Regions? what is r1, r2, r3 ... ?

[bladehunter]

i was just wondering what is the difference between the so called regions? I'm only a neophyte when it comes to DVD's. just asking...

[Mo®pHeOu$]

 Hey bladehunter!!

Welcome to PinoyDVD!!!

Well...im not sure kung mayroong particular thread tackling yung difference between regions!!  But from what I personally know eh...regions are used to prevent piracy and are used for the benefit of movie makers! Every region represents a group of countries..which means you can only buy (which is not always true!!!) DVDs of a particular region for a certain country...for example...R1 is for US and Canada only....R3 is for the Philippines, Hongkong...and some other asian countries!  You can try visiting DVDasia.com! the site contains articles regarding different regions although not that complete!  

R1s are probably the earliest ones to come out basta yung movie ay galing sa Holywood!!  

Hope this helps you in someway!!!

Happy posting!!!!

[benny]

1: U.S., Canada, U.S. Territories
2: Japan, Europe, South Africa, and Middle East (including Egypt)
3: Southeast Asia and East Asia (including Hong Kong)
4: Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean
5: Eastern Europe (Former Soviet Union), Indian subcontinent, Africa, North Korea, and Mongolia
6: China
7: Reserved
8: Special international venues (airplanes, cruise ships, etc.)
 


Hope this helps . Btw, bladehunter - Welcome to pinoydvd!

[Kahon]

what does all mean? regions? what for? do cloned dvd players have these

You can refer to these:

DVD FAQ  in PinoyDVD

DVD FAQ

[1.10] What are "regional codes," "country codes," or "zone locks"?

[LancerV6]

Guys,

I'm pretty mixed up...

Ano ba talaga difference ng R3 sa R1? And what's the region for ba?

And why doesn't the R3 disc have DD5.1 capabilities?
And what if I bought an R3 disc w/ DD2.0 how can I make it surround?

Thanks.

Jeremy

[utoy]

The region coding is for the control of the home video release in different zones. If you're the producer, you wouldn't want the the home video to come out first before it gets shown in the theaters. Find more about region coding here.

What R3 DVD is this? If you would take a look at this thread:

List of R1 & R3 Counterparts: with same Features

you will see that there are R3 DVDs with exactly the same specs as their R1 counterparts, including DD5.1. Not all R1 and R3 releases are similar though, as discussed in this thread:

Are there differences between R1 and R3 discs?

DD2.0 on most DVDs are playable as Dolby ProLogic Surround on most HT sets. Or if you have a Dolby ProLogic II capable receiver, you can approximate a 5.1 experience from any regular 2-channel source (that includes your DD2.0 encoded movie).

HTH
Utoy

[Phobos]

Aside from benny's very helpful post, you can also check out this link:

DVD FAQ - Region Codes

Also, since this question has already been answered, I've decided to lock it and direct further questions to this thread:

DVD FAQ

[aikigrappler]

Region 1 (R1) U.S. and Canada
R2 Europe, Japan and South Africa
R3 Southeast Asia (Phils.)
R4 Australia, New Zealand and Latin America
R5 Eastern Europe and Africa
R6 China
R7 "future use"
R8 airlines

Got this info from DVD review magazine
Elf

[diesel]

ah so "R" stands for region.  so anong difference?

[Kahon]

from DVD FAQ

What are "regional codes," "country codes," or "zone locks"?


You gotta read a little.

[aikigrappler]

The DVD players are region encoded supposedly.If you bought it here, it should be R3 locked.Should be but highly unlikely coz most of the players here are multiregion na or you can have it region unlocked. It's to protect DVD releases which should not coincide with the theatrical release.

[pumpy]

It refers to "Region 1" disks. It is illegal to sell or rent them outside the U.S. and Canada.

what is "R1"?  is there an "R2", "R3", ....?

[Kahon]

It refers to "Region 1" disks. It is illegal to sell or rent them outside the U.S. and Canada.

I don't think we can state this conclusively yet.  See ongoing discussions in other parts of the board.

Region 1 DVD in Phil - Legal or Not?

Also check :
DVD Piracy Discussion (Part 8)

[pumpy]

It's illegal, because the buyer is not following the requirements of the manufacturer. For example, in WB boxes, it says, "Not for trade or rent outside the U.S. and Canada," with further details.

I'm not sure about second-hand disks.

[viper]

It's illegal, because the buyer is not following the requirements of the manufacturer. For example, in WB boxes, it says, "Not for trade or rent outside the U.S. and Canada," with further details.

I'm not sure about second-hand disks.

What is illegal in one country may be legal in another.  You can buy  R1s and R2s  in Hongkong and Singapore from big vendors such as HMV so as far as these countries are concerned, it is not illegal. Otherwise, these disks won't even be displayed on the racks.

With the precedent of LOTR here in the Phils, R1s can also be sold openly here in provided that distributors secures clearance from VRB.

[pumpy]

Is that the official stance of those who manufacture such disks and who implement such rules? Say, WB Philippines?

What is illegal in one country may be legal in another.  You can buy  R1s and R2s  in Hongkong and Singapore from big vendors such as HMV so as far as these countries are concerned, it is not illegal. Otherwise, these disks won't even be displayed on the racks.

With the precedent of LOTR here in the Phils, R1s can also be sold openly here in provided that distributors secures clearance from VRB.

[espace]

Is that the official stance of those who manufacture such disks and who implement such rules? Say, WB Philippines?

Can't speak for the manufacturers, but can put in what I've observed thus far about this DVD Region Issue.

