New Region Coding decided for Blu-Ray

[Faythur]

Region 1: North America, South America, East Asia except for China (India, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia etc.)
Region 2: Europe and Africa
Region 3: China, Russia and other countries


US and Japan now the same, but we still loose out, being paired with Africa now :brickwall

[Kryten]

So how long after release of the players will the protection be bypassed? I really don't see the point in it anyway, I'm suprised they haven't gone more into copy protection than region coding (although that's probably still to come!)

[AWaite]

I have doubts about this.

This article (http://www.beyond3d.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26740) to be the source, but it's a translation of a Japanese article

I can't see North America being in the same region as Thailand etc. since you expect they'd want to avoid people bring cheap imports into the US.

Also, having a different numbering system than for DVDs is just going to confuse consumers.

[mcallisterian]

I have doubts about this.

This article (http://www.beyond3d.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26740) to be the source, but it's a translation of a Japanese article

I can't see North America being in the same region as Thailand etc. since you expect they'd want to avoid people bring cheap imports into the US.

Also, having a different numbering system than for DVDs is just going to confuse consumers.

thailand is region 3 as per the firstpost..... :thumbs:

[Kryten]

thailand is region 3 as per the firstpost..... :thumbs:

Umm, first post says its R1

[Woz]

So how long after release of the players will the protection be bypassed? I really don't see the point in it anyway, I'm suprised they haven't gone more into copy protection than region coding (although that's probably still to come!)

There was a thread about the players being network aware and having ports in the back. There's a very good chance that they will be able to update any encryption keys on the players - so it will be an ongoing process to crack them.
I think it will end up with the studios winning this one, which is why I've no real interest in either of the HD formats - my suspicion is that it's being pushed as a studio DRM wet dream, with the increase in picture quality a secondary concern.

[Niceguygeoff]

We have so much freedom with DVD, it'll be a real shock to my system if the only HD avenue open is sped-up (50Hz) software that may or may not have been meddled with by the BBFC. Ugh. I just hope that someone comes up with a full-time hack for BD, even if it means losing the interactive layer or permanently hooking the thing up to a PC.

[Richie]

Region coding is ******* retarded. WHY are they insisting on still using it for another new format as it doesn't work anyway, especially as the studios insist on short changing one region or another content wise with any given release. If they could get their act togther and make every release in every region idenitcal I wouldn't care less but as it is and will continue to be luck of the draw as to where the best release is available...

[kiran_mk2]

I really don't understand this. The reason Japan was bundled into R2 with DVDs was because otherwise it would have been far cheaper for the Japanese to import all their films from HK (R3) or the US (R1) as they are both NTSC.
If they fully enforce the region coding thing then hopefully the EU will get involved and bitch-slap the studios down - why is it ok for the US, Japan and south Asia to be allowed to play each others discs, but not the EU?
Also, I see Australia didn't make the list - probably cos they have ruled that region coding is illegal so it may end up being better to import an Australian player...

[Ridcully]

Are they still going with PAL and NTSC variants?

I have never understood the need for this. Essientially is just data recorded in a certain way. Why isn't the data just dumped straight down and then the picture type / frame rate etc taken care of by the decoding player. I mean we don't have PAL or NTSC PC monitors do we ?

[Faythur]

Are they still going with PAL and NTSC variants?

I have never understood the need for this. Essientially is just data recorded in a certain way. Why isn't the data just dumped straight down and then the picture type / frame rate etc taken care of by the decoding player. I mean we don't have PAL or NTSC PC monitors do we ?

From what I have read, HDTV is a 'global' standard and therefore the issue over PAL/NTSC will no longer feature.

Also for those interested in gaming on the forthcoming PS3, Sony have confimed that [like the PSP] games will not be affected by coding.

[Woz]

WHY are they insisting on still using it for another new format as it doesn't work anyway

That's the point - this is a new technology, and they're certain to make it MUCH harder to crack the region coding this time around.
If they go the route of requiring certificates to play discs, then they could have loads of control over where the discs go and what you do with them. It's a possibility with a network aware player - didn't they do something similar with the HD T2 disc using WM9?
. Don't know how they'd cope with portable devices though. Mind you - what would be the point of portable HD?

[AWaite]

That's the point - this is a new technology, and they're certain to make it MUCH harder to crack the region coding this time around.

I think your confusing region encoding with CSS encryption. Region free DVD players were available before CSS was cracked - they're separate things. There was no need to 'crack' the region encoding as it wasn't encrypted.

[kiran_mk2]

I can see that once these products become mainstream that as with DVDs Joe Public won't care that about the region protection (as happens with DVDs) - but what the companies don't seem to have realised is that if us early adoptors ignore the products (due to format wars, region protection and DRM measures) then the techloy could be in trouble...

[Woz]

I think your confusing region encoding with CSS encryption. Region free DVD players were available before CSS was cracked - they're separate things. There was no need to 'crack' the region encoding as it wasn't encrypted.

Well, there was a need to circumvent it on the player itself. Given that the new players may well be network aware, the manufacturers could patch them to prevent the circumvention each time a new exploit appears.