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Regionless DVD Players for Mac OS X?

Posted by Cliff on from the bypassing-lame-limitations dept.

spooje would like to get to the core of the following issue: "Since a new Rochester DVD only store, Global DVD, just opened up with a large Asian section I decided to rent several. When I got home and popped one in my Mac (Sawtooth G4 running Mac OS X 10.2) it brought up a dialog box telling me the DVD was region 3. I could switch to region 3 mode, but I could only do this 4 more times. Since my DVD-RAM drive is supposed to be all region does anyone know of a workaround or patch for the Apple DVD player, or maybe even another DVD player for Mac OS X?" If this question sounds familiar, then it might be because, last week, Ask Slashdot ran a similar article, which focused on a Windows utility which did this.

60 comments

  1. VideoLAN by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    VideoLAN Client

    http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

    1. Re:Videolan by Matthias+Wiesmann · · Score: 3, Informative

      I tried it on a Powerbook 667. It works - menu navigation is kind of weird, but no fuss about regions.

    2. Re:Videolan by blamanj · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Question. If the region control is in the drive firmware, how can it be bypassed by a software only solution? Don't all read requests go through the drive firmware?

    3. Re:Videolan by GMontag451 · · Score: 2

      As I posted in another thread, I believe that the firmware region locking only affects reading the disc as DVD-Video like most software players do. VLC reads it as UDF and decodes the VOBs itself.

    4. Re:VideoLAN by troc · · Score: 3, Informative

      Assuming you are using OS X and their latest dvd player, then just delete your preferences file and the count of 5 is reset :) I discovered this when I was messing around with accounts and had used all 5 changes on my own account so I was stuck in region 1 there. I switched to anotehr account only to find that account was at region 2 (default for europe) and had 4 changes left.....
      Initially I though I'd need a region 1 account, region 2 account and so on but then discovered the vastly more simple deletion technique ;)

      For OS 9 you need to obtain a patch for Apple's dvd player (2.7)- they are fairly easy to locate on the 'net :)

      --
      Troc's dubious podcast and blog: http://www.trocnet.net
    5. Re:Videolan by tibbetts · · Score: 2

      If the region control is in the drive firmware, how can it be bypassed by a software only solution? Don't all read requests go through the drive firmware?

      No. All but the earliest rev. G4 Tower model have software-based decoders. I think that this is also true for all other post-2000 Mac models, but I'm too lazy to look it up.

      --
      :wq
  2. Videolan by MrHanky · · Score: 5, Informative

    Haven't tried it for OSX (haven't tried OSX at all), but Videolan seems to support OSX. AFAIK, libdvdcss doesn't care about region encoding, so any other player using that on OSX should work too.

  3. try Region X. by nuckin+futs · · Score: 5, Informative

    there's a bunch of utilities here
    you can also try vlc as a last resort.

    1. Re:try Region X. by MochaMan · · Score: 1

      I've been pretty impressed with RegionX. I patched my Pismo Powerbook DVD drive's firmware with the regionless patch, and RegionX updates the PRAM values perfectly. I've been using it for over a year; so far so good.

      Keep in mind though, that this could potentially hoop your DVD drive, so do it at your own risk. That said, it worked fine for me.

    2. Re:try Region X. by c13v3rm0nk3y · · Score: 2
      there's a bunch of utilities [at] [wormintheapple.gr]

      I can confirm that the firmware hack mentioned here works for me. Watched the Region 2 version of "Spirited Away" on an iBook. Even have the RGB to SVideo adapter so I can watch it on the big Sony. No 5.1 though :(

      --
      -- clvrmnky
  4. A quick Google search.... by Analog+Penguin · · Score: 2, Informative

    Region X lets you change the region code, and here is a collection of region-free firmware, as well as another link to Region X.

    1. Re:A quick Google search.... by Daytona955i · · Score: 2, Informative

      I can comment on both vlc and RegionX.

      I got vlc a while ago and they required that I change my display colors to thousands of colors instead of millions. I don't know if it's still a bug or not but that worked. That said...

