Region Information

Understanding region coding is crucial for any movie enthusiast or collector, as it determines which discs can be played on your DVD or Blu-ray player.

Region coding is a digital rights management technique used by movie studios and distributors to control the distribution of their films. It divides the world into different regions, each with its own designated code. These codes are embedded in the discs and are read by the player to determine if it is compatible with the disc. 

Let's break down the region codes and their corresponding regions:

DVD regions

• Region 1: United States, Canada, and Bermuda
• Region 2: Europe, Japan, the Middle East, Egypt, South Africa, and Greenland
• Region 3: Southeast Asia, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong
• Region 4: Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean
• Region 5: Eastern Europe, Russia, India, Africa (excluding South Africa), North Korea, and Mongolia
• Region 6: China

Blu-ray regions

• Region A: Includes most of North, Central, and South America, and Southeast Asia countries including Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Korea.
• Region B: Includes most of Europe, Africa, and Southwest Asia (including Israel), plus Australia and New Zealand.
• Region C: Includes the remaining countries, which are primarily in Central and South Asia, as well as China and Russia.

It's important to note that region coding applies to both DVDs and Blu-rays, but 4K Ultra HD discs have a slightly different system. Instead of using regions, 4K Ultra HD discs use a different coding system called "Ultra HD Blu-ray Region Free." This means that 4K Ultra HD discs are not region locked and can be played on any 4K Ultra HD player worldwide.

So, what does this mean for you as a consumer? If you live in Region 4, for example, your DVD or Blu-ray player is designed to play discs with region code 4. If you try to play a disc with a different region code, it will likely be rejected by your player. In many cases however, DVDs and Blu-rays can be coded to multiple regions (i.e. Region 2 and 4 etc). This means that DVDs from region 2 will also play in DVD players that are for region 4 discs. It is also common for DVDs and Blu-rays to be region free, and will therefore play in all machines around the world.

In the event that the item you're looking to purchase is region locked, don't stress as there are easy options to bypass this issue. The most common is to use a multi-region player, for example, Laser DVD-HD012 Multi-region DVD player. Alternatively, there may be codes available online to change the region settings of your player.

So, the next time you're shopping for DVDs, Blu-rays, or 4K Ultra HD discs, be sure to check the region coding to ensure compatibility with your player. And remember, if you encounter any issues, there are solutions available to enjoy your favourite movies from around the world.