DVD Regions
DVD Regions | Region 1 DVDs sold by our Marketplace sellers | Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE) | Global DVD region countries | Blu-ray Discs Region Encoding | High-Density (HD) Discs Region Encoding
DVD Regions
The DVD region code identifies a DVD's compatibility with the players typically sold in a particular region.
The following graphic shows the approximate location of each region. Click here for an approximate list of countries that fall into each region:
Region 0 (or "region free") is compatible with DVD players from any region, depending on relevant hardware. Region 0 titles can be either NTSC (generally if they originate from the US) or PAL format (originating from within the EU).
The majority of all current titles play only in one specific region unless otherwise noted. DVDs sold by Amazon.co.uk are encoded for Region 2 or Region 0. Region 2 DVDs may not work on DVD players in other countries.
Region 1 DVDs sold by our Marketplace sellers
Region 1 discs are intended for use with standard DVD players in North America (Canada and the USA). In most instances they can also be played on compatible "multi-region" DVD players (also known as "chipped" or "region-free" players).
They also require an NTSC-compatible television. NTSC is the standard picture format in North America, and differs from the PAL format adopted in Britain and Europe. Region 1 DVDs are usually presented in NTSC format, so you should ensure that your TV is capable of reading the NTSC signal before purchasing Region 1 DVDs.
Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE)
Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE) has been added by some film studios (specifically Warner and Columbia) to selected Region 1 DVDs, with the intention of preventing these discs from playing on some multi-region DVD players. We are therefore unable to guarantee that all Region 1 discs will be compatible with all multi-region players.
Global DVD region countries
This is not a definitive list and is intended only as a guide.
| DVD regions country list |
| Region |
Area |
Breakdown of countries |
| 0 |
Multiple Areas |
Titles can be either NTSC (generally if they originate from the US) or PAL format (EU). |
| 1 |
US, US territories and Canada |
American Samoa, Canada, Guam, Palau, Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Puerto Rico, Micronesia, United States, U.S. Virgin Islands |
| 2 |
UK, Europe, Japan, South Africa and Middle East |
Albania, Andorra, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Vatican City, Yemen |
| 3 |
Southeast and East Asia |
Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam |
| 4 |
Australia, New Zealand, Central and South America |
Antigua, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Barbuda, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Falkland Islands, French Guiana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, New Guinea, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad, Tobago, Uruguay |
| 5 |
Former Soviet Union, Indian sub-continent, Africa, North Korea and Mongolia |
Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, India, Ivory Coast, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, , Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, St. Helena, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
| 6 |
China |
China |
| 7 |
Reserved for future use |
|
| 8 |
International Territories (ships, planes etc) |
|
Blu-ray Discs Region Encoding
Blu-ray discs may be encoded with a region code, intended to restrict the area of the world in which they can be played; similar to the DVD region codes.
| Blu-ray regions country list |
| Region Code |
Area |
| A |
North America, Central America, South America, Japan, Taiwan, North Korea, South Korea, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia |
| B |
Europe, Greenland, French territories, Middle East, Africa, Australia and New Zealand |
| C |
India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Mainland China, Pakistan, Russia, Central and South Asia |
| Region Free |
All areas |
High-Density (HD) Discs Region Encoding
There is no region coding in the existing HD DVD specification, which means that titles from any country can be played in players in any other country.
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