[LINK] Region Locked DVD Drives Illegal?

[Adam Todd]

At 06:35 PM 22/08/2006, George Bray wrote:
>Thanks everyone.
>
>The ACCC came back to me and confirmed those views.  It's only a legal
>issue if the unit is marketed in AUS for a specific purpose and does
>not perform as advertised.
>
>I guess I'll be spending a few CPU cycles to rip my foreign DVDs. Or
>is that illegal here now thanks to the FTA?

Wouldn't the mere act of ripping the DVD be illegal in Australia 
anyway?  Isn't that the reason the 'Copyright' holders are suing everyone?

>It used to be you could re-burn the ROM in the drive to accept any
>region, but alas that doesn't look possible now.

yes I had to set my laptop to a region the other day.  You know what the 
problem with this stupidity is?

Well I was in Aus pre May, France in May, Australia in June, so that's 
Three changes.  Then I'll be in the USA later this year for a bit, that's 
another change, then I'll be in the UK, so I'll have to change it again.

Then I can toss the DVD+RW drive in my laptop and buy a new one and do it 
all over again.   Sad isn't it.  Portable technology that isn't portable.

Maybe I'll not buy or play any DVD's whilst I'm out and about, just seek 
out the Independent movie makers and enjoy those instead!

>As usual, the media industry's efforts to protect themselves force
>their customers to investigate new ways to acquire the content. My
>contempt for them is inversely proportional to their trust in me.

As usual the industry prevents customers having the benefit of hardware 
that plays materials in all places they might travel to.