R1 DVD's

[Clipper]

I want to start getting R1 DVD's but obviously my DVD Rom drive is not currently multi-region. I can change it 5 times but obviously I want this bypassed or unlocked.

Used to have a util to do this but never tested it cos I never had an R1 DVD... now forgotten website address for it (I am pretty useless)

My DVD is a Sony DDU220E if thats any help...

Oh and my DVD decoder is a REALMagic Hollywood Plus card using drivers it came with...

Anyone help :)
Cheers
Clipper


[Edited by Clipper on 30-07-2000 at 12:40 PM]

[MartyG]

I can point you in the right direction with the card, but without going on a web search I can't with the drive.

For the Hollywood card you need a utility that you can download called Zone Selector. http://www.multimania.com/hollywoodplus/uk.htm

This doesn't alter the firmware of the card in anyway, it simply bypasses the region check stuff.

On the drive front it's worth having a look at http://www2.datatestlab.com/regionhacks/ to see if your drive is listed.

Regards
Marty

[Clipper]

thanx m8...

do I have to do a region hack on my card AND my drive or will one or the other do ?

Cheers
Clipper

[MartyG]

Yeah, unfortunately you need to do both. Usually the DVD Drive has to be firmware patched (i.e. you'll be flashing software of the drive itself).

There is a possibility that you can render the drive unusable doing this - if you don't very carefully read the instructions that come with the patch.

Regards
Marty

[MartyG]

I've just had a scan about the web, and it would seem that your Sony drive is region free. So you should be okay with just the Zone Selector stuff.

This utility will tell you for sure:
http://perso.club-internet.fr/farzeno/dvdf/driveinfo11.exe

Regards
Marty

[WeaselFierce]

Not considered a multi-region stand-alone player?

The Wharfdale DVD you can get at Tesco's is £175 but has had a lot of good reviews.

Check out some TV & DVD magazines and you can get most models of player chipped for multi-region play for very little extra.

[DeKurver]

I've read that the current crop of Wharfdale players reject the original region codes (What DVD), so it might be worth making sure before you buy.

For drive information, check out Visual Domain (http://www.visualdomain.net).

Also, I don't think the official Zone Selector site has the latest version (4.1), but you should be able to get it from UK-DVD (http://www.uk-dvd.net).