Bought DVD film on eBay but wrong region!

My 80 year old Dad bought a used DVD film from eBay not realising it was not for UK region.

It has been years since I delved into the world of using DVDs let alone copying them.

I searched to unlock his DVD player to be region-free (Sony DVP-SR600H) but to no avail.

So when I go to visit him in a few days, I'll take my laptop which has a DVD player/writer (hoping it's up to the task) and blow the cobwebs of some blank discs I have in the loft.

The question is, what is the best software (preferably free or very cheap) to simply burn (mirror) a DVD film but remove the region lock? I'm also hoping the GUI and options will be quick and simple.

Thanks very much.

If you have a Blu Ray player by now (with a USB port), just copy the disc on a computer with MakeMKV , place the MKV file on a USB stick, stick the USB stick in the Blu Ray player and PRESTO....he's watching.

Thanks for your advice.

That would be a good option, even use the USB port on his TV if he hasn't got one on his player.

Unfortunately (common with folks his age) he is absolutely stuck in his ways and will struggle or REFUSE to use ANY different technology.

It has been so frustrating but I have to accept it now. I can easily put the film onto my Plex library and he can stream it but no, a waste of time as he can't or won't use that either.

It's going to have to be a mirror burn or whatever it's called.

Along with making a DVD region-free you also need to decrypt its content before burning (otherwise you might see black screen instead of video). Try DVDFab HD Decrypter, it's free for those functions. Test the processed DVD folders to be sure the content is playable on PC and use a utility like DVDInfo to be sure all regions are enabled.

What is the title of the film in the DVD, if you don't mind me asking?
Perhaps it is available for streaming and possibly with better resolution than on the DVD. If you can download it, then it is easier to burn it into region free DVD.

Sony DVD and Blu-Ray players have always been the most likely to not allow non-hardware hacking for region free.

MakeMKV is the go to software for ripping DVDs as now it allows you to rip DVDs, but not Blu-Rays* to .ISO. Which is then region free and can be burned to a blank DVD disc.

*Blu-Rays can be ripped to the folder structure, but not directly to .ISO.

If you're on Windows, only use Imgburn to burn you disc. Be sure to download it from the link provided as other versions may contain adware. Imgburn hasn't been updated for over a decade, but burn technology hasn't changed.

Unless your blank discs are Verbatim AZO https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/391272-Beware-of-new-Verbatim-non-AZO-packaging or Taiyo-Yuden, don't use them as you may have playback issues on 2nd tier or worse discs. Better to spend a few dollars than have to burn new discs or ruin your Dad's viewing experience.

Originally Posted by lingyi

Sony DVD and Blu-Ray players have always been the most likely to not allow non-hardware hacking for region free.

There's a lot of tools (like PGCEdit) to set any wanted region. Does it cause the same issues with Sony's? Anyway, I'd first test it on RW media in case of a doubt, before giving up on the opportunity to use original DVD menus etc.

Once the disc is decrypted and ripped, it will be region free.

MakeMKV now has the ability to save DVDs as .ISO, retaining the full disc structure, including the menu.

Thanks very much for your help.

As suggested I managed to download it, from YouTube @ 750MB.

I was about to look into burning it onto a DVD when my brother called and said he ordered another version from Magpie, so we now might have 2 redundant DVDs!

I'll wait and see if this one works before continuing.

You can bet your bottom dollar that if I do go to the trouble of burning it onto a DVD, and finally my Dad starts to watch it, he'll say "Oh, I've seen this already"!

Thanks again.

Better to have two disks than none.

Do bear in mind that your dad will most unlikely be able to play your download on his dvd-player if you simply burn that on a disk. You will have to use an authoring program such as avstodvd to create dvd-compatable assets plus imgburn to do the actual burning.

The other one was the wrong region too, and Magpie did not specify the region so I'm assuming my brother can send that one back at least.

I will now try to download a better copy of the YouTube one and burn it onto a DVD.

Originally Posted by DB83

Better to have two disks than none.

Do bear in mind that your dad will most unlikely be able to play your download on his dvd-player if you simply burn that on a disk. You will have to use an authoring program such as avstodvd to create dvd-compatable assets plus imgburn to do the actual burning.

Ah yes, imgburn, I remember those days now, it's coming back to me. I will check out avstodvd, I can't remember the software I used to use to create the DVD files.

Thanks very much.

Originally Posted by Subtitles

What is the title of the film in the DVD, if you don't mind me asking?
Perhaps it is available for streaming and possibly with better resolution than on the DVD. If you can download it, then it is easier to burn it into region free DVD.

A Stranger Among Us (1992). I think I saw it myself back then, or maybe just remember the trailer for it! A pretty forgetful film judging by the reviews.