First off, for DVD, WB Philippines is a distributor and not a manufacturer. They fall into the same category for DVD as MagnaVision (Columbia Tristar, Paramount, etc), Monami (Touchstone, Buena Vista), Viva (MGM, Disney), C-Interactive (New Line) and others that I'm not aware of. As distributor, they distribute what they ask from their principals or parent companies and what these ask them to.

The manufacturers would be the studios or their respective DVD divisions. The region coding was agreed upon at the onset of DVD several years back primarily to solve the problem of different worldwide release dates and language requirements.

We happen to be a Region 3 country that speaks English, has an NTSC TV system and US movie release dates not too far off from the US. That's why R1 DVD's are "widely" available here as it is. This was further confirmed by the LOTR FOTR R1 release here.

The only thing that makes the LOTR release here different from the other R1's locally available is that it has a VRB sticker signifying that duties, taxes and whatever necessary red tape has been complied with.

This has shown us that Region Coding is not a steadfast rule but as it has been from the beginning, a policy of DVD manufacturers and distributors. At this stage of the international market place, borders for goods are more porous - anybody with internet access and a credit card can order anything online and have it shipped to their doorstep.

With the "ease" of converting DVD players to multi-region capability nullifying the wanted effects of Region Coding, then this policy becomes more difficult to enforce. So, why bother with region coding in a market like ours.  

[pumpy]

Is it legal to sell R1s with no VRB stickers commercially (i.e., for a profit)?

[espace]

Is it legal to sell R1s with no VRB stickers commercially (i.e., for a profit)?

To answer your question quickly: it is not legal as the VRB has authority over what video material can be brought in and sold in this country. Something stating that is found on the customs declaration form when one comes in from abroad, but customs doesn't seem to mind if it isn't in commercial quantity.

xage started a thread: Region 1 DVD in Phil - Legal or Not? which is probably closer to what this thread is beginning to discuss. Please read through that thread's discussion.

[aldrinpsx]

regional code:
    A code identifying one of the world regions for restricting DVD-Video playback.

Region 1 : US ,Canada
Region 3 : Singapore, Taiwan, Philippines and mostly part of asia.

hope this helps.

PEACE!!

[mooncake2]

Oh, I see..  Hey, thanks man!

Just curious. Is there an R2?

[CrUzSACK]

R2 - Europe, Japan

There's a newbie FAQ here: http://www.pinoydvd.com/yabbse/index.php?board=3;action=display;threadid=576

[aldrinpsx]

Oh, I see..  Hey, thanks man!

Just curious. Is there an R2?

 In your service....

PEACE!!!

[diesel]

i noticed that r2 dvd's are cheaper compared to r1 and r3.  

does this mean na inferior ang quality ng r2 releases?

[T-850]

i dont think so.. PAL is much more sharper daw.. which is the standard of R2s.. NTSCs are R1s btw.. correct me if im wrong  

[MiKeBiBbY]

i noticed that r2 dvd's are cheaper compared to r1 and r3.  

does this mean na inferior ang quality ng r2 releases?

or probably relatively lower ang demand dito sa atin that's why its cheaper.  btw, where can you buy R2s here sa atin?

[Borismo]

Gentlemen:

I hope you can help me with my question.

Just yesterday, i had somebody buy me LOTR 1 and 2 Extended Version DVDs from London. I know these discs are Region 2 issues.

Will i have no problem playin R2 dvds with my Philipps player.  I know all the DVD players sold here are unlocked/multiregional, but does the fact that the  R2 format is PAL have a bearing on my concern?

If so, what is my remedy?


Thanks a lot. Sayang kasi if i cant play it.

Appreciate the help!

Thanks.

ps. BTW how much did the LOTR 1 and 2 Extended Version DVD cost when they were sold here in the P.I.?

[wanderLOLO]

Gentlemen:
...but does the fact that the  R2 format is PAL have a bearing on my concern?

If so, what is my remedy?

yes it has, but this becomes an issue only if your using an old if not a tv set which is ntsc compliant only. as PAL formatted dvds will appear on the screen in black and white only if your tv supports solely the ntsc system, sometimes pa nga there is no display, just the audio lang.

Remedy? get yourself a multi system tv, one that supports both pal and ntsc or you could go to some av shops and ask for a pal and/or ntsc (if ur tv supports only pal) converters,i think my multi-system din, i heard this cost around 2k (not sure ha).

but hey, most tv sets now are multi system so there is no need to worry to much about it. (check your tvs manual to confirm if it is multi system)

one last thing, if your source or (dvd) player supports multi system (pal/ntsc ok) then you dont have to worry about the display in your tv screen appearing in black and white or nothing at all. your source will fix that problem for you.

ps. BTW how much did the LOTR 1 and 2 Extended Version DVD cost when they were sold here in the P.I.?

i heard it cost around 2.5k per title or it might be higher pa.

[sweetam]

things to consider:

1. is your player multi-region?
2. can your player convert PAL signal to NTSC?
3. is your TV multi-system?

i'll assume that your player is multi-region, oki...

if (1) yes, (2) no, (3) no -- you won't be able to watch it

if (1) yes, (2) no, (3) yes -- you will be able to watch it (i have done this when i watched my gladiator dvd from australia with a pioneer vs500d)

if (1) yes, (2) yes, (3) no -- you will be able to watch it (i have done this when i watched my gladiator dvd from australia with a nextbase dvd player connected to a non-multi-system tv)

if (1) yes, (2) yes, (3) yes -- you will be able to watch it definitely

thanks.

[Borismo]

Wanderlust and Sweetam.

Maraming salamat po.

Ill check my system.

I think my Philipps DVD player (which i got last year) is can handle with PAL and NTSC so that leaves that out.

Hmmm...i have a SONY 21 inch Trinitron which is about 4 years old.

Sigh, enjoying these technologies can be headache.

Thanks again.