      I also saw an article somewhere a while ago (don't know where exactly) that talked about flashing my tiBooks firmware to make it regionless... I was a little concerned about the validity of the firmware but it worked like a charm.

      I did all this on my powerbook G4 667 with the dvd player. Your mileage may vary.

      http://www.wormintheapple.gr/macdvd/ is where I got the stuff.
      -Chris

    2. Re:A quick Google search.... by Nalmar · · Score: 1

      The million color bug in vlc as been fixed. Just update to the last version

      --
      It's not because we laugh that it's funny
  5. A seemingly nice resource for this by denisb · · Score: 4, Informative

    The Mac DVD Resource seems to be what you are looking for ?
    Patches, info etc..

    --
    life+universe+everything=42
  6. Answer by mjpaci · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Stop watching DVDs on your computer and go out and buy a modded region-free DVD player.

    --Mike

    1. Re:Answer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Stop breaking the law and watch movies released for your market like you're supposed to. Globalization is not for consumers. Who do you think you are that you should be able to rent and watch Asian movies? Filthy criminals.

    2. Re:Answer by Alan+Partridge · · Score: 1

      (Score:+1, Sad but True)

      --
      That was classic intercourse!
    3. Re:Answer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      God Forbid if I get to see Buffy the Vampire slayer Seasons 4 & 5 before its released in the States...:)
      It would be like an act of Terrorism..

      Sorry Mr Asscroft.

  7. Just get VLC by backlonthethird · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://www.videolan.org/vlc/macosx.html

    It just ignores them. Oh, and no macrovision, either. :)

    1. Re:Just get VLC by Dephex+Twin · · Score: 1

      This may be a dumb question, but what about the hardware locking into a region? Does this avoid that as well?

      I could imagine VLC playing different DVDs and not caring about region at all, and meanwhile the hardware DOES lock after 5 switches, and you're stuck anyway. Does this not happen?

      --

      If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. -- Carl Sagan
    2. Re:Just get VLC by GMontag451 · · Score: 2

      I believe that hardware locking only affects reading the disc as DVD-Video. VLC gets around this by reading the DVD as UDF and decoding the VOBs itself. Thats why it can play a VOB off of your hard drive as well.

    3. Re:Just get VLC by Dephex+Twin · · Score: 1

      Ohhhh, cool! Thanks for the info.

      --

      If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. -- Carl Sagan
  8. here's how to do it by hype7 · · Score: 5, Informative

    get a patch for your drive, then get Region X; warning, direct download link to control the number of region changes you have left.

    Works flawlessly for me, but usual disclaimers about fscking your dvd drive with a 3rd party mod apply.

    -- james

    1. Re:here's how to do it by EddydaSquige · · Score: 1

      the firmware patches at the parents link are great. I replaced the firmware on the stock drive that came with my quicksilver and have never had a problem. I can play everything with the Apple DVD player no problem. Several people have mentioned video lan client, it works but always seems a bit clunky to me. It does however support some .avi codecs that quicktime has trouble with.

  9. Large asian section? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    What is this place, a porn shop?

    Anyway, just do a firmware update. About 95% of the drives up there can be fixed so as to be either regionless or have a resettable region change counter.

    See here.

  10. I don't know by Apreche · · Score: 4, Informative

    much about Macs. However, I do know about changing regions on DVD drives. Inside most DVD Rom drives are these physical switch type things, and they are limited in number. Everytime you change the region one of them breaks. If they are all broken your drive is done for. The way to beat this is to change the region on the drive to region 0. This way it can play 99% of all the DVDs out there without changing every single time.

    I also reccomend getting an Apex DVD player. Apex is this crappy brand name that makes legitimate dvd players you can buy in wal-mart for like 60 bucks. They are pieces of crap, shoddy workmanship, cheap plastic, etc. But they're DVD players for 60 bucks. Anyway many of the Apex DVD players have secret menus you can get by pressing secret key combinations on the remote control. You can find out which models and which key combinations with google. These secret menus are not advertised nor in the instruction manual, so apex doesn't get sued. But the menu pretty much lets you change region at will as many times as you want, as well as convert NTSC and PAL. It's pretty amazing for 60 bucks. And heck DVD on a big TV screen beats DVD on a little computer monitor any day.

