Win98SE, PowerDVD & LG-8160B

[glc]

Hi, I just joined. Like the message posting page.

I have some questions about RPG.

I know that the DVD disc's regional code has to tally with the DVDROM's.
Does the PowerDVD 3 software player have to tally with it too?
And does Win98SE have to have the same regional code?

I haven't bought a DVD disc movie yet but I have the DVDrom ,PowerDVD and am using Win98SE.

Although I'm pretty sure that if I buy a DVD movie I'd be able to play it w/o problems. It's just I'm new at this would like to know more about the things I'm likely to encounter.

Thanks and hope to get a reply.

[glc]

No answer. Okay, one more try.

So, believe it or not, I just installed WinXP pro on a HD partition.
(fast! definitely recommended)

I downloaded:
Drvinf110.zip, CDVDinfo, RPCMAN and DVDGN405
which I believe gives info about RPC2 setting and the 5 time changing thing.
But I haven't used them yet (still have to buy a DVD disc)

Any info concerning cautions and what to be aware about would be appreciated.

[glc]

The adventure continues...

So, browsing the web, I found info
about Region Protection Code locks (RPC)
There are DVD ROM drives that are RPC free.
There are also DVD movies that are RPC free.

It is the DVD movie disc that determines everything.
With RPC free DVD movies - no problems whatsoever.

With RPC locked DVD movies, it requires the DVDROM drive to have the same code and at the same time locks the software player and OS (Windows) with the same region code it has.

One ends up with a system that is locked to only play DVD movies with the same RPC and DVD movies which are RPC free.

Problem: Want to watch DVD movies with different RPC
1. But software player and OS are locked
Solution:
Use a utility that will change the RPC on software player and OS at the same time (use Region Killer 2?)

2. One does not have an RPC free DVD drive (RPC2 drives).
In my case, my drive has a limit of 5 times for changing its RPC.
Solution:
Use another utility with ability to change RPC of the DVD drive, even after the 5 time limit.
This DVD drive RPC changing utility as I have found, is a hardware flashing utility and is DVD drive brand related. Meaning, one should only use a flashing utility written specifically for the DVD drive brand and model.
In my case, RPCMAN.ZIP version 8160b.exe.

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Ah, correction: 8160b.exe is not a flashing utility but merely resets the counter to 0 and etc...