How to Change the DVD Region in Mac and PC for Free

Playing and watching DVD movies on your computer is great. However, if the DVD disc has a region code that doesn't match where you live or where you buy your computer, you will fail to play the DVD on your computer.

So if you want to enjoy DVD movies with different DVD region codes, you need to change the region on your computer first. Changing DVD drive region is very easy. Just remember that you can only change the region for five times. After the fifth time, the DVD drive region will be locked to the region you last chose permanently.

Follow the guide to unlock DVD regions in Windows (Windows 8 compatible) and Mac.

How to change DVD region on a Windows (Windows 8 compatible) PC

1. Open "My Computer" and right click on the DVD drive icon. Choose "Properties" from the drop down menu.

2. Select the "Hardware" tab and choose the DVD drive from the disk drives list. Then click "Properties".

3. Go to "DVD Region" tab and choose the geographic area you want. Then click "OK" to finish the DVD region changing.

How to unlock DVD region on Macintosh

1. Insert a disc into your Mac's DVD drive.

2. Set the region code for your Mac following the window the prompts you to choose DVD region code.

About DVD region code

DVD region code is used to protect copyright and film distribution rights, thus to ensure movie studio profits. In this way, Region 1 films can only be played on a region 1 DVD player. Generally speaking, there are six common used DVD region codes

Region 1 -- USA, Canada
Region 2 -- Japan, Europe, South Africa, Middle East, Greenland
Region 3 -- S.Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Parts of South East Asia
Region 4 -- Australia, New Zealand, Latin America (including Mexico)
Region 5 -- Eastern Europe, Russia, India, Africa
Region 6 -- China
Region 7 -- Reserved for Unspecified Special Use
Region 8 -- Reserved for Cruise Ships, Airlines, etc...
Region 0 or REGION ALL -- Discs are uncoded and can be played Worldwide. Just note that PAL discs must be played in a PAL-compatible unit and NTSC discs must be played in an NTSC-compatible unit.

Other way to play and watch DVD movies with different DVD region codes

Since the DVD region can be changed for only five times and then the DVD region will be locked permanently, many people are looking for better ways to play and watch DVD movies with different DVD region codes. Here are two easy ways:

1. Copy and back up your DVD to a region-free DVD with a DVD copy software and a blank DVD disc. Aimersoft DVD Copy will help you copy and backup DVD movies to DVD disc with 1:1 quality. The copied DVD is region-free and you can freely watch it on your computer. For Mac users, there is DVD Backup for Mac provided.

2. Rip DVD to videos for playback on computer or portable devices. Aimersoft DVD Ripper can help you crack DVD protection and convert DVD to any popular video and audio formats for playback on iPhone, iPad, iPod, Zen, Archos, etc. For Mac users, please turn to DVD Ripper for Mac.