DVD discs contain Regional Codes which can be used to prevent the playback of certain discs depending upon the geographical area it is played in. The various studios and home video companies lobbied to make sure this coding system was a required part of the current DVD standards, because they wish to control how their DVD titles are exported to other countries. (For example, while a recent film may already have played theatrically in the United States and been released to the home video market, that same film may not yet have opened in some European or Asian countries.) In most instances, discs manufactured in one region will usually only play on players that were manufactured in that same region - this means that discs bought or imported from Japan will not play on U.S. players, and vice versa. However, the regional coding system is entirely optional, and discs without Regional Codes will play on any player in any country (REG-0).   Most of us will never have to worry about regional coding because all DVD retailers in their respective countries will only sell DVD's that are playable in that country, but, when you are abroad, make sure that the regional code will play at home.

Regional Map

• Region 1: U.S., its territories, and Canada
• Region 2: Europe, Japan, Middle East, Egypt, South Africa, and Greenland
• Region 3: Taiwan, Korea, Philippines, Indonesia and Hong Kong
• Region 4: Mexico, South America, Central America, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, and Caribbean
• Region 5: Russia, Eastern Europe, India, most of Africa, North Korea, and Mongolia
• Region 6: China
• Region 0: Any player and any country capable.