DVD Region Free

If you can't watch your legally imported DVDs on your computer and you have broadband a connection, the logical thing is to download them instead and watch them.

Isn't it ironic when you buy a DVD as a consumer and it forces you to take legally dubious routes in order to watch it?

And what about those who didn't buy their DVDs, but instead directly downloaded them off the net? Yup, they have no problems at all.

Always the legal consumer who gets it up the rear.

I'm really not sure why I should buy DVDs anymore.

Just found this thread.

My MBP17" has VLC v0.8.1 and plays DVDs from Europe and from the States...

However, if you have a DVD from out of your region get a copy of MacTheRipper ( http://www.mactheripper.org/ ) and rip the DVD and reburn it as a region free one - job done! It also cracks any security issues as well but under fair use making a copy of a dvd for your own use is fair.

Hope this helps

Mike

Okay, I've read through this and a couple of other threads on playing/ripping DVDs from varying regions on MacBook Pro (or any Mac with MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-857, and I'm no wiser about the options for doing so, nor even whether it's possible.

Two posts above suggest that DVDs can be ripped using either MacTheRipper or Handbrake, despite the fact that many, many other posts say that these apps cannot get around the firmware lock.

I've just tried both (ripping a R2/4 while the drive is set to R1) and neither worked for me. Handbrake (0.7.1) said it could not identify any titles (or something like that) and MTR (2.6.6) said "I/O Error. Do not recognise file structure" (or similar).

Is there someone who, through OSX, has managed to rip a DVD from a region other than what the drive is set to? If so, is there any chance you could provide some tips on how you got it to work?

Rob,

Don't give up on MacTheRripper I have ripped all my DVD collection to HDD to be played through my MBP when its part of my home entertainment set-up and it does work as I have DVDs collected from all over the world.

I suggest you go to; http://www.ripdifferent.com/phpbb2/index.php and join the MTR Forum and search their archive and then ask a question there. They are a very knowledgable group when it comes to DVDs.

Mike

I tried Mactheriper without success on region 4 dvds on a MBP locked to region 1.

Any updates on this?

Mike, thanks for the words of encouragement. I actually checked the MTR forums when I first tried it out and it was when I saw the Mod's note at the start of this thread from the forums that I gave up on MTR:

"don't be fooled by the thread title; you cannot rip DVDs from other regions on Matshita (Panasonic) drives, as well as drives from certain other manufacturers, such as HL-DT-ST (LG) and Sony."


My problem, however, is that if it turns out that MTR is somewhat hit and miss, then it's no good to me. I have a few specific DVDs that I need to work with on my MBP and so I need to find the app that will let me access them, rather than an app that will work in many but not all cases.

I tried Mactheriper without success on region 4 dvds
on a MBP locked to region 1.

Any updates on this?

This is what's sticking with me: R4 on a drive set (but not locked) to R1.

The drive reads the disc as R2, but the disc itself states R4. I know that they're both PAL, but I'm wondering whether the drive only registers the PAL/NTSC difference rather than the region difference.

Anyone have any thoughts? If, in other words, I decide to set to R2 as the drive prompts -- even though it's an R4 disc -- will future R4 discs be recognised as R2?