Posted on 10/24/2017 4:44:51 PM PDT by sushiman
Greetings from a Japan . I have a made for Japan Dell PC / Windows 7 with Windows Media Player as well as Cyberlink Power DVD pre-installed . I've used only the Windows Media Player since buying the PC 4 or so years ago and I'm pretty sure the drive is locked in to region 1 ( don't recall if I ever tried to play a region 2 DVD on it ). My daughter gave me a new external DVD drive that I would like to use for region 2 discs on the Dell ( prefer this over downloading VLC ) . Since I am not 100% sure the PC's drive is locked in to region 1 I'm worried that when I switch from one drive to the other that that would affect the region code on my computer and eat up my 5 only chances to switch region codes if it isn't locked into region 1 . Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks from a PC dummy ! Cheers !
Can’t speak about your situation.
I’m aware of the alleged limited number of discs that can be played before the region “locks” but I don’t think I’ve had a problem with it on my equipment.
I’ve used multiple laptops without issue and multiple playback programs over the years.
I don’t typically play R2 (or R3) discs on my computer but I’ve done it.
What gets me is the new 4k technology that is going to require monitor AND player AND disc (and network) to agree that you can play a disc.
Imagine if there were no import compact discs (or record albums).
You may need to provide the model of your internal and external DVD drives.
I’m still using W7 at home and using VLC as the primary playback.
Look at DVD ripping software. It can copy the DVD to your hard drive
And remove any region limits. If you need the drive space you can burn the ripped video back to DVD. This process also eliminates the stupid menu when you want to play the movie. Also, if you want to play your library on tv and portable devices you could look into PLEX.
Around 5 years ago, I ordered a movie (The Edge Of The World) on ebay from England. It stated that it would only play in some region. I had no idea what region codes even were.
When I tried to play it, of course it would not play. I did a little research and saw where the Phillips DVD player could be hacked so it would play all regions.
I followed the instructions and sure enough, after going through the steps, it plays all regions.
The player only cost around $35 to start with. A cheap way to play all DVDs.
Since the DVD drive I received was made in Japan it’ll definitely play region 2 as that is Japan’s region . I already use the PC’s drive for Region 1 . I just hooked up the drive to my downstairs HP PC which I do not use for DVDs and it played a region 2 DVD without a problem . I cannot check to see if it will still play Region 1 via the internal drive because it was damaged when the PC fell to the kitchen floor when we were got my 7.6 quakes last April . I am a computer dummy , but it would seem logical that each drive would have its own region code so could be used in conjunction . Just want to confirm .
pardon typo ...PC fell to the kitchen floor when we were HIT BY 7.6 quakes last April .
There are several “info” programs that will tell you the status of your DVD drive.
I’ve used “Driveinfo22” in the past. It’s a small free program that you don’t have to install, just run it on your computer.
It will tell you the drive model, if it has a region code and how many changes you have left.
As with any program you get online make sure you get it from a “safe” source.
You can get this same information if you go to “Device Manager”, select the DVD drive and select “properties”.
I just got out the movie and tried it on a Windows 10 computer which I use mainly to scan, upload and photoshop slides and negatives.
It would not play the DVD but sent me to the Windows store to purchase a player to download. My guess is it would have worked if I wanted to do so.
I then tried it on this computer which is running Windows 7. I played the movie for a couple of minutes and all seemed fine. It might have quit later but I would have to play the whole movie to see.
I have several other DVD and Blu-ray players and none of them will work with that particular movie.
Okay. I reread your post.
The region code is specific to each DVD drive, not Windows. There should be no problem having different drives with different regions.
Cyberlink Power DVD has an explanation on their website if you do a search for “Cyberlink Power DVD region code”.
Hmm. I just tested my current system (Win 7 laptop).
It isn’t letting me play my R2 discs (at least without setting the region code which it tells me has 4 changes left).
My previous Compaq laptop was letting me play all discs. And my Apex DVD player before that was set to be region free.
Thanks for the reply . I know the external drive will play region 2 as it was made for Japan . I also know the internal drive will play region 1 discs as I was careful not to use region 2 because I might have gotten locked into that region . Most of my DVDs are region 1 but I do have a fair amount of region 2 as I live in Japan .
Thanks for the reply . I know the external drive will play region 2 as it was made for Japan . I also know the internal drive will play region 1 discs as I was careful not to use region 2 because I might have gotten locked into that region . Most of my DVDs are region 1 but I do have a fair amount of region 2 as I live in Japan . So as long as I use the internal drive for region 1 and the external for region 2 there should be no problem , right ?
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