Region Free Blu-ray DVD players Buying Guide and Information
If you are planning to use a Multi Region Blu-Ray DVD player in the USA you need to consider a few things before you purchase. Region coding for Blu-ray discs is divided between the world in 3 regions which are A, B, and C. In addition to the regional coding, there are Pal and NTSC TV output systems. If you have a TV in the United States, chances are that TV only supports the NTSC TV system. This means if you want to play back a Pal DVD disc from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, etc., you will need a DVD player that has a video converter built in or you will need to buy an external video converter. We have packages with all of our players that do not convert so you can purchase the player with the video converter. We also sell many DVD players now that have a video converter built in. If you buy one of these you will not need anything besides the player to play Pal or NTSC discs on an NTSC TV in North America. If your TV supports both Pal and NTSC then you can play any of these discs on your TV without a video converter. If your TV is the Pal or Secam standard in Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa, etc. then you will not need a video converter. Most of the time you will be able to play standard and/or Blu-ray DVD movies from the USA and/or overseas with just one of our Multi region Blu-ray players. However, TV's from the USA may not support the resolution HDMI input from a foreign disc, in which case you will need to purchase a video converter.
Blu-Ray DVD Regions Chart
Regions for standard Blu-ray discs may be encoded with a region code, intended to restrict the area of the world in which they can be played, similar to DVD region codes. Blu-ray players sold in a certain region should only be able to play discs encoded for that region. The purpose of this system is to allow motion picture studios to control the various aspects of a release (including content, date, and, in particular, price) according to the region. Discs may also be produced without region coding, so they can be played on all devices
Blu-Ray Region A:
North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia
Blu-Ray Region B:
Europe, Greenland, French territories, Middle East, Africa, Australia and New Zealand
Blu-Ray Region C:
Pakistan, India, Mainland China, Russia, Central and South Asia
Standard DVD Regions Chart:
DVD Region 1:
U.S., U.S. Territories, Canada
DVD Region 2:
Albania, Andorra, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, European Union, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Iran (Islamic Republic of) Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, LaTVia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia (the Former Yugoslav Republic), Malta, Moldova, Principality of Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia,South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Kingdom (Channel Islands) Vatican City State, Yemen, Yugoslavia
DVD Region 3:
Southeast Asia, East Asia (including Hong Kong)
DVD Region 4:
Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, Caribbean
DVD Region 5:
Former Soviet Union, Indian Subcontinent, Africa (also North Korea, Mongolia)
DVD Region 6:
China
DVD Region 7 & 8:
Reserved for Airlines, Cruise Ships, and Govt.
