??PC-DVD units can play all regions??

[lisawebs]

I have an LG PC-DVD model: GDR-8161B
which is Region Playback Control Phase II,
I want to know if I can play any region DVD?
or if depends on the Software I'm using to play

[joegib]

1. RPC-2 means your drive is region-protected so it will lock to the last region set after 5 changes.

2. You can overcome region-protection by flashing patched firmware to your drive. There is patched "Autoreset" firmware for your drive linked here:

http://forum.firmware-flash.com/dl_firmware.php?category=1&manufactor=16

If you use this don't forget you also need to overcome region-protection in your software player (Power DVD, WinDVD etc) by using a utility like DVD Genie or Region Killer.

3. If you don't want to flash firmware -- there are hazards for inexperienced users in this technique -- you can try one of the software solutions to overcome region-protection. These include Region Selector, DVD Region Free and AnyDVD but you have to pay for them.

[lisawebs]

I'm confused

Thanks, but I'm still lost

What is?
...flashing patched firmware to your drive???
what is the action???

What do you recommend as the easiest way to overcome this,
even if I'd have to pay for it...

Is there any software player (as PowerDVD)
that transparently solve this?

[joegib]

1. If you don't understand what flashing patched firmware means then it is best not to select this option. If you do it wrongly it can kill your drive.

2. You can try the demo versions of the software solutions I named (you can find them using the Google search engine). Suggest you try Remote Selector first as it is the cheapest -- if it works on your system your problem is solved.

3. As far as I know there is no utility that overcomes region-protection and performs as a player as well.

4. You can find general information about region-protection here:

http://www.digital-digest.com/dvd/articles/region.html

[megamachine]

Give DVDIdlePro a trial, it has worked fine for me. I concur with the opinion above about not messing with flashing the firmware.

[jonss]

I have a Liteon LDW-411S which I have flashed to FSOF so I'm not too fearful of this operation. There is an additional update FSOH that I have not bothered to utilise as everything is working fine with my unit but I would'nt mind upgrading if I could find FSOH with a region free patch. Does anyone know where I'd locate this?

[joegib]

Standard FS0H firmware is linked here:

http://forum.firmware-flash.com/dl_firmware.php?category=4&manufactor=17

The entry implies that the LtnRPC utility works with this version also. Can't say myself as I don't have this drive. You could do a search in the forum on that site first to see if there are any problems with this combination.