Movie and TV Showing Devices: Part 2: By Region

DVD-Regions with key-2.svg
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
AmazonEbayWikipediaAbout.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
AmazonABC Shop
NTSC and PAL

All rights reserved. This is another one of my “masterpieces.” Although there is a link to an article between the differences of NTSC and PAL.

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).

As one can see this is from Amazon. On the left side, this was the original product at region 2 then in September of 2013 the six episode series was released for region 1.

As one can see this is from Amazon. On the left side, this was the original product at region 2 then in September of 2013 the six episode series was released for region 1.

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.