-adjust the menu again to UK R2 PAL to correct this. Its only an issue if it making a recording while also playing a R1 DVD.

08-11-2009, 20:40	#4
bvmjain Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 24	The warning from Amazon is to take account of the small number of discs out there (Mainly: Sony/Columbia/Tristar), that have Regional Code Enhancement (R.C.E.) When hacks to make players multi-region became available, some studios responded by introducing RCE. on their discs. These R1 discs perform a 'handshake' with your player to confirm the correct region code. As multi-region players are set to Region '0' - RCE discs do not play back on these players, unless you are able to select Region 1 from the hack screen / menu on the player. It is just a warning to cover themselves (You can see the same warning on Playusa.) It is highly unlikely that you will end up buying a title that has RCE - if you do- then hopefully, you are able to select the playback region on your dvd player to overcome the problem. You can of course play back the dvd on your computer & make a Region Free back up if need be- using the free software out there.

08-11-2009, 21:28	#5
bsnalex Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Brum Services: V-TV XL, BB10Mb, XLPhone, DAB, 3 Mob Posts: 89	I moved to UK from USA in '04 and as such brought a slew of my R1 DVDs with me. We bought a bog standard Asda-branded DVD player which I managed to unlock and have never had any problems playing any R1 disc on it. I can't imagine using any old DVD will cause a problem. BTW, there's better places to get DVDs than amazon. Look around for pricesearch sites.