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Short guide to AKB48 DVDs/BluRays

Discussion in 'General AKB48 Discussion' started by Puni, Jun 23, 2014.

  1. Puni

    Puni Member Stage48 Donor

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2013
    Location:
    Germany
    Oshimen:
    kashiwagiyuki
    Twitter:
    puni_2k
    Hi there,

    lately the question "Can I play an 48group DVD/BluRay in my region?" came up again, so I decided to write a small guide for it.

    The issue:
    Most of you know that DVD and BluRay discs come with a so called region lock which unfortunately prevents some of us from playing certain foreign discs. This also includes some of the 48group media.

    Some Background:
    First of DVD, there are a total of 8 official region codes defined.
    - 1 is for the North America region,
    - 2 for Europe and Middle East,
    - 3 for South East Asia...

    Japan has the region code 2 which is the one for Europe, what makes me quite happy.

    For more information on this I simply refer to my friend Wikipedia:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD_region_code

    BluRay in contrast has only 3 codes.
    - A is for the whole American continent, South East Asia and Japan
    - B is for Europe, Middle East and Australia
    - C for Asia

    Noticed something? Japan and Europe share the same region code for DVDs but a totally different one for BluRays.
    Wikipedia again:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc#Region_codes

    DVD Code 0:
    You can buy DVD players that claim to be "region-free". These implement the unofficial code 0, which basically means that the player doesn't care about the region flag on the disc. Theoretically a DVD may refuse to be played by this player, but I haven't seen one yet.

    AKB48 Discs:
    If an AKB48 DVD or BluRay comes with a region lock hugely depends on the publishing company, so I give some examples.

    AKB48 singles:
    Singles always come with a DVD that includes the MV and some additional bonus stuff on the disc. Up until now these DVD where locked with code 2.

    AKB48 Concert DVDs:
    Until now locked with code 2.

    AKB48 Concert BluRays:
    No locks so far

    Sister Group stuff:
    Don't own any, so no information. Sorry

    Solo Work:
    As stated above, this heavily depends on the publisher.
    Some examples
    - Takaminas' 'Jane Doe': (All hail Takamina!) comes with no region locks
    - Yukirins' 'Shortcake': (All hail Yukirin!) has region lock 2
    - Yukirins' 'Birthday Wedding': region lock 2 again
    - Yukirins' second and third solo live BluRay: no region locks

    Your Discs:
    So how do you know what type your disc is off? Nice that you ask.
    In general it is a wise idea to research it in advance.
    CDjapan for example states it in their product description.
    http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/KIZM-90283
    Here we have 'Labrador Retriever' Type-A Limited, the description states, among other stuff
    So what if you already have the product sitting next to you and you want to know the code. Luckily this is nearly always printed on the cover and on the disc.
    Some examples:
    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    Here we have the German BluRay of 'The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya' (Once again: All hail Haruhi!). The box and the disc feature a small 'B' logo on a globe in a hexagon.
    Conclusion: This disc is locked to region B players

    [​IMG] [​IMG]
    This is the US DVD version of the first Ranma 1/2 movie. Box and Disc feature a small 1.
    Conclusion: This disc is locked to region 1 players.
    Something else you could have noticed. Next to the region symbol we have a box that states 'NTSC', more on this one later.

    Your Player:
    The big box next to your TV. Basically the codes on the player and on the disc have to match.
    If you have a region 2 DVD it will only play (small correction on this incoming) on a region 2 player.
    Same with BluRay, region A discs will only play from region A players.

    So here the corrections:
    A region free (region 0) DVD player will play most of the discs with codes 1-6.
    BluRay discs can be coded with more than one code. A disk may have codes A+B, C+A, A+B+C...
    These discs can be played on a player that belongs to one of the stated regions.

    So how to find out what your player is made of (I assume metal, a PCB and other nice stuff ;) )
    Well lets have a look at the backside
    [​IMG]
    So that's from an really old DVD player. The symbol states a more or less big 0 which means 'I don't care'
    Same goes with BluRay players except that they have two codes, one for BluRays (A-C) and one for DVDs (0-8).

    Your PC:
    Basically everything stated above also applies to your PC. Region 2 disc, region 2 required on your PC *bla bla*. But things get a bit complicated from here on, we have to distinguish between Hardware and Software.

    So we start with the DVD again:
    Hardware: There are 2 kinds of DVD drives, RPC-1 and RPC-2. RPC-1 are quite old and no longer produced. General rule of thumb, anything slower than 5x DVD is RPC-1, anything faster than 5x DVD is RPC-2. You have one that does exactly 5x? Tough luck, there is no way to tell from the outside which type it is.
    So why is this important? RPC-2 drives check the region code by themself, the code can be changed usually up to 5 times from your Operating System. RPC-1 drives don't check region codes.
    Now you are happy that you have an old RPC-1 type? Well not if you have anything like Windows Vista or newer, these systems don't support RPC-1 drives any longer.

