I'm new to the HD game, and am a little confused about the region coding. From searching the forum topics on the subject, I was under the impression HD DVD players were region free, but when I tried some of my SD European discs in my HD-A2, they don't work. Is it only the HD discs themselves that are not region coded?

Also, is the same true for BD discs and players, or would I be able to play my SD discs on a BD player?

Thanks!

SD discs are enforced by the hardware in the HD-DVD player. HD-DVD discs purchased from other areas will, however, play in the Toshiba just fine (i.e. SD = region coding, HD = no region coding).

Enjoy!

Thanks for the response.

I read in another thread that Blu-Ray discs ARE coded, however, but that it is less restrictive than the SD DVD model. Does anyone have a link to more detailed information about the coding?

This is from Wiki:

Blu-ray Region codes

A/1 North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.

B/2 Europe, Greenland, French territories, Middle East, Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

C/3 India, Nepal, Mainland China, Russia, Central and South Asia.

Also a lot of Blu-ray releases are coded A,B,C so they play everywhere. It's dependent on the individual studios and titles.

Are there region-free hacks for any existing players (HD-DVD or Blu-Ray)? I can't seem to view any results at VideoHelp at the moment, but there appear to be some comments about the HD-A1.

None that I know of but if you discover any then please feel free to share.