locked on region 1

[captainhaddock]

my computer seems to be locked on region 1
ideally i'd like it to be region free if anything
is there any way of changing it ?

[Timmy_Lea]

You have a limited amount of goes to change the region of your computer's dvd.

Windows Vista: Changing DVD Region - GROK Knowledge Base

[Steve Crook]

my computer seems to be locked on region 1
ideally i'd like it to be region free if anything
is there any way of changing it ?

The computer itself or the DVD player (the mechanical and optical part) doesn't lock onto any region. It's only the media player, the programme that reads the data from the DVD player and displays it on the screen, that ever locks onto one region.

Not all media players do this. The worst one is the Microsoft Media Player. But there are many other media players available. Try downloading the VLC edia Player. It's free and will play DVDs from any region, even if the Microsoft media player says that it's locked

Steve

[captainhaddock]

thanks for that !
the vlc player works a treat !
now i really do have a multi region player on my computer

[Steve Crook]

thanks for that !
the vlc player works a treat !
now i really do have a multi region player on my computer

Everyone does - if only they stay away from that Microsoft Media Player

Steve

[sippog]

A tip for Mac users -
If you find that the built in Mac DVD player - that opens every time you put in a DVD - is giving you a ' wrong region' alert, don't use up one of your precious 5 turns at changing region.

Yes, I know, unfortunately if you say 'no' it ejects the disc for you - a Catch 22. Just ignore both options.

Instead force quit the DVD player (hold down the alt key if necessary to get the 'force quit' prompt in the dock) while the alert window is still open. The disc stays mounted and you can then use VLC or an alternative.

The DVD player application is a bully and does butt in and control things if you let it!

[captainhaddock]

the dvd player is a bully on my windows computer
i have to now circumnavigate it like you describe sippog to get to the vlc player

[agutterfan]

the dvd player is a bully on my windows computer
i have to now circumnavigate it like you describe sippog to get to the vlc player

Thanks Steve Crook for that. I've had VLC for ages, never occurred to use it. But I did, and I can now watch my region 1 discs. Captain, next time you log in, BEFORE inserting DVD, on your desktop click on Portable Drive icon (might be called CD or DVD player, or Drive D:). There will open a menu. Select autoplay, another menu opens saying Open With. Select VLC. if not offered choose Other Options, scroll down until you find VLC, then select. Now all your DVDs will automatically start with VLC, rather than Windows Media Player. If a particular CD/DVD can't be played , you always have the option to open THAT particular one with Media Player for that time only. Hope that helps.

[Nick Dando]

A tip for Mac users -
If you find that the built in Mac DVD player - that opens every time you put in a DVD - is giving you a ' wrong region' alert, don't use up one of your precious 5 turns at changing region.

Yes, I know, unfortunately if you say 'no' it ejects the disc for you - a Catch 22. Just ignore both options.

Instead force quit the DVD player (hold down the alt key if necessary to get the 'force quit' prompt in the dock) while the alert window is still open. The disc stays mounted and you can then use VLC or an alternative.

The DVD player application is a bully and does butt in and control things if you let it!

If you open System Preferences, go to Hardware, then CDs &DVDs. At the bottom of the window is an option called "When you insert a video DVD". Change this from Open DVD Player to "Ignore" or choose another application, such as VLC. Once this is done, you'll be able to choose which piece of software runs the DVDs. There are other settings there for blank CDs and DVDs.

Nick

[sippog]

If you open System Preferences, go to Hardware, then CDs &DVDs. At the bottom of the window is an option called "When you insert a video DVD". Change this from Open DVD Player to "Ignore" or choose another application, such as VLC. Once this is done, you'll be able to choose which piece of software runs the DVDs. There are other settings there for blank CDs and DVDs.

Nick

Thanks for that. I knew there was an easier fix

[torinfan]

I loved CyberLink Power DVD on my Windows XP and need to find out if it is already installed on my brand new Windows 7 laptop. It is pretty affordable so I may buy it in the event it is not already on my new computer.

[HitchcockScholar]

I am using this one for years:
DVD Region+CSS Free - Watch & Copy Any DVD! Remove Region, CSS, ARccOS, etc.