When we moved to New Zealand I brought my UK-purchased Mac mini with us. In the world of DVD region codes, the UK is "2" but New Zealand is "4". When I rented Utu, an 80's film about revenge set during the New Zealand Wars (fought over land) between various Maori tribes and the Colonial Government, I ran into this obstacle to the "fair use" of my Mac as a DVD player. Should I change the region code of my DVD drive? Were there alternatives?
Region codes are geographic (Image: Wikipedia)
Consumer DVD players currently on sale in New Zealand are apparently not restricted to playing discs from a single region. Apple computers currently sold worldwide are so restricted. So what do you do when you pop in a DVD and see a message like this?:
The answer, of course, is to consult the melee of misinformed opinion and rock-solid advice that can be had via Google. It turns out that the Matshita UJ-846 drive in my Mac mini poses something of a problem, as there is no region-free firmware available. I found an very helpful article that discusses viewing options for both Intel-based and PowerPC Macs (interestingly, written by a lawyer who likes Mac The Ripper).
I didn't want to buy extra hardware and VLC as a region-ignorant alternative to Apple's DVD Player didn't work with my drive. I do have Windows XP installed via Boot Camp and I do own a copy of WinDVD—but this combo likewise coughed at the insertion of a "foreign" region DVD. There is law-breaking $US40 software (DVD Region Free + DVD Css Free) available for Windows that promises to act as a cough suppressant.
Since we're in NZ for a year I didn't really have a problem re-setting my drive to use region code 4; I can always set it back to 2 when we return to the UK. Had I bought some of my region 2 DVDs with me I would be facing something of a dilemma, however, as the number of changes is very limited; you have to come down one side of the fence or the other. I can certainly understand why folk who travel with a MacBook might be seriously annoyed over not being able use it to view DVDs rented or bought in the places they visit.
The bottom line is that Macs aren't bred for traveling—and that includes Apple's "portables".
Oh wait, I found a solution! All you need to do is
Warning: The region code of your IP address does not match the region code of this solution. You can change your solution region code 0 more times.
Update 16.12.07: It wasn't supposed to be possible, but the firmware for the UJ-846 (FM3J) and many other Matshita DVD drives used by Apple has recently been hacked. Use DVD Info X to see if your drive is region-locked (RPC-2) or region-free (RPC-1). After flashing the firmware you can use VLC to watch DVDs from any region; if you want to use Apple DVD Player you'll also need to download RegionX to deal with software region checks. Unfortunately the firmware flasher is not Leopard compatible at this time (needing 10.3.9 or 10.4.6–10.4.11).
The solution lies not in changing the region on your Mac or looking for region-breaking software, but rather in finding region free DVDs. I suggest opening an account with the Chinese film pirates. Sure, the quality of pirated DVDs can vary a lot, but since they're region free at least they'll play on your Mac. :)
It's the same old story isn't it Kevin? The industry on the one hand tries to discourage piracy, yet at the same time on the other practically encourages it by giving people cause to circumvent restrictions that are arguably unjust.
I travel a great deal and take with me a laptop for work and pleasure when I move around the globe. Recently I succumbed to the Apple onslaught and broke down and purchased what I considered to be a superior product. I fell in love with the Apple Mac Book Pro until I attempted to play a legal DVD on it. Surprise, surprise, when I attempt to play by the rules I am penalized by Apple. I move around the globe and thus I use my laptop everywhere I go - and the places I go cross DVD regions. So if I want to play by the rules (which are actually collusion among film producers and software/hardware makers) then I have five changes then I am locked in to one region. After the 5th change I am obligated to stay with one region and can't play anything from any other region.