    Software: Commercial DVD playback software like PowerDVD will also check the region code, VLC does not (also it will work a bit different compared to commercial software)

    One nice thing about VLC is that it may play a DVD from a different region even if you have an RPC-2 drive. As already stated VLC works a little bit different than other playback software. So it depends on the implementation of your drives firmware. If your drive doesn't perform a region check with the VLC access method than playback takes just a little bit longer. If your drive performs a region check you are out of luck. Also, no way to tell from the outside how your drive works.

    From the VLC FAQ http://www.videolan.org/support/faq.html
    Next BluRay:
    No hardware region checks in your BluRay drive. Check is performed by playback software only.
    Workaround:
    So you have a disc where the region is different from you player, here are some options:

    TV DVD player:
    1. get a region 0 player, in Germany these are widely available, don't know the situation in your area.
    2. change you players code to match the disk or set it to zero. This can be done on some players by commands from your remote control. I have here a Philips BluRay player where I can change the DVD code (ONLY the DVD code) to any value I like just by pressing some keys on the remote. Since this differs from player to player you have to google it for yourself. Enter the model number of your player and "codefree" and you should find some help.

    TV BluRay player:
    1. get a matching code player. Please make sure that it will work with your areas voltage/frequency rating.
    2. As far as I know changing the code is possible on some (few) players, by changing to a different firmware. Nothing that you should do if you are not prepared to buy a new one cause you broke your current.

    PC DVD playback:
    1. first try using VLC, to check if you have one of these magical mystical drives that don't care about that code thing.
    2. if not, change your drives code in the Windows Device Manager, NOTE: You only have up to 5 attempts, then it stays on the last used value. Of course you can use a second DVD drive for the other region code.
    3. Make use of the Big Evil Internet. There are alternative firmware files that revert your drive to an RPC-1 drive, reset you code-change counter or even implement an automatic code change. AGAIN NOTE: Nothing official! Firmware from dubious sources! Don't try to use this method if you are not prepared to clean your PC from viruses, trojanes or buy new hardware cause you bricked your current one. I can't and will not help you on that topic.

    PC BluRay playback:
    1. get software that does not care about region codes. May be illegal in your county, it is at least in mine. So also no help from my side.
    2. install a second playback software that is set to a different region. Haven't tried that one out myself, should work in theory. Would be best if the software is from a different company.

    Special Topic, Color:
    Remember the small label NTSC? There is more to the whole topic than just region codes.
    What is NTSC? Some would say that it stays for 'Never Twice the Same Color' ;) and it just is a method on how to exchange color information.
    So who may have a problem here? Mostly users with CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) TVs, you know the big, heavy TV sets, who want to watch a DVD.
    Color information on DVD can be stored according to several standards PAL, NTSC, SECAM...
    If you want to see the DVDs content on your TV with the correct colors your player and TV have to support the standard on the disc, otherwise you will see nothing or black and white stuff only.

    That shouldn't be a problem if you have half-way modern equipment. LCD/LED TVs shouldn't have this problem.
    PC users: As long as you don't connect your PC to an old CRT TV by video cables you are fine (connecting with monitor cables? Good for you.).
    You use HDMI between your entertainment devices? Your equipment should be modern enough to not run into this problem.

    So hopefully I could help some of you guys a little bit. Don't be afraid to ask questions or give feedback. I will try to answer your question as long as they are not about the forbidden kind.
     
    Last edited: Sep 21, 2015
  2. Puni

    Puni Member Stage48 Donor

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2013
    Location:
    Germany
    Oshimen:
    kashiwagiyuki
    Twitter:
    puni_2k
    A thanks for mentioning this, I now remember what I also wanted to write.

    About Codecs:
    To play a DVD or BluRay on your PC you need to have the appropriate codec installed (Codec: Coder-Decoder). For DVD this means MPEG-2 and for BluRay H.264 or VC-1.
    So something interesting for Windows users:
    You have Windows XP (or older), Windows 8 or 8.1? To bad for you. By default these systems don't have any of these codecs installed since MS wants to safe on licensing fees, so no DVD/BluRay playback with the media player. Exception Windows 8.X with the Media Center extension can at least play DVDs, XP Media Center not.
    Some options you have for DVD playback:
    - Use VLC (comes with its own codec)
    - get other third party DVD playback software
    - install a codec pack (can sometimes cause issues)

    Vista and Windows 7 users are fine with DVD, these have a codec included.
    BluRay nearly always requires a commercial software, as long as they are copy protected.

    Linux or OSX user? DVD ok, BluRay not.
     

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