DVD movies and players are coded to keep sales revenues in their respective regions as well as to ensure DVDs can be released without conflict. For example, if there were no restrictions, a DVD movie released in one country before it played in the theater in another country could impinge on those theater sales. See
DVD,
CSS and
Blu-ray region codes.
Region
Code Location
0 Unrestricted
1 U.S. and territories,
Canada, Bermuda
2 U.K., Western Europe, Greenland,
Japan, Middle East, Egypt,
South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland
3 Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore,
South Korea, Phillipines,
Indonesia, Malaysia
4 Australia, New Zealand,
Pacific Islands, Mexico,
Central America, South America
Caribbean Islands
5 Russia, Eastern Europe, Mongolia,
All of Africa not in Region 2,
India, North Korea
6 China
7 Reserved for screening new movies
8 Airlines, Cruise ships