    --
    The GeekNights podcast is going strong. Listen!
    1. Re:I don't know by your_mother_sews_soc · · Score: 2, Informative

      Sitting inches in front of my Apple's 15" LCD provided what I thought was the best DVD viewing experience. Alone. It's amazing how fast your family runs away after falling off the edge of the chair three or four times.

      Since I went and bought an Apex DVD after reading slashdot a few months ago, my entire family can all watch DVDs on our TV in comfort. I have to say that the Apex (3102, I think), although inexpensive, doesn't seem cheap in any way whatsoever. The image quality is fantastic, and what I once attributed to the LCD display is actually the fidelity and dynamic range of the DVD itself. Watching "Toy Story 2" on a Sharp TV and the Apex delivers as vivid a gamut as on the Mac/LCD. I think it's great there are solutions for OS X, especially for people who like to travel (and have laptops). But for home watching, buy an Apex at Sears, Wal-Mart, wherever. You will baby it and want to buy another just in case..

      --
      My user name was a mistake. Input wasn't restricted, my bad.
    2. Re:I don't know by Lazarus2k2001 · · Score: 1

      Do you really belive what you say??? There ain't no mechanical switches inside a DvD-Drive. It's all done with Firmware. It would be rather nice to let us know how this should work.

      --
      "Holy instant noodle"
    3. Re:I don't know by dead_penguin · · Score: 1, Troll

      Sitting inches in front of my Apple's 15" LCD provided what I thought was the best DVD viewing experience. Alone.

      You're single, aren't you?

      IMO, the "best DVD viewing experiences" I've had have been on a comfortable couch, watching a movie I'm not particularly interested in, with someone I'm very interested in sitting beside me.

      --

      It's only software!
    4. Re:I don't know by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      You're single, aren't you?

      IMO, the "best DVD viewing experiences" I've had have been on a comfortable couch, watching a movie I'm not particularly interested in, with someone I'm very interested in sitting beside me.

      Did you even bother to read the rest of his post? Fucking idiot.

    5. Re:I don't know by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, he was busy trying to prove to strangers online that he has interacted with the opposite sex at times. Sad.

    6. Re:I don't know by Hummercash · · Score: 1

      I just got a Koss Mini DVD Player for $49 and it is amazing. It plays DVD/VCD/SVCD/MP3/JPEG and is both region and macrovision free. It also lets you skip past that annoying FBI warning ;)

      Some people say it gets too hot, but that is due to a crappy AC adapter. Just buy a better one and you are all set.

      For more info this, check out this thread over at Anandtech Hot Deals forum.


      .//chris

  11. Apple's "generally pro-consumer stance"--phooey by dpbsmith · · Score: 2

    Dan Gillmor is on record as saying that "Apple stands firm against [the] entertainment cartel...It's not -- at least so far -- moving toward an anti-customer embrace with Hollywood's movie studios and the other members of the powerful entertainment cartel. Unlike Intel and AMD, the big chip makers for Windows-based computers, Apple hasn't announced plans to put technology into hardware that could end up restricting what customers do with the products they buy."

    To which I say, "well, this region nonsense sure sounds like a restriction to me."

    I'd love to believe Apple is a good guy, but I'm not sure the evidence supports it...

    To do Gillmor justice, he qualified his statement in a response to my query in this Slashdot interview, in which he said (in part):

    "To answer directly: I don't think Apple has an anti-DRM strategy, though, even if I wish they'd go for it. I do think Apple has a generally pro-customer stance, which is a heck of a lot better than some other companies out there. Perhaps the company is looking for some balance in a situation where the sides are turning the issue into a binary question, i.e., total control or total anarchy. Example of balance: Apple doesn't enable iPod users to copy to other disks (not directly), but it hasn't done anything as far as I know to stop the third parties who make it easy to do so.

