What is region coding? How does it differ from CSS scrambling?
“Region coding” is a technological scheme designed to make a DVD purchased in one part of the world unusable anywhere else. This is done by splitting the world up into seven “regions” and then coding a DVD to only be usable on players coded for those regions. The reasons for this is primarily marketing. When a film opens in Europe, it often has already had its run in the United States and is coming to video and DVD. By placing technological blocks in place to keep DVD’s coded for North America (“Region 1”) from being usable on European (“Region “) players, this avoids movies being imported on DVD before they reach the theaters. The other reason deals with the differing economic situations in various countries. DVD producers can afford to charge more for a DVD in certain countries (the U.S., for example) than in others (for example, India). Without region coding, nothing stops an enterprising DVD importer from importing hundreds of thousands of DVD’s from countries in which the retail p
