Region Free DVD! FAQ

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

After doing this website now for some time, I have come to see one or two things that really come up regularly. In an attempt to save some time online answering many of these questions, I have decided to make this FAQ page. Don't get me wrong, your questions are always important and need to be answered, but I just have the time anymore to do every one (or almost every one) on a personal level.

If there's something else you feel isn't covered by this FAQ and you'd like people to know about it, then please contact me, as I'd like to make this section a lot more useful whilst maintaining a decent level of 'layman' langauge.

Why not visit the Region Free DVD Shop?

So - a little bit about me...

I live in the North East of the UK and have been doing this site for almost 3 years now. I do websites stuff for a living and have started building websites for other people - if you'd like me to do a site for you, then get in touch! I'm 37 (I'm not OLD! - quote from Monty Python & The Holy Grail) and am very happily engaged. I'm into many a genre of music, but Punk and Metal tend to be up there at the top of the list (Kiss and Discharge). I am NOT an expert on DVD really - I just have a habit of collecting info about stuff! I have an Apex 1100WB, a Philips DVDR890 and a PC with DVD Region-Free. Those are the only region-free solutions I have, so please don't ask in depth about other stuff, as I really don't know! The only stuff I know is from what other people tell me. Anyway, enough of the boring stuff....

So here it is - for your reference before you ask me anything - the FAQs about all things Region Free DVD:

Q: Can you get me/do you have the region free solution for my player/dvdrom (delete where necessary)?
A: If it isn't on my site, then I'm either a) looking for it, or b) not able to get one, or c) going to add it to my list of wanted items now that you told me - thank you for informing me!

Presently unhackable players include (most) Pioneer, Toshiba, Panasonic, Sony (regardless of hacks herein) and (most) Sharp, so any mails concerning these WILL be binned immediately! You will need to either chip these, or pay for the other ways such as firmware upgrade disc (Pansonic generally), or special one-off remote control that disables region-locking.

RPC-2 (region-locked) DVDROMs will require flashing of the firmware to make them RPC-1 (region-free). Try my Links page to help you get to the right place.

Q: I tried the hack for (fill in missing player/ROM/decoder etc) but it doesn't work - what can I do?
A: Sorry to hear it didn't work! Try it again to make sure. If it still refuses to work, tell me and then I'll note it on my site.

Q: Your link to (fill in missing site) doesn't work.
A: Thanks for telling me - I'll remove or amend it at some point.

Q: Will the new Region Coding Enhancement (RCE) discs affect my region-free system?
A: If you can MANUALLY set your region, either by remote hack, chip or tick box in software for computer players, then you need not be worried about discs such as The Patriot (R1) refusing to play on your setup. However if you can only set region 0 or your chipped system automatically detects your region, then you may find that the disc will refuse to play. Nothing short of getting another type of chip or a new system can remedy this.

Q: I want to remove macrovision on my player/PC setup.
A: If the pages presented in this site can't help you, then you're out of luck until I find something for you.

Q: You seem to know lots about this, can you help me with (fill in general question here)?
A: I get my information from many sources, including other sites, magazines, word-of-mouth, readers discoveries, etc. I do not do this 24-7, so please don't get upset if you get a Bart Simpson-style "I Dunno" reply!

Q: You're asking me for money - why?
A: My bandwidth is at present 3 times that of its limit and I'm getting nailed for it! Please make the donation, so that I can upgrade my site in order to make it better for all of you. I cannot keep this up by myself unless I get help, so please help!

If, after reading these FAQs, you still need an answer that I haven't supplied here then you can mail me. I can't guarantee an answer or reply, but will help when I feel it is necessary to. I do have work and a home life to attend to as well as other sites to maintain, so be patient if I take a while to respond, or be understanding if I never reply - it's not that I don't want to, but I just haven't got the time to.

There are also two reknowned FAQs that are on the NewsGroups - The Rec.Video.DVD FAQ and the UK.Media.DVD FAQ - please read these before asking any other questions!

Here is some info about RCE that may be of interest.

If you have any questions or updates to hacks or new hacks, then you can use the Bulletin Boards.

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