    Gateway's campaign was terrific. But Gateway is part of the Wintel ecosystem, and there's no question that Microsoft is moving fast toward a Hollywood-friendly regime that's overtly pro-DRM. When Gateway starts selling nicely configured Linux boxes and promoting them in terms of customer choice and digital freedom, I'll be even more impressed."

    --

    "How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!

    1. Re:Apple's "generally pro-consumer stance"--phooey by Draoi · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Dude, this is outside the control of Apple. It's a function of the drive firmware (for RPCII drives, which all are these days). The MPAA insisted that DVD drive vendors transition from RPCI to RPCII, thus taking control of this away from the software authors. Apparently, too many people were overriding this in software ... :-/

      For RPCII, the drive firmware itself decrements the region count - the only way to circumvent this is to re-flash. So don't blame Apple - all users of bare DVD drives now have this 'feature'

      --
      Alison

      "It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." - Albert Einstein

    2. Re:Apple's "generally pro-consumer stance"--phooey by Ineffable+27 · · Score: 1

      As for Apple's anti-DRM stance, there's an interesting piece right now on macosrumors.com suggesting that DRM-type features may be built-in to OS X soon, at the system level. Considering the source, you may want to apply a great deal of NaCl, but it's something to have on your radar.

      --
      "He'd be a broader guy if he had dropped acid once." - Steve Jobs on Bill Gates
    3. Re:Apple's "generally pro-consumer stance"--phooey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uhh, how your post got modded up to 3, Insightful is beyond me. More like -1, zealot.

      Apple's DVD player contains region restriction. That's a fact. That there is also region restriction in the DVD-ROM firmware doesn't change that fact.

    4. Re:Apple's "generally pro-consumer stance"--phooey by MoneyT · · Score: 2

      Right, because we all know that Region Encoding in any approved DVD player isn't mandated and it's just something Apple put in there for the hell of it.

      --
      T Money
      World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
    5. Re:Apple's "generally pro-consumer stance"--phooey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The MPAA had nothing to do with the transition from RPCI to RPCII. That was the DVD Forum. As for the rest of your post: bullshit. Apple's DVD player DOES contain region restriction (=DRM).

      Is it illegal to flash a DVD-ROM with a new firmware which has region restriction disabled? No.
      Is it illegal for Apple to do so? No.

      Why doesn't Apple do so... ?

      because Apple is NOT anti-DRM or pro-FairUse.

      Yes, they're better than Microsoft, but that's not saying much!

    6. Re:Apple's "generally pro-consumer stance"--phooey by Midnight+Thunder · · Score: 2
      Is it illegal to flash a DVD-ROM with a new firmware which has region restriction disabled? No.
      Is it illegal for Apple to do so? No.

      Why doesn't Apple do so... ?

      Maybe becuase it is too inconveinient, and thus expensive, to flash them. The drives are bought from the manufactures already are RPCII.

      Apple's stance is probably about not having to do more than it has to. On the one hand they don't want to move to displease the consumers and the other they don't want to move to displease the media industry. Therefore they do nothing and they appear neutral.

      I believe that there is also a general attitude that it is a waste of money and it alienates the customers. It is a waste of money because thatm the millions of dollars that a company spends adding DRM features is overcome by people, working for free, wanting their rights back. It alienates the consumers because they are essentially losing one of killer features and they know that it wasn't with their best interests in mind.

      The money is better spent making a better product and making ones that people want to buy. Maybe this is something the film industry should try to understand?

      --
      Jumpstart the tartan drive.
    7. Re:Apple's "generally pro-consumer stance"--phooey by Draoi · · Score: 2
      Hey - at least I post as myself ...

      Apple's DVD protection was cracked within days of being released, both the 9 version and the X. Speaking personally here - it could be argued that they didn't try particularly hard to implement the restrictions that the industry foisted upon them.

      Apple waited until the last second before they transitioned from RPCI drives to RPCII. It's awkward for everyone, trust me & even had implications for their manufacturing process. That's about all I'm going to say on that ....

