(PAL) Region 2 U.K. DVDs

kartvelo

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We have been sent a set of (PAL) Region 2 U.K. DVDs. I know they won't run on my US DVD player, but if I open the package when it gets here, will they play on my computer?
 

SumnerH

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kartvelo said:
We have been sent a set of (PAL) Region 2 U.K. DVDs. I know they won't run on my US DVD player, but if I open the package when it gets here, will they play on my computer?
PAL is not a problem. It's the region that's an issue.

Computer DVD players are mostly region-specific when it comes to video playback (as opposed to reading data). Some can be coded region-free with a firmware update (and play all disks). Most can have the region changed, but often there's a hardware limit on that (e.g. you can change the region 5 times, after that it's set for good and can't be changed).

You can also use a software solution that reads the DVD as data and decodes them in software; the easiest is probably to use Handbrake+libdvdcss to rip/decode the DVDs and then re-encode them as DRM-free mpg/mkv/mp4/avi/whatever
 

SumnerH

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Depends on whether you're using the hardware player or software decoding through libdvdcss or similar. With the latter you can decode anything; with the former regions apply.
 

SumnerH

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Yeah, AnyDVD is one of several software solutions to the problem, and it works very well. I'd personally prefer Handbrake with libdvdcss (especially if you care about where your money is going) but AnyDVD is a perfectly workable alternative that'll do the job well.
 

Couperin47

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SumnerH said:
Yeah, AnyDVD is one of several software solutions to the problem, and it works very well. I'd personally prefer Handbrake with libdvdcss (especially if you care about where your money is going) but AnyDVD is a perfectly workable alternative that'll do the job well.
 
Fortunately neither is really expensive and all Slysoft software can easily be found...err....gratis....