Jerricho.
I installed DVDRegion free a couple of years ago, and it is brilliant. It totally bypasses the region coding on your dvd drive. (it doesn't change the firmware), and it works even if your player is now region locked.
You can download a trial version from
dvd region free
For copying dvd's, I've found that dvd shrink (freeware) is very good. It will copy encrypted dvd's also.
419