[LINK] Region Locked DVD Drives Illegal?

[Marghanita da Cruz]

Doing some family history stuff... I have been investigating and testing 
various mediums including Open Source Video 
<http://www.ramin.com.au/linux/acs-os-sig.html>

I was asked to help evaluate a MAC laptop and used some footage to test 
the Mac's DVD making capabilities.... there were various issues with the 
production software... but the biggest problem was when I sent the DVD 
to the UK, they apparently "could not read it on various laptops."

I haven't investigated the details of the problem, but could the problem 
be attributed to the region locking?

M
Kim Holburn wrote:
> You find rpc-1 firmware for your laptop drive and reflash it so it's  
> region free.  It's not hard to do, although you usually have to wait  a 
> bit until the firmware is available.
> 
> Alternatively, you get an external DVD drive that is region free or  for 
> which the region-free firmware is available.
> 
> Or, if you run windows there are programs that can let your spc-2  drive 
> read and write region free.
> 
> Or you sue the manufacturer for advertising a product that doesn't work?
> 
> On 2006 Aug 22, at 9:33 PM, Adam Todd wrote:
> 
>> 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.
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>> Link at mailman.anu.edu.au
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> 
> 
> -- 
> Kim Holburn
> IT Network & Security Consultant
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>                           -- Lloyd Biggle, Jr. Analog, Apr 1961
> 
> 
> 
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-- 
Marghanita da Cruz
Ramin Communications
http://www.ramin.com.au
Phone: 0414-869202
Email: marghanita at ramin.com.au