DVD Area Codes

[Alan Pope]

On 8 September 2011 11:26, Graham Todd <grahamtodd2 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Is there a way to (for instance) rip a DVD for Rgion 1 and encode it
> to play it for Region 2 countries?
>

Yes, but that seems like overkill. Tools like Handbrake let you rip,
and devede will let you remaster a DVD. Both available for Ubuntu.

> However all the DVDs are encoded to Region 1 (USA) whereas I need them
> to be playable on a Regional 2 DVD player (UK), although Region 0 (All
> Regions) would do just as well.  I am not seeking to break UK law,
> which if I understand correctly, allows somebody to copy their own DVDs
> (and not one he/she has borrowed, and which might be for a different
> Region) and play them in the UK.
>

Nope, it's not legal to rip DVDs (or indeed audio CDs) in the UK.
Sucks, but it's true. There's a plan to change the copyright law in
the UK, but that's the state of play right now.

> I know I can change the Region (if I can find the right codes for it),
> but I wondered if its possible to convert the Region when ripping the
> DVD, which gets round the step of changing the Region coded into the
> DVD player. Or is there some other easy way to accomplish this?
>

Using the code for the player seems the easiest way to me. Or buy a
region free player. These are commonly available in the UK.

Al.