babka

Im trying to play region 2 dvds on the my g4 powerbook. Well, I have tried the old verson and now there is a new version of this VLC program seen here....

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html


and I still cannot play dvds on it. Maybe someone can help me with this and / or recommend another option to making the dvd drive region free or perhaps using this VLC program correctly.

Its strange because the VLC program works perfectly on my PC. I changed the option on my powerbook to play dvds using VLC and not the mac dvd player.... but it does not play even though the VLC menu bar shows up. thanks

meritocracy

From the VLC Readme file:

To view a (S)VCD, DVD or Audio CD, you will need to choose "Open Disc" from the "File" menu. Choose your disk type and then choose the drive in which you inserted the disk.

As for region free firmware, I'm guessing you probably have a Matshita CD-RW CW-8122 if you don't have the superdrive. In any case, check 'About This Mac' from the Apple menu and click on more info. This will give you the specific drive model. After you've got that head over to The Firmware Page for firmware.

babka

I actually have the superdrive. I followed the above directions you gave me but I am still getting an error saying something about the main chain and it asks me to dismiss the error or report it as a bug. very strange because this works great with my PC. any other suggestions?

that firmware website does have the download for my superdrive which is the Matshita dvd-r UJ-815 . However , it looks pretty complex and gives different download options ( slave, master, etc) and there are so many warnings there about it possibly damaging your superdrive that it worries me.

meritocracy

In that case, I have a feeling you have a Matshita UJ-815. On of the problems with this driveis that the UJ-815 doesn't allow "raw" access without the disc being unlocked first. Therefore, VLC CANNOT play DVDs from a different region disc, period. You'll have to download the firmware from the site I previously mentioned. Make sure and determine what drive you have installed first.

Edit: Just saw your post. It's really not that complicated, and I've applied this firmware to numerous Powerbooks. Here's a site which contains the firmware/instructions and everything else you'd ever care to know in regard to it. Cynikal's Firmware.

babka

THANK YOU MERITOCRACY!!! IT WORKED!!!

Thanks for your help. I REALLY appreciate you taking the time to help me with this!!! 1 quick question...the firmware icon and region x icon is on my desktop. Do I need it there anymore or can I delete this? I assume I will need the region x icon in order to change regions each time? thanks again!

meritocracy

Bakka, glad to hear that this worked out for you, and you're most welcome. As for the icons resting on your desktop, once you've updated, there's really no need for you to keep the firmware around. In regard to the Region X program, very rarely will you ever have any need for it now that your drive is region free. The vast majority of discs will play in this setting. At certain times you may encounter a particular (RCE) disc that likes to play only when the drive is set to that particular region. In those cases you can use Region X. Personally, I've yet to use it once my drives were updated for region free functionality.

babka

I just set my region x drive to "not set" and when the dvd loads, I am still being asked by the dvd player if I want to change regions and that I have only 4 times left. When I change the regions for each particular disc (using region x), it works fine. But I am wondering how you have it set so that you dont change anything ? thanks again!

meritocracy

Babka, there's zero reason to use region x to set your drive to a particular region once your region free. Region free implies region 0, or all play. As I stated previously, use VLC now to view DVDs from other regions, as the standard Apple DVD player still has a software based region setting which is why it's asking you to switch regions. In essence, turn off the setting to auto load DVD player when a DVD is inserted. Additioanlly, once you're region free, you'll be able to switch regions an unlimited amount of times if you so desire .

babka

ok, maybe Im not doing something right. But the dvd still shows an error when playing with VLC. Maybe I will just use that region x and change the region setting each time I want to play a dvd from a different region. Its not a big deal . But the VLC is just not working. thanks