Ariel wrote:Recently bought a couple of much wanted DVDs from the States only to discover that they are Region One and don't play on my DVD player, and I can't change the region on my laptop any more than once - so no good there either! So, question is, any way I can play them and what exactly does it mean by the different regions, ie why do they have to be made differently for different countries??
Have you checked online to see if your DVD model can be made multi-region with an 'unlock code' or other hack? Many players allowed this.
It's not illegal to unlock a player. The region system was really only created by companies for marketing purposes in different parts of the world because you have different theatrical release dates, etc. It's become more irrelevant now, but you'll find Blu Ray still works in a similar way - with lettered regions rather than numbered.
Anyway see if any of these are helpful:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/dvd-unlockhttp://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacksYou probably aren't looking to shell out cash, but if all else fails then decent, branded multi-region players can be picked up from £30 up on Amazon, Play, etc.