And now I am getting more confused, the more I read the unclearer it gets, although this seems to be the clearest statement I have seen, from the vlc player FAQ (although as all linux players seem to use libdvdcss, it should be pertinent to all):
"Does VLC support DVDs from all regions? Well this mostly depends on your DVD drive. Testing it is usually the quickest way to find out. The problem is that a lot of newer drives are RPC2 drives these days. Some of these drives don't allow raw access to the drive untill the drive firmware has done a regioncheck. VLC uses libdvdcss and it needs raw access to the DVD drive to crack the encryption key. So with these drives it is impossible to circumvent the region protection. (This goes for all software. You will need to flash your drives firmware, but sometimes there is no alternate firmware available for your drive). On other RPC2 drives that DO allow raw access, it might take VLC a long time to crack the key. So just pop the disc in your drive and try it out, while you get a coffee. RPC1 drives should 'always' work regardless of the regioncode." http://www.videolan.org/doc/faq/en/index.html All of which sounds like your problem! So it seems to me that the correct statement of the position is: "if you have an RPC1 drive, libdvdcss will play any region dvd, If you have an RPC2 drive YMMV" On Fri, 2005-03-25 at 12:44 +1200, Nick Rout wrote: > I also note that according to the writers of libdvdcss the region code > should does not need to be set: > > http://developers.videolan.org/libdvdcss/ > > > "Features > ... > Just better. Unlike most similar projects, libdvdcss doesn't require the > region of your drive to be set." > > One option: go spend less than $100 on a set top dvd player. I have > bought three in all (actually one was given to us to replace an earlier > one that crapped out, so lets say I have taken delivery of three > different models "in the box"). > > In all three cases there were clear instructions in the box on how to > set the player to play every region. Retailers and/or manufacturers > recognise that you can't get every DVD in a NZ-region format, but are > not prepared to sell region free players "out of the box" - they are > however prepared to give you the instructions on how to set their > machines to be region free. > > Personally I find movie watching to be a "reclining" medium, while using > the computer is a "sit up straight" medium - I'd rather sit on the couch > with my remote to watch a movie, and up at the desk to use my computer, > so a set top box suits me fine. Its quiet, almost instant on, but the UI > drives me crazy. C'est la vie. There are times when watching a DVD on > the computer is handy, but I wouldn't rely on it as my main form of > movie watching (and I like watching movies). > > > -- Nick Rout <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
