[curmi]

Can this be done? I have a number of DVDs from different regions around the world. Would be nice to play them on my powerbook G4 on OSX, but I get the popup saying after 5 DVDs it will permanently set to a particular zone.

Is there a software hack?

[Danoir]

After it sets the region, just trash the prefs and you're back to 0. he he he

D

[lythari]

Go here http://www.wormintheapple.gr/macdvd/index.html and find the hacked firmware for your DVD drive. What the hacked firmware does is change your drive from RPC-2 (change region 5 times before region locks) to RPC-1(region free, change as many times as you wish). Read the warnings that come with the firmware before you use them though. I succesfully flashed the DVD drive on my Pismo to RPC-1

Then, get Region X off the same site. This utility let's you reset the region for the DVD player.

[JLFanboy]

This is probably a really stupid question, but how do you trash the prefs, like, on a step-by-step basis. Whenever I try stuff like that I'm worried that I'll completely f*** up my computer beyond repair (a little paranoid, I know, but better safe than sorry).

Thanks

[ARENA]

Ok,

You have to delete the file: 'com.apple.dvdplayer.plist' located in the 'Library/Preferences/' folder of your home directory.

..."With Mac OS X from Apple, it's that easy"

[michaelb]

Has anyone seen a firmware patch for the iBook Combo drive?

My mother's bringing her iBook out from England (Region 2) and I want to patch it for her.
http://www.wormintheapple.gr/macdvd/download.html don't have one.

[GK]

For all the newbies,

try erasing the prefs files before you start fiddling with firmware
patches, 'cause this can completely mess up your drive, and VOID
your warranty.

[zappy]

Originally posted by Danoir:
<STRONG>After it sets the region, just trash the prefs and you're back to 0.</STRONG>

I hope this works because I do not like to play around with firmware. Do I have to trash them while DVD Player is running or after I close it?

Regards

[AndyT]

Originally posted by zappy:
<STRONG>

I hope this works because I do not like to play around with firmware. Do I have to trash them while DVD Player is running or after I close it?

Regards</STRONG>

I think this only works if you have patched your firmware.
the real region data is held in there.

[sadie]

Except, of course, that some DVD drives won't let you patch the firmware. If anyone knows a way around that, I'll be impressed.

[edddeduck]

All DVD Players will get hacked in the end...

Search for firmware.bi in google and go to the page it has hacks for alot of drives...

BTW the dvd/cd/rw iBook drive is new so there might not be a hack yet...

Edd

[tinrib]

if you trash your prefs or use region to reset your changes back to 5 you are only kidding yourself as your DVD drive will only change 5 times regardless of what the software says. It can also be reset three times by the manufacturer - so max 20 changes. However, flashing your drive to make it RPC-2 (or whichever it is that's region free) will mean that the drive is totally region free and you can change the region as often as you like.

Use a patch by XVI, I think they are available at the site above. They seem very scary with all their warnings, but I don't know anyone who has messed up their drive using these patches. (I patched my own Pismo drive with success). However they DO of course void your warranty if Apple discovers you have used the patch. But as for risky - they are only as risky as an Apple DVD Firmware Update. In fact, they are I think just slightly hacked Apple DVD Firmware Updates.

[michaelb]

Originally posted by tinrib:
<STRONG>if you trash your prefs or use region to reset your changes back to 5 you are only kidding yourself as your DVD drive will only change 5 times regardless of what the software says. It can also be reset three times by the manufacturer - so max 20 changes. However, flashing your drive to make it _____ (or whichever it is that's region free) will mean that the drive is totally region free and you can change the region as often as you like.</STRONG>

Good advice.

RPC-1 = region free, aka patched
RPC-2 = factory setting, 5 user region switches allowed

(By the way, RPC stands for Region Playback Control, or Really Prickass Concept, depending on your perspective.)

<STRONG>they DO of course void your warranty if Apple discovers you have used the patch. But as for risky - they are only as risky as an Apple DVD Firmware Update. In fact, they are I think just slightly hacked Apple DVD Firmware Updates.</STRONG>

Yes, I think the shell program that delivers the patched firmware is. In the bad old days, you had to move a drive into a PC to apply the new firmware.

The Worm in the Apple site has the original Firmware as well, so if you did need to take it in for a warranty claim, you could patch it back to the factory firmware and no one's the wiser.

(Except the technician who's just read this!)

[Eug]

Hello. I have some experience with this, but on the PC side.

