DVD drive region semi-free?

I've been having a small issue with my iMac and DVDs.
First off, I'm in Region 4, which is what my mac is set to.
Secondly, I have a lot of discs from other regions.
Now, my discs that are region one will not play in the DVD player (as expected), and prompt me to change the drive to region 1 to play them, warning of 4 changes left (also as expected).
Now, the thing is, some of these region one discs, that wont play in DVD player, will play fine in VLC, yet others wont. This is the thing that's puzzling me.
Now, my drive is the MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-875 type, which I've read a lot about, but as it will play some out of region discs, yet not others, does anyone know what's up?
Now, to top that all off, I'm in Australasia, where it's illegal to ship RPC-2 Drives, so if there is firmware blocking some of my discs, can I get apple to fix it because of that?
All in all this is mainly an inconvenience, since I can play any disc on the DVD player in my living room (like I said, you can't buy region locked DVD players here), but it'd be nice to play them on my Mac (which is in my bedroom) if I want to.
Any help?

Now, the thing is, some of these region one discs, that wont play in DVD player, will play fine in VLC
Be careful about this. It may not apply in your case, but when I got my new iMac recently I put a Region 1 DVD in (I'm in Region 2) and accessed it in VLC without any warnings of any sort: but the next time I played a Region 2 DVD in DVD player it said it was in Region 1 and gave the usual warning: so VLC may still be using up your changes - without telling you.

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DVD Drive Region Code.... help?

On my dad's iBook G4 almost every dvd I get from the store comes up with the error message "*The DVD-Video disc region code does not match the drive region code.* (You cannot change the region code for your drive)"
I remember a while ago one of our relatives visited from England and probably played a dvd or two from England so I'm assuming that's how this happened. Is there any way to change the drive's region code? I'm guessing re-installing the OS might do it, but that would be last resort if my dad even considers it. I've tried VLC and others, but the OS seems to make the rules.... any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks:)

As per the conditions imposed on the rest of the world by the MPAA mafia, a DVD drive can be set to play DVDs from one of the 9 regions ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVDregioncode ) for a maximum of 5 times by the end-user. As a backup, there is a 'service reset' that can be used up to 4 times to reset that count, which means that a DVD drive's region can be changed an absolute maximum of 20 times.
The 'service reset' is used by service centers, etc., knowing that the unilluminated users will usually exhaust their 5-count accidentally, like in this case. I'd like to think that a Genius in an Apple Store o an Apple Service Center should be able to carry such a reset out. There are also utilities in the wild that allow you to do this, so you might want to Google your way around and see if you can find one for your specific Mac and DVD drive model. Note that this service reset is perfectly legal, does not invalidate any warranty or incur in the wrath of any law enforcement agency.
Reflashing the firmware on the drive with microcode hacked to be region-free also solves the problem. However, from the technical point of view, this is risky as any failure in the process will result in dead drive with no warranty and, from the legal point of view, breaks scads of different national laws making you liable for prosecution (if caught).

Switching the DVD drive region code - Is there a workaround?

Hi - would appreciate a confirmation or helpful hints how to circumvent the regional settings.
I understand from the Apple doc, http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60183, that the regional coding is set in the firmware of the drive and not linked to the player (as I had apparently incorrectly surmised). If this is the case, then installing an additional player such as the VLC media player for Mac OS X (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html) to use for say Region 1 discs, and maintaining Apple's DVD Player set for Region 2 discs would not prevent the drive from freezing the 5th time a different region coded disc is slid into the drive.
Right?
If so, the only work around would be to install an external DVD drive to set to an alternative region, right? Or does somebody know a cute way to disable the firmware coding and set the drive to multiple regions. This must be possible because DVD players are available commercially which have been set to region code 0.
I have 2 changes left ... before the big freeze. Thanks

To Apple Discussions!
It has been reported that VLC overrides the 5 region code option. You will need to read their documention on their website. Otherwise................
You can change the computers region "only 5 times". Then it's locked in the 5th version/region (until you erase your HD & start all over.).

Error -70001 when changing DVD drive region for last time

Hi there,
I am trying to change my DVD drive from region 2 to region 1. This should be the last time I am able to change regions, but I am still getting an Error -70001 which prevents me from making the switch.
Can anyone help me get around this?
Another forum said I need to find a disk that can only be read in the region I want to change to (in this case region 1), but so far I have had no luck with this method.
Thank you all so much for any help on the issue.

Are you sure the DVD is region 1 ONLY? You can't always trust the label. I have a three DVD boxed set that says region 1. One of the DVDs is multiple region.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=31304>

Help with dvd drive - region code error

Hi, I really need to change the drive region code on my Ibook G4 (OS X 10.4.10) back to Region 2. I'm allowed to change it one last time.
But the trouble is, when I try and change it and click 'set drive region' it just comes up with an error message -70001, 'There was a problem changing the drive region code.'
I've reset the PMU and PRAM/NVRAM but it still does it.
Can anybody help me at all? It's driving me mad, I was banking on being able to change it back to my Region one last time...

Insert a DVD which is set to play in only one region; if you try using up your last change with a DVD that can play in some but not all regions, that error message will appear. Many DVDs which are set to play in region 2 will also play in region 4.
(23521)

Qosmio G30 - How do I make my DVD drive region free?

I thought I had one region change left but it now tells me I haven't and it's stuck on Region 1 - any ideas?
thanks

I've resolved this now.
The drive did have one change remaining but when I asked it to change the region back to 2, it insisted on my inserting a region 2 disk - which I thought I had done. But in fact the disk (like most of the region 2 disks in my collection) was in fact Regions 2 + 4. I had to inster a pure region 2 disk in order to change the region back to 2. Eventually I found one!

