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Fanboi · Apr 14, 2007, 08:25 AM

I've just got a new MacBook and i really need/want region free dvd playback. I have found a program called Region X but that is no longer under devlopment and is powerpc. Does anyone know if that will work properly under rosetta? If not is there any other to make the dvd drive region free preferably with nullifying the warranty (i spent the extra money to extended applecare)?

Thanks for your help

Person Man · Apr 14, 2007, 08:32 AM

Originally Posted by Fanboi

I've just got a new MacBook and i really need/want region free dvd playback. I have found a program called Region X but that is no longer under devlopment and is powerpc. Does anyone know if that will work properly under rosetta? If not is there any other to make the dvd drive region free preferably with nullifying the warranty (i spent the extra money to extended applecare)?

Thanks for your help

Region X is only for RPC-1 drives (drives that don't store the number of region changes left in firmware). All drives sold today are RPC-2. You can find firmware that has been hacked to make drives RPC-1, but not for any current MacBooks, Mac minis, MacBooks Pro, or iMacs, because they use Matsushita (Panasonic) drives, and the guy who used to hack Matsushita drive firmware retired (incidentally he is the author of Region X). Until someone steps up to the plate and starts hacking Matsushita firmware, you're out of luck. Region X will work, but it will use up your real region changes on the drive. 5 changes, and the drive will be locked.

Before anyone says "use VLC," I will say that these Matsushita drives force reading the region code even when the drive is in data mode (which is what VLC uses along with deCSS to read the disk). If the regions don't match, it won't even read the encrypted data. (So VLC will not work. If VLC should by chance work and you're watching a different region movie, you just used up a region change).

It sucks, I know. If you want to watch movies from other regions on your MacBook, get an external drive, preferably one without Matsushita guts.

Oh, and flashing firmware will void your warranty, if they find out what you've done. That's why most flashers include the original (not hacked) firmware that you can flash back if your computer needs warranty repairs.

Incidentally, the Mac can handle more than one drive set to different regions hooked up at the same time. My Power Mac G5's drive is set to region 1 and my external burner is set to region 2. I can play movies from both regions using the proper drive, and no changes are used up on the unused drive.

Fanboi · Apr 14, 2007, 08:42 AM

While that is bad news for me i do appreciate that you made it all understandable. So does any one have any recommendations for external drives? Any that match the MacBook aesitics (sp?)

If only i had the resources to start an onmac.net style competition

monkeybrain · Apr 14, 2007, 11:45 AM

I think your best bet would be to get a cheap old DVD drive that can play other regions, ones of those 'old-style' RPC 1 ones Person Man mentions above. I'm sure there must be some nice cases to put them in too.