HELP DVD Protection

[DW2002]

I have a Ricoh MP9600a CDRW DVD Combo and i recently purchased the Final Fantasy Movie - Spirits within Special Edition DVD (Region 1) However I am in region 4 and every time i go to play the 1st DVD it brings up a Map saying i need to be in region 1 to play the DVD. At first i thought it was Cinemaster 99' (I still have 4 changes left on the DVD) but no mater what i tried (DVD Region Killer, DVD Genie, Firmware Patch) it still brings up the same message.

So i thought the protection may be built into the DVD somehow. I tested this theory by insrtalling WINDVD 3.0. and the Exact Same Map appeared.

Is there any way around this DVD Protection. there must be some way it determines your location. the second DVD works fine it's just the Movie that i cant play (on the first DVD)

If you can help it would be much apreciated.

Thanks
DW2002

[setarip]

As a last resort, you could "rip" the DVD to your hard drive, using Clad (or similar software). this will remove the copy protection and should allow you to view the video.

[DW2002]

unfortunatly my pc is a bit to slow for that the estimated time was 2 days

[setarip]

Perhaps you're thinking of ripping and converting to DivX-.AVI format, when you refer to it taking two days.

I would think that a system capable of playing DVDs has sufficient power and speed to perform a simple DVD rip in, at the worst, no more than four hours.

[DW2002]

thats true it does take up a lot of space though.. the pc im using is 233mhz w 32 MB RAM it can only just play DVD. I'll be upgrading soon.

[setarip]

Enjoy your new system ;>}

[DW2002]

I sure will... Thanks 4 all ur help