Two DVD drives region settings

It seems to me, that it isn't the PLAYER that gets locked, but the DVD player software. I have an iMac with both an internal and external DVD burner. I cannot seem to set one to Region 2 and have the other on Region 1.
Now THIS seems a bit different than the theories I've seen in some of the threads here.

Paul the region settings are in fact tied to the Software, and Firmware on the DVD Optical Drive. They have nothing whatsoever to do with the Player by itself.
When you insert a DVD, the Optical drive reads the media type and at that point cripples the proccess if all 5 changes have been used.
The only work around with the Internal is to either search out a Region Free Firmware fix on Google.
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/14738
Download VLC Player that comes with it's own software that is Region Free and make it your default Application when your insert a DVD, thus bypassing the Internal to the new player and using it's software.
Cheers Don

DVD Drive won't work! (DVD region settings?)

My DVD drive does not seem to be working. I sent it in for servicing and was told that they changed the drive.
However, it still does not accept/recognize DVDs at all when I insert them. I recently travelled overseas and changed my region from region 4 to region 1. I have not changed it back, but cannot figure out how to even open the settings.
Help would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks!

The drive automatically detects that a disk with a different region was inserted. You can only change it 5 times however. If you continue having problems take it to your nearest Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider.

CD/DVD drive does not read all DVD formats and regions

Hi
My Teac-dw-224e-a does not read all DVDs formats and regions.
It does read CDs but no DVDs at all.
Not DVD-R and not even regular DVDs. I have checked the region of the DVD.
I have reinstalled the driver and also tried with different software.
What can I do?
Please help!

Hi
It is possible that your DVD drive has wrong region settings.
In this case it is not able to watch all possible DVD movies from different regions.
Of course you can change the settings 4 times. But after this changing the settings are fixed and its not possible to change it anymore.

I have just bought an old ibook g3 and i need a code to change the region on the dvd drive . how can i get this ?, i have just bought an old ibook g3 and i need a code to change the region on the dvd drive . how can i get this ?

i do not know the code to change the region on the dvd drive and it is stuck on region 1 and i need to change it to region 2. i am using an old ibook g3 , can any one help with the code

You must have a G4 iBook as the G3 models can only install up to 10.4.11.
Some links to read for possible help.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/759882#759882
https://discussions.apple.com/message/5083031#5083031
https://discussions.apple.com/message/20461888#20461888

Changing iMac DVD drive's 'Region'

Hi peeps!
I live in the UK, and I've had this iMac G4 for about 3 years now. It's running OSX 10.4.6.
When I try to play a normal 'Region 2' DVD, DVD Player throws up the lovely old "you need to change your drive's region setting" dialogue box. Which is fine - the drive should be Region 2 anyway, so I'd be more than happy to change it back from Region 1. The message says I have FOUR changes left. I click "Change" or whatever it is...
... And the iMac throws up 'Error 70001' (can't change the region). Errrr... WHY!? I have 4 changes left. ARGH!!
So, now I'm stuck with a region 1 DVD drive, which I can't change for some unknown reason, in a Region 2 country. Great. I've been told to try VLC or MacTheRipper, but it's hardly ideal.
Are there any solutions to my problem? How can I change my drive's region setting? I'll try anything.
Many thanks in advance.
MMZ
iMacs, G4s, iBooks, iPods... the lot! :P Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Short of taking it in to Apple and making sure the region coding is reset to the limited number of changes you get out of the factory, or finding a non-supported firmware update that makes it region-code insensitive, no. Doing the latter may though not be legally sound, as region-coding is part of the DRM encoding all DVDs have. In the future only play DVDs from your local region. If you need a different region because you move around a lot, find out what is the most legally viable way to handle that situation.

Can i install elements13 on macbook pro by getting free trial and then inputting serial number from my already purchased elements as no dvd drive

Hi. As mac books don't have a dvd drive, can I install my purchased copy of elements 13 by downloading a free trial and entering my serial number, please?

You keep asking variants on this same question. You've had replies in all your other threads. If you can't find them, go here and click where it says Activity:
Thomas Cannon Jr.

Locked the Region of the DVD Drive!!!

For reasons beyond my control the DVD drive has been locked! (The kids Fault) Is there anyway for it to be changed (If I re-install ect..) Please help!!

Big Jon.Here are some possibilities - please read the relevant warnings carefully.
Mac The Ripper copies a DVD to your hard disk and removes region coding allowing you to view a DVD from any region.
Firmware Hack - I'm not sure if this can be applied in retrospect though. Please heed all warnings given.
regards
mrtotes

HT2397 Is region code is recorded in the DVD drive? So, if I have two Apple USB SuperDrive, I can have two separate region code?

If the region code is recorded in the DVD drive, then I can purchase two Apple USB SuperDrive to play different region DVD ?

To Apple Discussions!
It has been reported that VLC overrides the 5 region code option. You will need to read their documention on their website. Otherwise................
You can change the computers region "only 5 times". Then it's locked in the 5th version/region (until you erase your HD & start all over.).

DVD player - Drive Region Code

Not sure if this is the right place to post this question...
But in DVD player, I want to play a "foreign" DVD, ie, from the US (I'm in A ustralia). But I get a message that pops up that says that it can't play the DVD because it's on a different DRIVE REGION code. Apparantly you can change the code five times but after that you can't change it anymore.
So my question... I can only change it one more time, after that is there ANY way that i can be changed again? Is there something (a driver perhaps?) that I can dwownload or even purchase?
Your help is much appreciated!

is it then possible to have two different DVD Player's going on my computer?? Not at the same time, but one won't override the other I imagine? How do I go about buying another one? I'll do a google search...
Thanks for the tip!

DVD drive region semi-free?

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