Region Codes and Countries
| Region code | Area |
|---|---|
| 0 | Informal term meaning "worldwide". Region 0 is not an official setting; discs that bear the region 0 symbol either have no flag set or have regions 1–6 flags set. Region 0 is commonly referred to as "Region Free", especially when talking about DVD and Blu-ray players. |
| 1 | United States, Canada, Bermuda, U.S. territories |
| 2 | Europe (except Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus), Middle East, Egypt, Japan, South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Greenland, French Overseas departments and territories |
| 3 | Southeast Asia, South Korea, Taiwan, China (Hong Kong, Macau) |
| 4 | Mexico, South America, Central America, Caribbean, New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea and much of Oceania |
| 5 | Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Pakistan, Africa (except Egypt, South Africa, Swaziland, and Lesotho), Central and South Asia, Mongolia, North Korea |
| 6 | China |
| 7 | Reserved for future use, MPAA-related DVDs and "media copies" of pre-releases in Asia |
| 8 | International venues such as aircraft, cruise ships, etc. |
| ALL | Region ALL discs have all eight flags set, allowing the disc to be played in any locale on any player. |
DVDs sold in the Baltic States use both region 2 and 5 codes.
Region 0 (playable in all regions except 7 and 8) is widely used by China and the Philippines. DVDs in Hispanophone Latin America use both the region 1 and region 4 codes. Most DVDs in India combine the region 2, region 4, and region 5 codes; Indian Disney discs contain only the region 3 code.
European region 2 DVDs may be sub-coded "D1" to "D4". "D1" are United Kingdom–only releases; "D2" and "D3" are not sold in the UK and Ireland; "D4" are distributed throughout Europe.
Any combination of regions can be applied to a single disc. For example, a DVD designated Region 2/4 is suitable for playback in Western Europe, Oceania, and any other Region 2 or Region 4 area. So-called "Region 0" and "ALL" discs are meant to be playable worldwide.
The term "Region 0" also describes the DVD players designed or modified to incorporate Regions 1–6, thereby providing compatibility with most discs, regardless of region. This apparent solution was popular in the early days of the DVD format, but studios quickly responded by adjusting discs to refuse to play in such machines. This system is known as "Regional Coding Enhancement". In turn, region-free players have all eight flags set, similar to Region ALL DVDs. Many also include RCE breaks, to skip repeating menus or bypass static images.
Read more about this topic: DVD Region Code
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