Play any protected DVDs on Blu-ray player (software) Play DVDs on Blu-ray player without region limit by settings For now it looks like Sony is sticking to its “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on region-free playback. If you’re really concerned, take along a foreign disc and test it in the shop. Sony obviously isn’t afraid of Australian law, instead I suspect it’s wary of upsetting powerful forces such as the Motion Picture Association of America.įor now it seems the only way to be sure if a player is region-free is to check with the retailer, although to be honest I wouldn’t trust all sales staff to know the answer. So why isn’t Sony honest with its customers? I would think shoppers have a right to know what they’re buying. Vendors are not obligated to sell region-free players or offer unlocking codes, but they’re not forbidden to do so either. The Act does not control the sale of DVD players, require region-free DVD players to be made available, or require an unlock to be made available.” It also allows for the continued availability of region-free DVD players.”įor further clarification I was told “The Copyright Amendment Act 2006 allows for the modification of DVD players to enable them to play DVDs from different countries. This means that consumers will be able to circumvent the region coding TPMs on legitimate DVDs purchased overseas. “An access control TPM specifically excludes TPMs which control geographic market segmentation. According to a copyright fact sheet issued by the Attorney-General’s department
#Do all region dvd players really play all regions free#
So are region-free players legal in Australia? Both the ACCC and ACMA told me they don’t regulate such things, but finally the Attorney-General’s department confirmed that region-free DVD and Blu-ray players are exempt from the Technological Protection Measures (TPMs) included in the US Free Trade Agreement. It seems like shoppers will struggle to get straight answers. Anecdotal evidence suggests that most Australian DVD players were region-free a few years ago but vendors are now starting to reintroduce it on Blu-ray players.
LG also tells me that its players are not region-free, while I haven’t heard back from Samsung and Panasonic. Reports from retailers indicate that some shipments arrive unlocked, while others aren’t, so it’s difficult for shoppers to know what they’re buying. But this is clearly not true, as there are plenty of reports of people buying region-free Sony players. When I pointed out this wasn’t actually an answer, I was told “no” they are not region-free. I asked Sony Australia if its local DVD and Blu-ray players offered region-free DVD playback and was told "Sony Australia does not endorse region-free playback on DVD and BD Players". To further confuse things, some vendors are less than honest about what their players can do. Other people think they’re now illegal under the free trade agreement with the US. Some people think the ACCC ruled that DVD players must be region-free, as part of the console chipping debate. There's some confusion as to whether region-free players are legal in Australia and what’s available in the shops. Some Australian Blu-ray players are region-free for DVD playback, although once again vendors don't like to talk about it. Australia is grouped in Region B along with Europe, which makes shopping for cheap movies on Amazon UK particularly appealing. The idea of region-coding has carried over to Blu-ray players, although there are fewer regions for Blu-ray.