how many times can you change the region of the computer

5

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2397

Only 5 times... It's an industry standard. Make sure to use this function wisely...

And that 5-count includes when you first put a DVD in it and chose that very first region.

That's not what the above KB article says but I've never tried it.

This is what is states:

In Mac OS X, this dialog box appears the first time a DVD disc is inserted:

• "Since this is the first use of a DVD disc, the drive region code must be initialized before playing.
• "New Drive Setting: Region Code 1
• "You can only change the drive region code 5 more times."

As I read that, once you set the region code, there are five additional changes permitted. As I said I haven't tried it and I'm not about to.

Courcoul is correct in his/her last post. It start with the first time you insert the disc.

That could certainly take someone by surprise. Apple should fix their KB article.

Now that I think of it, I don't recall ever seeing that dialog box, but I have never inserted a copyrighted DVD in this computer. Only iDVDs that I've made. Does that make a difference?

I'm pretty sure it only refers to commercial dvd's but I can't be certain. Who has the need to change it so often anyway? lol

John Galt wrote:

Does that make a difference?

Yes. The region code is not a technical standard, it's a gimmick enforced by Hollywood.

shldr2thewheel wrote:

Who has the need to change it so often anyway?

People who travel for business, for one thing. I know people who worked in regions 1, 6, 3, and 2 within 1 year of purchasing the MBP.

But note that we're not talking about the computer's region -- there's no such thing -- but about the DVD drive's region setting. And, although region-free drives are easily available, all major laptop vendors -- Apple, Sony, Toshiba, Fujitsu -- install region-coded drives, for obvious reasons.