      --
      Alison

      "It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." - Albert Einstein

    8. Re:Apple's "generally pro-consumer stance"--phooey by Draoi · · Score: 2
      The MPAA had nothing to do with the transition from RPCI to RPCII. That was the DVD Forum.

      http://www.dvdforum.org/about-charter.htm

      (2) Membership. Members of the Steering Committee for the initial two (2) years shall be the ten (10) companies that originally comprised the former DVD Consortium (Hitachi, Ltd., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V., Pioneer Electronic Corporation, Sony Corporation, Thomson multimedia, Time Warner Inc., Toshiba Corporation, and Victor Company of Japan, Ltd.), and up to ten (10) additional Principal Members to be determined by the above-named ten companies.
      Oh look, Time Warner and *other* Principal Members. Who could they be??? (Yeah, there's a list of 'ordinary' members, too & Apple is one of them. So's M$ ....

      Is it illegal to flash a DVD-ROM with a new firmware which has region restriction disabled? No.

      Maybe not, but it may be illegal in your country to reverse-engineer the firmware. Hmmm.

      Is it illegal for Apple to do so? No.

      Wake up! They'd at least be in breach of contract with their vendor(s). Not to mention being against the charter of the above mentioned forum ...

      Why doesn't Apple do so... ?

      Lookit - I don't want to say too much about this. The new drives don't work with older firmware - it's simple as that. Most f/w hacks out there are just that; hacks of the original firmware with the RPC stuff NOP'd over or whatever. I can hardly see Apple downloading them to re-flash their drives. Not to mention the amount of hassle it would be for manufacturing.

      --
      Alison

      "It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." - Albert Einstein

    9. Re:Apple's "generally pro-consumer stance"--phooey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and we can conclude that Apple is not anti-DRM, nor pro-FairUse.

    10. Re:Apple's "generally pro-consumer stance"--phooey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >Apple's stance is probably about not having to do more than it has to.

      In other words, they're not pro-FairUse like some zealots claim they are. If they were, they would provide a DVD playing solution that isn't region restricted.

    11. Re:Apple's "generally pro-consumer stance"--phooey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >Oh look, Time Warner and *other* Principal Members. Who could they be???

      Great logic. GWB is a christian and a politician. He's also a corrupt asshole. That must mean all christians are corrupt assholes. NOT.

      >Maybe not, but it may be illegal in your country to reverse-engineer the firmware. Hmmm.
      >Wake up! They'd at least be in breach of contract with their vendor(s). Not to mention being against the charter of the above mentioned forum ...

      Exactly. Thank's for proving my point.
      Apple is not pro-DRM, nor will they ever be.

    12. Re:Apple's "generally pro-consumer stance"--phooey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I meant pro-FairUse :P

    13. Re:Apple's "generally pro-consumer stance"--phooey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Linux DVD players don't contain region restriction. Conclusion: Apple doesn't give a shit about Fair Use.

    14. Re:Apple's "generally pro-consumer stance"--phooey by Draoi · · Score: 2

      Yeah, whatever. That's why Apple produce the iPod & put a "don't steal music" sticker on the box .... *sigh*

      --
      Alison

      "It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." - Albert Einstein

    15. Re:Apple's "generally pro-consumer stance"--phooey by Draoi · · Score: 2
      You wanna buy DVD drives for high-volume manufacture & write your own commercial software - you gotta sign up. That's just the way it is.

      Apple is not pro-DRM, nor will they ever be

      Meaning understood. However, you want to do DVD in the industry, you have to play by the (their) rules. Otherwise you get cut off. Apple has the half-decency to pay lip service to their 'regulations' while not bending over backwards to accommodate them. Surely you can see that. It's not like Apple can go choose a DRM-free vendor of drives (go on - name one). Their hands are tied, just like anyone else.

      I cannot comment any deeper than that, so I guess you get the last word ....

      --
      Alison

      "It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." - Albert Einstein

    16. Re:Apple's "generally pro-consumer stance"--phooey by MoneyT · · Score: 2

      Actualy, by not actively trying to prevent you from breaking the restriction (which is a basic restriction found in most commercial DVD players) one could argue that Apple is indeed pro-Fair Use as Fair Use implies you have the right to use what you have purchased in any way you see fit within the bounds of the law.

