DVD Region Lock System

For curbing piracy and misuse of movies, from the U.S. in DVDs, the Region Lock System was established. The whole world has been divided into six area codes, with Region 1 being U.S., Canada, and US Territories, Region 2 having Japan, Europe, South Africa, and the Middle East. France is also part of this region. The Region 3 comprises Southeast Asia and East Asia, while Region 4 has Australia, Central America, South America and Mexico. Region 5 encompasses Eastern Europe, Indian subcontinent, Africa, and North Korea, while Region 6 has China. As per this system, DVDs produced in certain regions are coded with their respective number and are able to play only on the DVD players sold in that region. This Region Lock System ensured that movies from countries belonging to other region codes were incompatible on the local DVD players.

DVD Standards in France

France has the SECAM standard for DVDs and televisions. The SECAM (Sequential Couleur Avec Memoire or Sequential Color with Memory) standard was introduced and took affect in France in the early 1960s. SECAM runs with 625 lines/frame, same as PAL, but PAL transmits the color information sequentially. The other standard is the NTSC, which is used by many countries in America and some Asian countries, even Japan. Most of the European countries have the PAL standard, which is very similar to the SECAM standard. The televisions and DVDs having the PAL and SECAM standards are compatible with one another. However, they are incompatible with the NTSC standard. Thus, implying that any DVD purchased from the U.S. would be incompatible with a DVD player in France, and vice versa.

Similarly, the voltage inputs of the two regions also vary, since France uses 220 volts and the U.S. uses 110 volts. This would also be a hindrance for playing DVD players from these two countries interchangeably.

Regionfree for France and around the World

The newer versions of DVD players were then designed to override the region codes and to be able to play DVDs from any part of the world, whether in France or another country. These are called region free DVD players. The region free DVD players have a provision for interchanging the NTSC to PAL, and PAL to NTSC standards built into them for greater reach to customers. They are also provided with a dual voltage facility that permits a customer to use the DVD player anywhere in the world without fear of equipment damage. It is permissible by law to own and use a regionfree DVD player if it is not being misused for piracy or illegal activities.

A Wide Range of Features

The DVD players have been greatly improved since their inception and come with a wide range of features. They can be used for playing a wide range of devices like the CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-A, DVD-R, DVD-RW, WMA, MP3, JPEG, MPEG 4, and SACD. The other feature available is language choice for audio tracks, subtitles and menus. They provide for special effects like freeze, slow, fast, step, and scan. One can avail random play and repeat play, ease of programmability and a digital audio output. The DVD players are also available in portable and wall mounted forms.

The price range can vary tremendously from $85 to $750, depending on the brands, types of features provided and utility factor. The major brands of region free DVD players available in France are Toshiba, Samsung, Denon, LG, Sony and many others.