On a PC, an RPC-2 drive will usually allow 5 changes and then it locks into the last one. Your DVD software can have this feature deactivated, but this is irrelevant. The drive itself does "remember" each change. To get around this people develop firmware hacks of to trash this function within the firmware. I have such a hacked firmware running on my Toshiba DVD-ROM in my Windows 2000 laptop. In other words DON'T ASSUME THAT JUST A SOFTWARE HACK WILL SOLVE YOUR DVD REGION PROBLEMS. YOU'RE LIABLE TO LOCK YOURSELF TO INTO REGION 3 OR SOMETHING!

I am thinking of getting a recent iBook to replace my PC laptop. (The 15" screen is nice but too big.) However, one of my concerns is region free status. Are there any known firmware hacks of the DVD-ROM, or the CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive?

Furthermore, does anyone know the brand and model numbers of those drives? I'd be surprised if they're Apple branded, but who knows.

Also, what flash utilities are used on an OS X machine? I don't really want to install OS 9 if I don't have to.

[lythari]

Originally posted by Eug:
<STRONG>Hello. I have some experience with this, but on the PC side.

On a PC, an RPC-2 drive will usually allow 5 changes and then it locks into the last one. Your DVD software can have this feature deactivated, but this is irrelevant. The drive itself does "remember" each change. To get around this people develop firmware hacks of to trash this function within the firmware. I have such a hacked firmware running on my Toshiba DVD-ROM in my Windows 2000 laptop. In other words DON'T ASSUME THAT JUST A SOFTWARE HACK WILL SOLVE YOUR DVD REGION PROBLEMS. YOU'RE LIABLE TO LOCK YOURSELF TO INTO REGION 3 OR SOMETHING!

I am thinking of getting a recent iBook to replace my PC laptop. (The 15" screen is nice but too big.) However, one of my concerns is region free status. Are there any known firmware hacks of the DVD-ROM, or the CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive?

Furthermore, does anyone know the brand and model numbers of those drives? I'd be surprised if they're Apple branded, but who knows.

Also, what flash utilities are used on an OS X machine? I don't really want to install OS 9 if I don't have to.</STRONG>

Mac DVD Resource They have hacked firmware for all the DVD drives found on macs (except for the combo drives).

[godzappa]

http://www.opuscc.com/download/ also has a full list of DVD region fixes and utilities.

My G450 is running fine without the region lock. The DVD doesnt recognize disks half the time, but it was like this WAY before I flashed the rom, think I just have a bad drive.

Does anyone know if the OSX DVD Player works with DVDroms from other companies?

[michaelb]

Originally posted by godzappa:
<STRONG>The DVD doesnt recognize disks half the time, but it was like this WAY before I flashed the rom, think I just have a bad drive.</STRONG>

Or your DVDs have jam on them...

Seriously! I have a friend who runs a video rental store, and the most common complaint they have for DVDs that don't play is that they are either scratched OR HAVE A RESIDUE OF SOMETHING STICKY ON THEM.

He listed honey, jam and Vegemite (revolting Australian yeast extract that for some unknown reason is popular here).

The best thing to clean them with is a normal spectacles lens cleaning cloth, wiping OUTWARDS from the center, *not* in a circle.

Originally posted by godzappa:
<STRONG>Does anyone know if the OSX DVD Player works with DVDroms from other companies?</STRONG>

A not so little known secret for those that visit the likes of http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/ is that Apple DVD-ROM drives are simply standard industry DVD-ROM drives, as made by Panasonic, Toshiba, Pioneer, etc.

In the bad old days, Apple DID have special drives made for them (mainly hard drives), and its software only read Apple branded devices. Long gone, those days.

You can now do things like buy a Toshiba Combo drive on EBay and place it in a Pismo, and thus add Finder CD-RW burning capability to this "obsolete" PowerBook model.

Or add a cheap "PC-model" Pioneer DVR-A03 to an old G4 and get a SuperDrive! (You still need to buy a QuickSilver to get iDVD, however, as it is not sold separately -- for good reason!, but you could buy Apple's DVD Studio Pro and use it on the older model G4.)

[Amorya]

In the bad old days, Apple DID have special drives made for them (mainly hard drives), and its software only read Apple branded devices. Long gone, those days.

I shoved an Apple branded 500mb IDE drive into a PC I built for a friend... pissed him off when he found out! (I like giving friends Apple translucent cables too).

Amorya

[Eug]

You can now do things like buy a Toshiba Combo drive on EBay and place it in a Pismo, and thus add Finder CD-RW burning capability to this "obsolete" PowerBook model.

But how do you do that in a current iBook? Any hacks available for the Toshiba combo drive? I haven't seen one yet, including in lythari's excellent link.

Oh yeah. How do you find out your drive firmware number from within Mac OS 9 or X?