Most DVDs have region codes to restrict the DVDs to be played on DVD players in other regions. E.G., if you want to play region code 2 DVD on region code 1 area, you'll probably get an error "This disc is not formatted to play in this region." This is because your DVD has a region code of 2 while the DVD player comes with a region code of 1.
DVD region codes have been a major inconvenience for travelers who legally purchase DVDs abroad and return with them to their countries of origin, students of foreign languages, immigrants who want to watch films from their homeland and foreign film enthusiasts. To play a foreign DVD in your country, you need to remove region codes from DVDs.
Remove DVD Region Codes to Convert DVD Region Code 2 to 1
You can't directly convert DVD region code 2 to region code 1. But you can resort to MacX DVD Ripper Pro to rip region code 2 DVD to region-free digital file for playing in the US, Europe, UK, Japan, etc. any place without region code limits.
- Unlock and remove region code from DVD unlimitedly; make disc region code (1-6) to region 0;
- Convert regional DVDs to region-free MP4, MOV, H.264, HEVC, MKV, AVI, etc. for TVs, mobiles, PS4, Xbox, etc.
- Bypass DVD region codes and other copy protections such as RCE, CSS, Sony ARccOS, Analog Protection System, UOP, playlist obfuscation, Disney X-Project (99-title), etc.
- 1:1 Clone DVD to ISO image, backup DVD main/full title for playing on PC/Mac without DVD drive.
Part 1. How to Remove DVD Region Code Permanently
You can set the DVD player regions to the geographic area correspondingly to the disc for 5 times. Then your DVD player will be locked to the region you last set. Or you may get a multi-region DVD player. But many multi-national DVD players only plays region one DVD and they are not cheap.
With MacX DVD Ripper Pro, you will no longer need to reset the DVD player region or worry about the remaining region changing times. The region free DVD ripper can remove region codes from DVDs and rip regional DVD to region-free MP4, MOV, FLV, MKV, HEVC, H264, AVI, for playback on iPhone, iPad, Android, etc with 100% quality retained.
Besides bypassing DVD region codes, it also supports DVDs with CSS encryption, RCE, Disney New DVD Copy Protection, Sony ARccOS DVD protection, 99 titles, bad sectors, and any other protections. Below are steps to remove DVD region codes and convert region 2 DVD to region-free video with this DVD region converter.
Step 1: Load the Region Code DVD by Clicking "DVD Disc"
Free download and run the DVD region code remover on Mac (macOS Ventura). Also, you can download the Windows version to unlock DVD region codes on PC.
Install the program as per the prompts and click "DVD Disc" button to import the regional DVD. It will accept any DVD without problem, region code 1 DVD, region code 2 DVD... In short, any region code DVD or protected DVDs can be automatically detected.
Step 2: Choose an Output Format
Once the program finishes scanning the DVD, it will directly remove region code from DVD without any third party help or complicated steps. After that, an output format window will pop up automatically.
Select the output format as you desire. You can convert DVDs to region-free MP4, MOV, MKV, H.264, MPEG4, AVI, WMV, iTunes, iMovies, Fianl Cut Pro, QuickTime. Or you can directly choose bypass DVD region codes for iPhone, iPad, Samsung, TVs, webs, etc. by dint of this top-notch DVD region converter.
Step 3: Select an Output Folder
Click the "Browse" button to choose the path where you want to save the output files in.
Note: Thanks to its advanced title check mechansim, you will never experience any error even with any newly released copyright protected DVDs. It enables you to make a digital copy of latest tough DVD without any DVD ripping crash, bad sector, output copy video audio out of sync issues.
Step 4: Start to bypass Region Code and Rip DVD
Click "RUN" to remove DVD Region Code. after a fraction of seconds, you can play the region-free DVD video on any players without problem.
Part 2. How to Change DVD Drive Region on Windows/Mac
Besides the above method to remove DVD region codes permanently via a DVD region converter, you have another solution to bypass the DVD region codes temporarily - change DVD drive region of the computer. Follow the steps below to change DVD drive region without breaking much of a sweat.
Note:
The DVD Region Code can be changed in limited time, a total number of 5. And when the change time is left to the last one, you need treat it very prudently, since after that it is fixed with the last region.
On Windows:
- Open Device Manager. To open Device Manager, click Start→Control Panel→Performance and Maintenance→System→ Device Manager.
- Double-click DVD/CD-ROM drives, right-click the DVD drive for which you want to change region settings, and then click Properties.
- On the DVD Region tab, make the Region Code changes you want. Until now, the job is done.
On Mac:
- Place the DVD disc into the optical drive, a dialog box will pop up immediately.
- Select the region code of the foreign DVD, e.g. Canada - Region 1, Europe - region 2, Southeast Asia - region 3, Russia - region 5. You should be able to find the region code of the DVD labeled on the back of the individual DVD packaging and on the disc itself.
- Click the "Set Drive Region" button.
- Click the lock icon to make changes. For more detailed guide on how to make MacBook/iMac drive region free, refer to the DVD region code change on Mac.
