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Below
is a guide on how to be completely region free, using a software
or hardware decoder, on your PC. But first, here are some
important terms :
RPC
Phase 1 or 2 : Phase 1 refers to region-free status, where
region control solely rests with the software/hardware decoder.Phase
2 refers to region-locked status, where region control rests
with both the DVD-ROM drive and the decoder.
Firmware
: This refers to a small piece of software that is embedded
in your hardware (eg. A DVD-ROM drive). This firmware can
be usually updated through software to fix any bugs or problems
that may arise.
Jumper
: A jumper is a small plastic plug that is place over the
pins on your hardware (eg. A DVD-ROM drive) to control certain
functions.
Step
1
: First, you need to determine whether your DVD-ROM drive
is region free or not, by downloading
Drive Info 1.02 (4,305) . If the program states that "Your
drive has no region protection", then your drive is region
free and please skip to step 3 If the program displays the
number of changes you have left, then your drive is region
locked, please go on to the next step.
If
your drive is region locked - Step 2
: Check the DVD-ROM drive specifications list from the PC-DVD
Guide to find out if there are any utilities/firmwares that
can make your drive region-free. If there is such a firmware,
then please go to this page to download the relevant firmware.
If you have an Acer, AOPEN, Compaq, LG, Philips or Pioneer
DVD-ROM drive, then please download the relevant firmware/utility
to make your drive region-free here. You might also want to
try The Firmware Page. If your drive is listed as region-locked
and there isn't a firmware or utility available, then unfortunately
there is nothing you can do. Once your drive has become region
free (check by using Drive Info 1.02 from step 1), then please
go on to the next step.
If
your drive is region free - Step 3
: You'll have to determine whether you are using a software
or hardware decoder. ATI, Ravisent (QI), PowerDVD, WinDVD,
Zoran Soft-DVD, XingDVD are all software decoders. RealMagic,
hardware-Cinemaster are hardware decoder cards, and they usually
have the capability of tv-out. If you have a software decoder,
go on to the next step If you have a hardware decoder, skip
to step 5
If
you have a software decoder - Step 4
: If you have one of the following software decoders :
WinDVD,
Hollywood+, VaroDVD, Ati, CineMaster, Jammindvd, PowerDVD,
SoftDVD, Xing,
then
you should download the "DVD Genie"
to allow you to change the regions for an unlimited number
of times.This utility also can be much more than just region
changing and is a must for any serious soft-DVD enthusiast.
If
you have a hardware decoder - Step 5
: You should download the following utility to change the
region settings of your hardware decoder for an unlimited
number of times (and also check the table below for the hardware
decoder cards that this software supports :
|
Utilities
|
Cards
supported
|
| Cinemaster
Hardware Cards |
Cinemaster
Hardware Cards |
| ALi
M3309 |
ALi
M3309 |
| Margi
DVD-TO-GO Region Patcher 4.14 |
Margi
DVD-TO-GO PCMCIA |
| Realmagic
Hollywood 2 |
Realmagic
Hollywood 2 |
| Remote
Selector |
Creative
Encore Dxr2 (CT7120/CT7220)Creative Encore Dxr3 (CT7230/CT7240)Creative
PC-DVD Inlay (CT7160)Chromatic Research Mpact2TeraMovie
DVDLuxSonor LS-220RealMagic Hollywood+Please refer to
table below to see what additional features Remote Selector
supports for the above hardware |
| Universal
Selector |
RealMagic
Hollywood+ |
| Yuan
MPG-200C |
Yuan
MPG-200C |
| Zone
Selector 3.0 |
Jaton
Magic DVD |
| Zone
Selector 4.1 |
RealMagic
Hollywood+ |
Remote
Selector, also hosts many other very useful features and is
essential for any hardware decoder card owners. Below is a
table of the hardware cards it support :
|
Decoder
|
Player
|
Windows
|
Region
|
TV
Mode
|
Macro
Vision
|
|
Frame
Rate
|
Color
Signal
|
| Creative
Encore Dxr2(CT7120/CT7220) |
Encore
V1.x/V2.x |
95
and 98 |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Encore
V3.x/V4.xPlayCenter |
95
and 981 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| 982,
2000 and NT |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
| Creative
Encore Dxr3(CT7230/CT7240) |
Encore V3.x/V4.xPlayCenter |
All |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Creative
PC-DVD Inlay(CT7160) |
LuxSonor
playerPC-DVD player |
95
and 98 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| PlayCenter |
95
and 98 |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| TeraMovie DVD |
- |
95 |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| LuxSonor LS-220 |
LuxSonor player |
95 |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
| RealMagic Hollywood+ |
DVD Station |
95, 98 and NT |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
| Chromatic Research Mpact2 |
Entertainment Center |
95 and 98 |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
| CineMaster Software Engine |
CineMaster player |
All |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
Step
6
: If you made your DVD-ROM region-free in one of the above
steps, and you had a software DVD Player like PowerDVD installed
when your drive was locked, please re-install (uninstall,
reboot, install) the software player again to allow the player
to recognise your new region-free drive.
Then
:
Pop a DVD video disc (any region) in your DVD-ROM drive now
that you're totally region-free - happy viewing!!
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