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REALmagic Hollywood Plus DVD Decoder Card |
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A Few Notes About DVD Regions
I didn't mention it earlier, but when you first install DVD Station you have to select the region of the world in which the player will be used, the world being divided into 6 regions plus a couple of special ones.
There are a total of 8 regions including the 2 special regions :- 1: Canada, U.S., and U.S. Territories
- 2: Japan, Europe, South Africa, Middle East (including Egypt)
- 3: Southeast Asia, East Asia (including Hong Kong)
- 4: Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, Caribbean
- 5: Former Soviet Union, Indian Subcontinent, Africa (also North Korea, Mongolia)
- 6: China
- 7: Reserved
- 8: Special international venues (airplanes, cruise ships, etc.)
The whole idea behind region codes is to give control to the motion picture studios over the release of DVD's throughout the world. Generally, as movies are not released in theatres simultaneously, the worldwide releases on to DVD or video are also not simultaneous. A movie may be released on DVD in the US before it has even screened at the cinema in Australia.
Motion picture studios have therefore required that the DVD standard include codes that can be used to prevent playback of certain discs in certain geographical regions. Each player is given a code for the region in which it's sold. The player will refuse to play discs that are not allowed in that region.
Generally, most DVD player application software will allow you to set and change the region code up to a maximum number of 5 times. This is the case with DVD Station. On the 5th change, the region code becomes locked, and the player will only be able to play discs of that particular region without returning it to the manufacturer to have it reset.
This is where the utilities I mentioned earlier come back in to the picture. There are two utilities that will enable you to switch the regions at will on the Hollywood Plus, namely 'Remote Selector' and 'Zone Selector'.
Remote Selector is written by Erwin van den Berg and is available for download from www.visualdomain.net. In addition to disabling Macrovision, it also allows you to set up and configure an infared remote control for use with your DVD player application, and for the Hollywood Plus it allows you to change your DVD region code at will. This is of course on the provision that your actual DVD drive itself is not also region locked, and you can check your drive on Erwin's web site.
This of course allows you to purchase and play region 1 DVD's - those from the USA - and have them in your hands well before they are available in Australia, sometimes before they even screen in Australian cinemas. Often, you will get special pricing also - I recently ordered 'MATRIX' from the U.S, and paid US$12.94 including delivery! I have also noticed that the regions 1 release of some movies have additional features that the region 4 release does not have. An example is 'Ronin' in which the region 1 is double sided with both 2.35:1 and 4:3 aspect whilst the region 4 has only 2.35:1.
Basically, you use Remote Selector to select the region of the DVD that you are about to play, and from Remote Selector you launch the player.
As mentioned earlier, this utility is also capable of disabling Macrovision..
..and will allow you to set up and configure an infared remote to allow full playback control from the comfort of your armchair.
All in all, if you plan on setting up your a/v PC with an infared remote, Remote Selector is a must have utility for owners of the Hollywood Plus. If you are not interested in the remote control, then you have another option - Zone Selector.
Zone Selector is available for download from http://altern.org/zoneselector/uk.htm. This utility will allow you to switch region codes ….
and disable macrovision….
and like Remote Control, it can also be configured to automatically launch the player application.
It is a great little utility, and is freeware. One nice little feature is its ability to be minimized to the tray, from where it is activated with a right click to bring up the menu
Both 'Remote Selector' and 'Zone Selector' are are excellent, and are a must have for owners of the Hollywood Plus. Remote Selector may also be used with various other decoders, and supports the infared remote, whilst Zone Selector does not have the remote control ability, but is freeware. I suggest you try them both and decide which one best suits your needs.
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