HD DVD and Blue Ray Will Have Region-Coding Restrictions

If you’re looking forward to HD DVD media and players “no region coding” feature, we have some bad news.  The DVD Forum’s Steering Committee agreed to form a working group to “develop a specification and enforcement plan for RPC [Region Protection Coding] on HD DVD Video, including region map and requirements in consultation with the studios”.

If a region-coding scheme for the next-generation optical disc technology is adopted, HD DVD materials purchased in country A cannot be played by an HD DVD machine bought from country B. Current DVDs have the region-coding restriction and most consumers are not happy with it. To get around this they bypass the block by having their players modified or they switch to generic machines from Asian countries that don’t impose region restrictions.

Thinking of switching your allegiance to the Blu-ray Disc side? Forget about it! They are already working on an equivalent region coding system for BD discs. In their version, however,  the seven world zones will be cut down to three: North and South America and Asia (but not China); Europe and Africa; and Russia, China and everywhere else.

If you’re looking forward to HD DVD media and players “no region coding” feature, we have some bad news.  The DVD Forum’s Steering Committee agreed to form a working group to “develop a specification and enforcement plan for RPC [Region Protection Coding] on HD DVD Video, including region map and requirements in consultation with the studios”.

If a region-coding scheme for the next-generation optical disc technology is adopted, HD DVD materials purchased in country A cannot be played by an HD DVD machine bought from country B. Current DVDs have the region-coding restriction and most consumers are not happy with it. To get around this they bypass the block by having their players modified or they switch to generic machines from Asian countries that don’t impose region restrictions.

Thinking of switching your allegiance to the Blu-ray Disc side? Forget about it! They are already working on an equivalent region coding system for BD discs. In their version, however,  the seven world zones will be cut down to three: North and South America and Asia (but not China); Europe and Africa; and Russia, China and everywhere else.