This is doubly irritating because I know it is not international law that created this limitation, but an agreement among producers and suppliers in an effort to herd the sheep more efficiently. Frankly, I am willing to pay the legitimate price for a copy of the DVD I want to watch. I have seen enough East Asian crap to know that cut-rate prices do not equate to quality viewing. I will happily pay full price for the disc I want to watch. However, Apple and their cohorts make it so I have no choice. Even if I wan to pay full price to see a quality product they do not allow me top do so because they attempt to force me to limit myself to one region. As previously stated - I don't reside in one region. I am a citizen of the planet and move around the planet among various regions in rapid succession. Apple is attempting to foist their foist making designs on me even after I paid more than sufficiently for their hardware. Now they and their cohorts in the DVD industry are attempting to reign me in and force me to buy legitimate products by creating a situation in which they can act as a nanny and treat me as a consumer infant. They tell me what to do, and I do it.
The only problem is that the industry's myopic view of the consumer does not allow for me to travel the globe as an international businessman and spend money on legitimate copies of DVDs as I travel the planet. Their system forces me to make a decision within five viewings. Within five viewings they want me to lock my computer in to one (and only one) system. After that I am supposed to have no choice about what region my DVDs come from.
So in effect what Apple is doing is forcing me to seek bootleg DVDs. They drive me in the exact opposite direction they intend me to go. I am willing to pay full price each and every time I get a DVD, but because Apple treats me as a child incapable of governing myself I am unable to opt to buy legitimate DVDs in the various regions I visit each year Apple pushes me towards buying bootleg copies that are not region-locked.
To the executives at Apple I ask that they stop treating me as a child and allow me the adult choice of purchasing the legitimate copy of what I choose to play on my computer. In the mean time I am forced (by Apple) to seek bootleg copies that are not region-restricted. Ultimately - you guys are short-sighted idiots.
I hear you Cletus. Who knows whether it is Apple that decides to install region-coded drives in their machines, or whether there is significant external industry presure on them to do so? There are precedents to stop this practice e.g. consumer DVD players in Australia are not sold region-coded, because this practice is deemed not to be in the consumer's interest. Although you can argue "fair use" in ripping DVDs you own to avoid region blocking, this is an unsatisfactory solution because you need to change region to do it, and these changes are limited in permitted number. Also, why should we suffer the reduced quality and alternative storage requirements that this entails?
I am having the same problem.
i am from the uk but i spend alot of my time in Australia and i have brought a rather large collection of dvds unfortunately i didnt realize you only have 5 changes of your region code status and have used them all up. now i cant even watch Australian movies on my mac book its rather frustrating. how would you go about this dilemmas?
Edward, the only suggestion I have is to buy an portable external DVD drive that can plug into your MacBook, setting it to one region and the MacBook to another or, better still, be sure to buy one that is (or can be made) region-free.
another option, can you Install AnyDVD on parallels or Bootcamp and play DVDs via that method. It should work...
I don't think so Brian; there are Mac tools as well that can remove region coding from a disk, but the issue is with the region locking of the phyiscal drive. AFAIK there are no work-arounds if the drive cannot be flashed with a new ROM.
I'm pretty sure it will work with bootcamp - Unfortuantely I dont have it installed, Only Parallels with Windows, which may not work. The reason I think it will work with Bootcamp is that the machine is a true PC running Windows. With AnyDVD running you can watch MultiRegion DVDs. I do this on my HP Laptop right now to watch NZ and UK DVDs here in Canada. I will try it out sometime. Its not a big deal anymore here, as MultiRegion DVD players are available here for under $100 now
This whole malarchy is a shambles. I live in Australia and as such our home DVD is multi-regional. As a consequence of this as well as being a frequent traveller and internet shopper my DVD collection is not all one region but many. It just shits me to tears that my MacBook can't come along for the ride
John, we bought some discs bought in NZ back to the UK. I managed to unlock my Philips DVD Player so it will play the discs from both countries that I legitimately own.
As for travel, we left my wife's MacBook set to Region 4, and my mini set to Region 2. This means we can still rip DVDs from either region, enabling viewing of region-free disc images (or MP4s) on the MacBook during our travels.
Good news for those with Matshita DVD drives and multi-region DVD collections: see the update above dated 16.12.07.