“DVD-Regions with key-2” by Monaneko (Previous Version Maker:MrWeeble, David Levy, Zntrip, David Levy) – Image:DVD-Regions with key.png,2006-07-08 17:30(UTC).. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
When searching and collection for DVDs can be a hassle when regions are concerned. The main reason is the economy. The idea is that if there is a movie still in theaters in Germany, but released into theaters, and have started to sell DVDs in the United States that could be problematic. They do not want retailers to sell DVDs to other countries that still have that “summer blockbuster” in theaters. The result is the differences in coding. (Ebay, About.com)
Regular DVD
Region Code | Country – Region – Use |
1 | U.S., U.S. Territories, Canada, and Bermuda |
2 | Europe, Japan, the Middle East, Egypt, South Africa, Greenland |
3 | Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean |
4 | Mexico, South and Central America, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Caribbean |
5 | Russia, Eastern Europe, India, Africa (excluding South Africa), North Korea, Mongolia |
6 | China |
7 | Unspecfic Special Use |
8 | Cruise Ships, Airlines |
Region 0 or ALL | Uncoded |
Amazon – Ebay – Wikipedia – About.com |
Blu-Ray
Region Code | Country – Region – Use |
A | North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia |
B | Europe, Greenland, French territories, Middle East, Africa, Australia and New Zealand |
C | India, Nepal, Mainland China, Russia, Central and South Asia |
Amazon – ABC Shop |
VHS Formats
Region Code | Country – Region – Use |
NTSC | United States of America Alaska, American Samoa, Antigua, Antilles (Dutch), Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Barbuda, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, British Virgin Islands, Burma, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, Diego Garcia, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Grenada, Guam, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan, Johnston Islands, Korea South, Leeward Islands, Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia, Midway Islands, Montserrat, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Okinawa, Palau, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Samoa, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent, Surinam, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Virgin Islands. |
PAL | United Kingdom, Abu Dhabi, Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Ascension Island, Australia, Austria, Azores, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Botswana, Brunei, Cameroon, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, China (Peoples Republic), Christmas Island, Cook Island, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Dubai, Easter Island, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Finland, Gambia, Gaza & West Bank, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece (also SECAM), Greenland, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Holland, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Madeira, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Montenegro, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norfolk Island, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Sardinia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Tristian Da Cunah, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Vanuatu, Vatican, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zambia, Zanzibar, and Zimbabwe |
Armageddon Books |
What does this Mean?
The customer has to be careful. For example: Space Rangers
Space Rangers was produced in 1993, and lasted six episodes. A series that follows space rangers across the known space frontier. I enjoyed the TV show, but I guess not a lot of other views were. A few years ago Netflix had this show streaming, but no DVD could be rented or purchased, even on Amazon. That is not entirely true. Space Rangers could be purchased, but only in in region two (Europe, Japan, the Middle East, Egypt, South Africa, Greenland).
The second example: The Adventures of Mark Twain
Director Will Vinton brings together one of the first and only stop motion, claymation, full length movies. This is a childhood memory, that the title was lost to me up til two or three years ago. I could not remember the title, not one bit. I even forgot that the old guy with the white hair is Mark Twain. Until, I saw “The 6 Creepiest Videos Aimed at Children” by Michael Swaim even-though The Adventures of Mark Twain was more of a family movie versus straight for kids movie.
As the images shows above with one of the listings for “The Adventures of Mark Twain” that this was an import, and could be used for all regions. Blue-ray DVDs can only be played on Blu-ray players. Regular DVDs can be played on both Blu-ray and DVD players. The important part of this title are the regions that this DVD covers, which is all three. This had to be checked because United Kingdom is in Region B, but not Region A.
Notes
- In this post, one movie, one TV show, and one director were referenced with the help of IMDB.
- This might be a little boring to some…..
- One is a Wikimedia Commons image.
- Two images were captured from Amazon, and then manipulated by myself.
- The fourth image is one of my creations, and I reserve the rights to my intellectual property.
- The next few posts will be a re-hash, getting more depth of DVD and movie collection, of the post “Searching, Collecting, and Maintaining DVDs!“
- The next post will cover DVD counting and storage.