Are you kidding? DVD Region Codes

Instead of ranting like an idiot, read this:

Region encoding is the mechanism that enables motion picture studios to control the worldwide release of their movies. It is required by the DVD Forum (http://www.dvdforum.org/forum.shtml) in all commercial hardware DVD players. Every DVD-Video disc contains one byte of data representing a region code, which limits where the disc can be played.

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

Once you have set the region in DVD Player five times it cannot be changed.

Instead, use VLC to view videos from different regions:

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html

DVD is soooo last decade!

VLC won't work of course. It is a software. You need a region free DVD player or get one of these for each region you want to play:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=s amsung%20dvd%20slim%20player%20se-208

Richarduke wrote:

... a MBP in 2011 with a DVD drive...that means the DVD drive in my computer is just a loud waste of space ..

Get one of these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00A2VNUK4/ref=noref/278-2586001-6565828?ie=U TF8&psc=1&s=computers

and one of these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BQ8RGL6/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&psc=1&s=computer s

or what I got:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BHRWHNI/ref=oh_details_o01_s01_i02?ie=UTF8 &psc=1

Now my computer SINGS.....¶¶•ªªº••¶¶¶

"So "... replace the Superdrive with a HDD - storage space in place of " a loud waste of space" is not a bad bargain 🙂

Richarduke wrote:

I was about to sell my HDD.

...

You can never have to much storage. You would.t get much back for your HD

Richarduke wrote:

Do I need any extra parts to replace the superdrive with the HDD?

Look above

ViShVa wrote:

Get one of these:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00A2VNUK4/ref=noref/278-2586001-6565828?ie=U TF8&psc=1&s=computers

It is a caddy to hold a Hard Disk or SSD and it replaces the Optical superdrive. There is also a separate Optical drive enclosure so you can use the Optical SuperDrive taken out from your comp as an external USB drive

Richarduke wrote:

And what happens if I try to put a disc into the slot when there is not superdrive anymore?

The disc cannot go in as it is blanked off by the Hard Disk caddy

I think the key to ignoring DVD region codes in VLC is to never set the region of the player when it first prompts you to. I think the fact the OP already set the region code, its somehow now tied to the OS which might explain why no other program like VLC can play the disc.

What worked for me, I have an external Blue Ray Drive from Asus that I use on my Windows PC. When I first plugged it in to my Macbook Pro Retina, I inserted a Region 2 disc from Italy. Right away it prompted me to set the Region of the drive to 2. I refused and watched the DVD on my desktop instead. But unsatisfied, I searched more online. In the end the solution is to go to System Preferences > Hardware CDs and DVDs >

Set the following to 'Ignore' for When you insert a video DVD

Then plug in the external drive and insert the DVD. No prompt will appear. Then launch VLC player and select File.. Open Disc and you should be good to go.

This may even work for the previous gen MacBook pro which already have DVD drives, the only thing is if they already set the region code then probably not work. But it will if might if you use an external DVD drive. Remember never to set the Region of the drive.

Alternatively if you have a program like DVDDecryptor or AnyDVD you can make a copy of the disc with a new region code on it or region free. But I think those programs work only on Windows.

Honestly if my DVD drive was stuck on a region I would do the following in your case. If you don't have access to a Windows PC, or a virtual machine already then I would download the trial of VMWare Fusion (or Parallels) for my Macbook. Then I would go to the Microsoft TechNet and download the evaluation version of Windows 8 Enterprise and install that to the virtual machine. Once windows is installed I'd download DVD decryptor its free and should be able to decrypt older DVD's, it no longer in development so it doesn't work on most recent ones. OR for newer DVD/BluRay use AnyDVD / AnyDVD HD (it costs money, but about the same as a new region free DVD player) Install that to my Windows virtual machine and rip the DVD into an ISO image setting whatever region you want. Then Burn that ISO to an new DVD. Switch back to Mac OS and insert the newly created DVD and see if it works.

I followed erotavlas suggestions to the letter in my MBA running on Maverics. I set the cd/DVD to IGNORE, fired up the latest version of VLC for OSX 10.6. and later, started VLC and started the disc player in VLC as he suggested. My region 2 disc started perfectly on my MBA + Cinema Screen and was not challenged for region. Thanks erotavlas.

Ranting like an idiot is sometimes all we can do.

While I agree that your version is the published reason for regions it is much more likely to be to control international commerce and not allow American website to sell to Australia or others. It protects profit margins in small countries like Australia which is technically illegal in Australia because our legislation requires free trade. However, Apple is too big to chase even for our government and the relevant department tells us to just buy a non-region unit.

What regions also means is that I cannot send a legally purchased DVD here to my aunt in Fresno. And when I move to the US my entire DVD library becomes useless on a MAC.

That sounds like its worth ranting about.

Perhaps, but why rant here? This is not Apple's doing. The responsibility for this lies with the DVD makers. Read the links further up the thread. So, call round there and rant away...

Can't disagree with you on the DVD makers issue - however it is Apple who have set their DVDs to only have 5 changes. Would be easy to have them non regional . . . but that might upset Sony and the rest.

. . . and trust me, this ain't ranting.

Its a dead issue anyway - there are too many ways to bypass the system - I'm just disappointed in Apple management trying to control the uncontrollable and thereby making life more difficult for us consumers. My Mac Pro Tower comes with a DVD player I can't use as a DVD player - hardly endearing to customer satisfaction.