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DVD Codes

Vitnir, the whole point is that they WANT you to pay different prices. Sony does this with PS2 and PS3 games too - probably XBOX as well but I don't know.

It's simply about making the most profit from each market - as was pointed out if the titles were not locked in this way then there's no way they could get decent sales in poorer countries whilst maintaining the high prices more affluent countries pay - people would just import the cheaper goods.
 
If anything the region coding prevent me from getting cheap DVD's from the US so maybe thats it then. I don't collect DVD's so I don't care so much but it pissed me off that I couldnt find region 2 release of ******** with Penn&Teller. iTunes has the same BS, I couldnt buy Battlestar Galactica on the Swedish iTunes site.
Edit: Funny profanity filter, but I can't name the show without bypassing the filter i guess.
 
Kochanski said:
A region free dvd player will play them all and they are not expensive.
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Well, there are some (few) disks that won't play in a region-free player. They want the player region to match their own.

But a PC will play everything :D
 
Kochanski said:
A region free dvd player will play them all and they are not expensive. I got one through one of Amazon's sellers. Works beautifully. I get all kinds of lovely region 2 dvds from the UK and they play perfectly :)
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Be careful when buying a region-free player. You might be able to save some bucks by doing some research first, buying a regular player, and hit a few buttons on the remote to make it region-free instead of paying an extra $50 or so for someone to do that for you. I had bought a region-free player through Amazon as well, and then felt like a dope since I could have done the work myself.

Also, make sure the player will automatically convert from PAL to NTSC so that you can watch region 2 dvds on American tvs (if you're from America).

Since this is a touchy DMCA-type of subject, can I post the best site I know that tells how to region-free a player?
 
cyborg said:
Vitnir, the whole point is that they WANT you to pay different prices. Sony does this with PS2 and PS3 games too - probably XBOX as well but I don't know..
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Actually this whole Region code thing started in Video games...the profit is much higher! $50-$60 bucks a game...at the cost of burning a CD!!!
 
Overman said:
Actually this whole Region code thing started in Video games...the profit is much higher! $50-$60 bucks a game...at the cost of burning a CD!!!
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Firstly the cost of the production is not merely the cost of reproduction.

Secondly the cost of CD pressing is less than CD burning.

Thirdly it is NOT about reproduction costs. The whole exercise is about preventing arbitrage.
 
jnelso99 said:
Since this is a touchy DMCA-type of subject, can I post the best site I know that tells how to region-free a player?
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I don't think such sites are illegal. It would be ridiculous if it were legal to manufacture players that can be made region-free but illegal to show how to do it.
 
cyborg said:
Firstly the cost of the production is not merely the cost of reproduction.
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I agree.

Secondly the cost of CD pressing is less than CD burning.
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I agree.

Thirdly it is NOT about reproduction costs. The whole exercise is about preventing arbitrage.
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I disagree. I do not see how arbitrage comes into play here. Please explain.
It seems to me that the companies want to charge different prices for different regions, and can do so because of the low production costs, because after the programmers and associated companies are done and paid (I know many get paid points on the unit, but many costs are up front) the cost is merly the artifact...we all know how cheap CD's are!
 
Overman said:
I disagree. I do not see how arbitrage comes into play here. Please explain.
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You could not sell a $50 dollar game in Russia.

You CAN sell a $5 dollar game in Russia.

Since I can import $5 dollar games (with minimal overheads, especially if in bulk) from Russia what incentive would there be for me to buy $50 dollar games?

THAT is arbitrage my friend, and that is what the media companies DO NOT want me to do.

It seems to me that the companies want to charge different prices for different regions, and can do so because of the low production costs,
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No, they can only do so when they create artificial barriers between markets. Low production costs don't come into it. That's a static amount per unit. The final price is determined by what the market will bear.

That's just how markets work - you charge what you can in order to maximise profit.

because after the programmers and associated companies are done and paid (I know many get paid points on the unit, but many costs are up front) the cost is merly the artifact...we all know how cheap CD's are!
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Yes CDs are cheap - but this is irrelevant.
 
I can understand the motivation for the manufacturers here, but I wonder sometimes why it's tolerated. I don't see any real difference why region coding differs from requiring different countries to adopt incompatible standards for CD's, car tires, flashlight batteries or anything else. I also wonder how much effect this will have on the total market as DVD players and drives become as cheap as a single new movie. If you really wanted to load up on Mexican DVD's, you could get a 25 dollar WalMart DVD player, or set a second DVD drive just for that region, couldn't you?
 
If you really wanted to load up on Mexican DVD's, you could get a 25 dollar WalMart DVD player, or set a second DVD drive just for that region, couldn't you?
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There are no technological methodologies that could implement this in a foolproof way but then that's not the point - it's never stopped companies from trying.
 
cyborg said:
Vitnir, the whole point is that they WANT you to pay different prices. Sony does this with PS2 and PS3 games too - probably XBOX as well but I don't know.
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Region-locking games was one of the stupidest things ever. For PS2 games, Singapore is tagged with Japan, so unmodded machines here can only play NTSC-J games, which are mostly (>90%) in Japanese! Sure, they might include a single instruction sheet in English, as compared to the gorgeous 50-page manual in Japanese, to tell you what the buttons do in the game, but what use is that when players can't understand enough Japanese to figure out what to do in the game?

Fortunately, this restriction has been removed on the PS3.
 
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