Part 3. How to Make DVD Player Region Free for TV
For users who need to play region code 2 DVD in region code 1 or region code 3 areas via HDTV set, they can of course choose multi-region DVD player, which supports region-free DVD playback from region code 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Yet, the only downside is that it will cost you an arm and a leg. Thus, if you're a budget-minded user, you're advised to make DVD player region free for TV via DVD player hack.
VideoHelp forum offers you a free yet helpful place with a boatload of unlocking codes for different DVD player brands and models. Here are some general steps you can give a shot:
Step 1. Look for the brand and model of your DVD player online. Search for the phrase "region free code" along with your DVD player's brand and model to see if anyone has posted instructions on how to make it region-free.
Step 2. Try entering a code into the DVD player using the remote control. You can find these codes online, but be sure to only use a code from a reputable source. General steps are listed below:
- Turn on the DVD player > open the tray.
- Press the appropriate button on the remote control to bring up the setup menu. This may be labeled "Setup," "Menu," or something similar.
- Look for an option in the setup menu that lets you change the region code. This may be labeled "Region," "Region Code," or "Country Code."
- Enter the appropriate code using the remote control. You may need to press a sequence of buttons or use a specific combination of keys to enter the code.
- Once you've entered the code, the DVD player should be region-free. Test it by inserting a DVD from another region and see if it plays.
Step 3. If you're not comfortable entering a code into your DVD player or can't find a reliable source, you can also consider purchasing a region-free DVD player or called multi-region DVD player. These players are designed to play DVDs from any region without requiring any modifications or codes.
Well, if you're still puzzled about how to unlock DVD player region code, here we take Samsung DVD players for instance. Please note that the following steps may not work for all models of Samsung DVD players, and attempting to make modifications to your DVD player may void its warranty. Proceed at your own risk.
Step 1. Turn on your Samsung DVD player and open the disc tray.
Step 2. Using your remote control, press the following buttons in order: Repeat, 57538, and then the corresponding region code (1-6 for specific regions, 0 for region-free). Note that the unlock code for DVD player from different regions are different. For example, the code for Samsung DVD player bought in UK won't work for players from the US.
List of unlocking codes for different regions:
- Region 1: 29334
- Region 2: 57538 (or 38767)
- Region 3: 56732
- Region 4: 76884
- Region 5: 53814
- Region 6: 24462
Step 3. The region code should now be unlocked, and the DVD player should be able to play discs from the selected region.
If, unluckily, the above steps don't make your Samsung DVD player region free, try the following alternative method:
- Turn on your Samsung DVD player and open the disc tray.
- Holding your remote control, press the following buttons in order: Menu, 1, 9, and then the corresponding region code (1-6 for specific regions, 0 for region-free).
- The region code is supposed to be changed, and the DVD player should be able to play discs from the selected region.
Part 4. DVD Region Code Knowledge Supplement
| Region Code | Geographic Region(s) Used |
|---|---|
| Region 0 | Discs that bear the region 0 symbol either have no flag set or have regions 1–6 flags set. Region 0 is commonly referred to as "Region Free", especially when talking about DVD and Blu-ray Disc players. |
| Region 1 | United States, Canada, Bermuda, U.S. territories |
| Region 2 | Europe, Middle East, Egypt, Japan, South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Greenland, French Overseas departments and territories |
| Region 3 | Southeast Asia, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau |
| Region 4 | South America, Central America, Caribbean, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea and much of Oceania |
| Region 5 | Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Africa (except Egypt, South Africa, Swaziland, and Lesotho), Central and South Asia, Mongolia, North Korea |
| Region 6 | China |
| Region 7 | Reserved for future use, MPAA-related DVDs and "media copies" of pre-releases in Asia |
| Region 8 | International venues such as aircraft, cruise ships, etc. |
| Region ALL | Region ALL discs have all eight flags set, allowing the disc to be played in any location, on any player. |
Why do we have region codes on DVD? Shortly, money. The film distribution companies need to protect their profits to the maximum degree. Picture this, a movie is released in the U.S.A in January, and its DVD version comes to the public in the U.S market in June 2022 while it makes its debut in Spain in July 2022. So what will happen if an American friend sends the DVD version of this movie to his friends in Spain? The box office will flop in Spain. That's where the region codes for DVD discs come for. However, region codes bring incovenience for those who collect and play DVD movies from different regions. Therefore, those users need to bypass and unlock DVD region code.
As we mentioned before, you can choose to change DVD region code for momentarily removing DVD region codes, rely on DVD player hack in VideoHelp forum to make DVD player region free or trust top region free DVD ripper to permanently remove DVD region code. Make your final decision based on your specific needs.
Notice: We only advocate using the methods in this article to bypass DVD region codes under the concept of Fair Use and do not encourage any illegal reproduction or distribution of copyrighted content. Please abide by the local DVD copyright law before doing it.
Bella has been working with DVD digitization for over 12 years. She writes articles about everything related to DVD, from disc drive, DVD copyright protection, physical structure, burning and backup tips. The unceasing passion of DVD movies helps her build a rich DVD library and ensure a practical solution to address almost all possible DVD issues. Bella is also a crazy fan for Apple products.
