Here are the region codes in widespread use today: DVD Region Codes and Where They Are Used DVD Region Code Represented merely as a number or as a number within a stylized or Usually appears on the back of DVD cases toward the bottom, and may be Some languages is referred to as a "country code" (cf. Those from other countries of Western Europe. For example, North American DVDs may be inĮnglish, French, or Spanish, but all have region code "1", while DVDsįrom the U.K., France, and Spain all have a region code of "2", as do
The region code refers to a geographic region of the world rather In North America and order a DVD from Germany, it probably will not play "2", and DVDs with a region code of "2" can only be played on DVD Similarly,Īlmost all DVDs and DVD players sold in Germany have a region code of
For example, almost all DVDs and DVD players sold in NorthĪmerica have a region code of "1", and DVDs with a region code of "1"Ĭan only be played on DVD players with that same region code. Players that typically do have this region code are those sold in that To be played on DVD players that have this region code, and the only DVD "region code" (also called "regional code"), which only allows the DVD The reason why is that DVDs have region codes,Īnd that both DVDs and video tapes are encoded using different videoĪlmost all commercial DVDs that are sold have what is called a Play DVDs and videotapes from different parts of the world on NorthĪmerican video equipment. Of course, it is possible to order DVDs and videotapes from foreignĬountries (via eBay, for example). Spanish subtitles, while the DVD sold in Germany has English and GermanĪudio and English, German, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Greek,
The film Syriana (Warner Bros., 2005) that is sold in NorthĪmerica has only English and French audio and only English, French, and However the DVDs sold in America typically only have French and SpanishĪudio and subtitles in addition to English: It is more difficult to getĭVDs in some other languages, such as German. This is especially importantįor translators in North America, where it is difficult to get regularĮxposure to foreign languages. Knowledge of foreign languages up-to-date. Note: The discussion below will not address high-definition television.įoreign films provide translators with an easy way to keep their
Afghanistan, Africa, American Samoa, Anguilla, Armenia, Azerbaijan Republic, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Comoros, Cuba, Republic of, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Djibouti, Ecuador, El Salvador, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Gambia, Georgia, Guernsey, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Jamaica, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Korea, North, Korea, South, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mayotte, Middle East, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Paraguay, Philippines, Qatar, Reunion, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Swaziland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Virgin Islands (U.S.DVD region codes and how to overcome them DVD Region Codes and Video Encoding Standards, and How to Overcome Them