What DVD Region Is the USA? How to Play DVDs from Other Regions in US

When a disc won't play in my living room, I check one thing first: the region. If you're wondering what DVD region the United States utilizes, the answer is simple: Region 1 DVD. That single detail saves me from returns and guessing, and I can easily verify the case before purchasing or importing. In the guide below, I'll go over the USA's DVD region code in further detail and teach you how to watch discs from other regions in the US.

What DVD Region Is the USA?

DVDs with Region Code 1 are the standard format for the United States and Canada. Region 1 DVD also covers Puerto Rico, Bermuda, and several U.S. territories in the Caribbean and Pacific. That's why a Region 1 disc purchased in the mainland U.S. will typically play the same in those locations. 

If you also collect Blu-ray discs, keep in mind that they operate on a distinct system. The United States is considered Region A for Blu-ray (not "Region 1"), and many—but not all—Blu-ray titles are published region-free. Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray is often region-free, therefore U.S. players can normally handle 4K imports without difficulty.

What Are DVD Region Codes?

DVD region codes are a type of digital rights management developed in 1997, used to protect copyright and limit the playability of DVDs in certain areas. Region codes are incorporated on DVD and Blu-ray discs, and most players adhere to the appropriate regional restrictions: discs published in one region will typically only play on players designated for that region. For example, DVDs purchased in Germany are usually Region 2 and will not play on devices in the United States (Region 1).

These are the codes for DVD regions:

• Region 1: Canada, the United States and U.S. territory.
• Region 2: Japan, Europe, South Africa and the Middle East (including Egypt), as well as Greenland.
• Region 3: Southeast Asia, East Asia (including Hong Kong).
• Region 4: Australia, New Zealand. The Pacific Islands. Central America, Mexico. South America.
• Region 5: Eastern Europe and Russia, the Indian Subcontinent of Africa, North Korea, North Korea, Mongolia, and Africa.
• Region 6: China.
• Region 7 is reserved for unspecified special uses.
• Region 8: Special intern

How can you check whether your DVD has Region Code 1 for use in USA? Look for a small globe icon with a number on it; if a DVD is playable in more than one area, the globe will display numerous numbers. If the disc does not have a regional code, it is commonly labeled Region 0 DVD, indicating that it can be played in any region including USA. 

What are the Region Codes of Blu-ray DVDs?

Blu-ray discs use a simpler region code system than DVDs. They only have three regions, labelled B, C, and A. Blu-ray discs, however, are compatible with all players. Blu-ray regions cannot be checked by any computer system or drive, unlike DVD regions. The region code is saved in a registry file. There are hacks available to reset your player software's region counter. Stand-alone players include the region code as part of their firmware. Some Blu-Rays do not have a region code.

Software and multiregional players can be used to bypass region codes. Blu-ray region coding has a new version that tests not only the region where the player/player software is located but also the country code. This means that, although both Japan and America are Region A, some American discs may not work on devices/software in Japan, as the two countries have different country codes. For example, the United States has 21843, Hex 5553 ("US") in ASCII according to ISO 3166-1, Japan has 19024, Hex 4a50 ("JP"); Canada has Hex 4341 ("CA") and Canada has 17217. Even though there are only three Bluray regions available, the country code allows for much better control over the regional distribution of Bluray discs than the six (or even eight) DVD regions. Blu-ray discs are not "special areas" like DVDs' regions 7 or 8.

How to Play Non-Region 1 DVDs in the USA?

If you happen to own a DVD with a different region code and want to watch it in the U.S. or Canada, you have a few options. One way is to purchase a multi-region DVD player that can play discs from any region, and another is to change your DVD drive's region to match the disc. Each method has drawbacks, the first is relatively expensive, and the second allows only 5 total region changes on the drive. Therefore, the method I use most often is to use software to remove the disc's region code, which ensures the video will play in the USA while also creating a digital backup. Here is the tool and its tutorial:

DVDFab DVD Ripper can override regional restrictions on DVDs, enabling you to watch your favorite films from around the world on your laptop.

Features:

• Convert any DVD to MP4, AVI WMV, MPEG or other formats.
• Bypass region code, CSS, Sony ArccOS UOPs and other DVD protections.
• Nvidia/Intel/AMD acceleration makes DVD conversion superfast.
• Choose from hundreds of video/audio codecs and pre-defined device profiles.
• Edit and modify your DVD video with the built-in editor and advanced settings.

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Steps to Play Non-Region 1 DVDs in the US

Step 1: First, ensure that you have DVDFab DVD Ripper installed on your computer. Then load the DVD disc or ISO/folder that you want to remove region code.

Step 2: DVDFab typically bypasses the region code automatically, allowing you to copy the DVD irrespective of its original region.

Step 3: You can tweak additional settings such as video quality, codec, and subtitle options in the customization section, if necessary.

Step 4: Finally, click the "Start" button after choosing the output folder where you want to save the ripped file. After finishing the process, you can play the ripped videos on any devices you like.

Conclusion

Now that you understand USA DVD region codes and how to watch discs from outside Region 1 in the U.S, you can buy what DVD movies you like and grow a DVD collection that is uniquely yours with your disc helper DVDFab.