      --
      T Money
      World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
    17. Re:Apple's "generally pro-consumer stance"--phooey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and people who are not mac zealots know that there's a difference between stealing and copyright infringement.

    18. Re:Apple's "generally pro-consumer stance"--phooey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The people behind PowerDVD don't try to prevent people from using tools to get around the region restriction. Neither does the people behind WinDVD and several other players.

      For some reason mac zealots claim Apple is pro-FairUse and act like nobody else is. If Apple is pro-FairUse, then so is everybody else except for Microsoft and a few others.

    19. Re:Apple's "generally pro-consumer stance"--phooey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      idiot

  12. Try this... by djupedal · · Score: 5, Informative

    Until someone writes a script to do this, you may want to take a look at this normally hidden file:

    /etc/authorization

    (I use BBEdit...'Open Hidden Files'. I haven't tried changing this yet...I hack the hardware instead):

    Starts at line 63...

    <!-- Used by the dvd player to set the regioncode the first time
    Note that changed the region code after it has been set requires a
    different right (system.device.dvd.setregion.change)
    Credentials remain valid indefinitely after they've been obtained.
    An acquired credential is shared amongst all clients.
    -->
    <key>system.device.dvd.setregion.initial</key>
    &n bsp; <dict>
    <key>group</key>
    <string>admin</string>
    <key>shared</key>
    <true/>
    </dict>

    =======
    I posted this on MacInTouch back in September. I recommend using that site over /. for these types of questions :) Let me know if you can't take the not-so-subtle hint on how to mod the code...

    1. Re:Try this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Alright. I give up. I'm guessing you change "initial" to "change", but I'm not sure if you need to make any further changes.

    2. Re:Try this... by djupedal · · Score: 2

      :)

      ...and if that doesn't have the desired effect, drop the drive into a PC and flash it for all regions. See the net for related flasher per your model.

  13. Here's the page :-) by danwarne · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This page has every Mac DVD hack you could ever want... http://opuscc.com/download/

    1. Re:Here's the page :-) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uh, yeah, except they've taken all those downloads offline. So kinda useless....

  14. DVD Patch by NickeSvensk · · Score: 4, Informative

    Go to http://perso.club-internet.fr/farzeno/firmware/ They have firmware patches for almost every DVD. I patched my Powerbook G4 with a patch from them. Now I play DVD's from all over the world. Great when I travel between europe and the states. Good Luch with your patching. Niclas

  15. somehow, I'm not having any problems! by An+anonymous+Frank · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The first DVD I inserted was a zone/region 1 disk and thus my drive and the Apple DVD Player were set. Using DVDInfo 2 (and booting in OS 9) I confirmed that I had 4 changes and 4 resets left on my 14.1" dual-USB (with no reset button) RPC-2 iBook combo (Sony) drive. (Note: Don't you love the way one specifies a Mac model?) This is despite having watched a zone 2 movie purchased online through a French site. The movie's cover (and the online site) clearly states that this is a zone 2 DVD. Yet I've not registered a zone change!!! Mind you I'm not complaining; the movie cost me dearly and I'll be able to watch it as many times as I like. But I'd just love to understand what is taking place here!!! Is that DVD really a zone 2 disk?

  16. Worked for me by gidds · · Score: 1
    Quick summary: there are two different versions of the firmware in the DVD drive. Early drives had version 1, where the region setting was purely in software; a tool such as Region X can then reset the region as many times as you like.

    But newer drives (such as the one in my 2-year-old G4) have version 2, where the region setting is controlled by the drive's firmware, and there's no way for software to work around it.

    The solution is to find version 1 for your drive, and rewrite its firmware; the links above show you how. The process is a little scary, and risky (worst case: you can end up with a completely useless drive), but it worked fine for me, and now I can change region as often as I want!

    --

    Ceterum censeo subscriptionem esse delendam.