DVD and BLURAY Regions and Formats

DVDs

Not all DVDs are made equal! DVDs specified as REGION 0 or ALL should play on any DVD player. All other DVDs are separated by region and/or format. The following is a list of regions and formats specific to geographic area.

There are some DVD players which are region free or multi-zoned, meaning, any DVD regions can be played. Also, there are some DVD players which are multi vision DVD players, meaning, both DVD formats can be played.
 
It is best to check with the manual or seller of DVD players to be sure. It also pays to check the region stated on the product you are looking to purchase.

Regions

Region 1: United States of America, Canada

Region 2: Europe (including France), Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Arabia, Japan, South Africa

Region 3: Taiwan, Korea, Philippines, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam

Region 4: Mexico, South America, Central America, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Caribbean

Region 5: Russia (former USSR), Eastern Europe, India, most of Africa, Nort Korea, Mongolia

Region 6: China

Formats

And there are 2 DVD formats based on the area in the world:

PAL is the TV format used in the most of Europe, most Africa, China, India, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Nort Korea, and other countries.

NTSC is the format used in the most United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Mexico, and some other countries.

Both formats are not compatible to each other.

BLURAY

Although a large portion of all Blu-ray movies are region free, bluray discs may be zoned A, B or C:

Region A or 1:

  • North America
  • Central America
  • South America
  • Korea
  • Japan
  • South East Asia

Region B or 2:

  • Europe
  • Middle East
  • Africa
  • Australia
  • New Zealand

Region C or 3:

  • Russia
  • India
  • China
  • Rest of World