Posted by Don Del Grande on 11/27/05 01:57

Scott wrote:

>
> I live in the United States and have a large library of Region1 (NTSC
>format) and some Region 0 DVDs to enjoy. However, I would love to have
>the flexibility watch some foreign-market DVD titles which, of course,
>are only available in alternate regional coding and formats (e.g., PAL,
>PAL-A & SECAM).
>
> I was wondering, then, if any of you have any knowledge and/or
>experience with some sort of procedure in which one somehow inputs one
>or more "magical" codes into their [domestic market] DVD players that
>allows them to read and play multiple region discs [of alternate
>formats]?
>
> While I have heard of such codes, I have absolutely no experience with
>them; I'm not even certain that they really do exist.

It depends on the machine. Some have hidden codes you can enter;
others require replacing the firmware chip inside of the machine.
There are websites that list which machines have which codes (usually
to bring up a menu that lets you change the region).

Also, just because you can change the region does not mean a PAL disc
will play in an NTSC player. I have The Secret Policeman's Balls
collection, which is PAL Region 0, and they play fine on my NTSC/PAL
DVD player (Daewoo 5700), but will not play on my NTSC-only machine
(Sony RDR-GX300 recorder).

-- Don

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