Unrestricted Region Playback DVD on a Laptop??

[Captain Over]

Wanting to buy two laptops for me and the Mrs. but have found a rather annoying peeve. The models we are wanting, Toshiba Satellite (mine - loaded...hers, a little less) apparantly only let you change DVD region settings 4 times before pooching themselves forever. :mad: :mad: WHAT the HECK?!!! Let me get this straight...a PORTABLE, USE ANYWHERE laptop canNOT use all region DVD's for life? There MUST be a reset or some other brand that does not have this ludicrous restriction.

Any suggestions out there?

This is delaying our purchase. GRRR..!

[spannersatcx]

This has been covered before here, try a search you may be able to find the thread. Failing that, you need to do a couple of things, make your DVD ROM region free this can be done by changing the firmware of the drive, have a look here VCD help (http://www.vcdhelp.com/play) also try a search for firmware in google for other sites.

You will also need a software player that will allow this.

I use a pioneer DVD rom with upgraded firmware and also a realmagic hollywood+ decoder card with appropriate region free playing software.

Bear in mind if you change the firmware of your drive it will be out of warranty.

[Captain Over]

Thanks for the speedy reply. I had "searched" for Laptop's, but was so :mad: :mad: :mad: about this DVD issue I posted then aimed, as they say.

Off to do a detailed search...thanks again for your info.

[ORAC]

Laptop DVD drive status (http://perso.club-internet.fr/farzeno/firmware/dvd/page00.htm)

Driveinfo (http://perso.club-internet.fr/farzeno/firmware/dvd/combo.htm)

[BLUE SKY THINKER]

One recent LINK (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=57558)

[gofer]

The DVD limitation is a definite suppression of civil liberty - especially for laptops that travel

5 years back we purchased a first batch of corporate laptops with DVD's from a multinational that is no longer.. We challenged them on just this fact, insisting on damages or unlocking!

Interesting case emerged - as DVD locking was not ordained by the government in question in the country of purchase, the supplier (a US company) was in a logical fix.

As indicated above they insured that we had simple access to all the pointers to the "free world" fixes, but were unable to provide the equipment in a liberated form - suitable compensation was able to be obtained for our cost of "fixing" the problem.

Private people have of course a bigger problem. The workaround in my opinion depends on the store / suppliers easily and normally accessable documentation and a lack of any statement that only "certain" DVD's can be played. If the question, in front of witnesses, has also been asked - "can this then play any DVD?" and the answer was not a emphatic NO - it is up to the shop and supplier to "repair the dammage" at their effort and expense.

In many countries the salesman usually offers such services before delivery, if prompted - especially in Asia and Switzerland!

Next problem is - is the carrier and owner and user of the Laptop and DVD drive breaking the law when the equipment is switched on in US territory ? Our legal advisor suggests .... wait for it ....yes! and is not looking forward to the first case that is brought.

Nuf said... any more info needs e-Mail and encryption.

Enjoy the films .... :p

[Captain Over]

ASFKAP, from what I read on many "crack" sites, these are DVD make and model specific, and if you pooch it, there goes the warranty. I don't want THAT to happen, so if it helps deciding what "fix" to use, I've got the exact makes and models of the DVD / CDRW drives that are in the short-list of four laptops I am considering getting:

For the Toshiba Satellite 2400: Panasonic UJDA720, Toshiba SDR 2102, Toshiba SDR 2212, TEAK DW28E34.

Toshiba Satellite 2410: KME UJDA730, Teac DW224E, or (50% likely it will be...) Toshiba SDR2212.

Toshiba Satellite 5100: Panasonic (Matsu****a) UJDA30TB6A

Toshiba Satellite 5200 (DVD-R / CD-RW): SD-R6012

(Guess you figured by now it is the Satellite we're getting, I just have to narrow these four down!)

Thanks for all the help so-far, everyone.

:D

[spannersatcx]

If you don't want to invalidate the warranty then you will have to look at other options. If you are going to somewhere in Asia then see about getting a stand alone portable DVD player/viewer that will be muliti regional, or get an external DVD drive and change the firmware of that instead, of course that will invalidate the warranty on that but it would be a cheaper option that the laptop.

I guess at the end of the day if you want to do something that may or may not be strictly "legal" then YOU have to accept the consequencies, sorry. ;)