On 2025-07-13, Farley Flud wrote:

On 13 Jul 2025 12:47:22 GMT, Stéphane CARPENTIER wrote:

It's a long time since I bought a DVD reader. But at that time, the
regular seller needed to do something on the DVD reader to unlock the
limitation. He just asked me if I wanted him to do it and it was done.
But, by default, I would have a limited DVD reader. Maybe I could have
done it by myself: I don't know. But it wasn't by done default.

Ha, ha, ha, ha! What a clown!

For a computer interface, one cannot purchase a DVD reader alone. It must also be a DVD/CD writer (and currently also BDR. i.e. blu-ray).

On GNU/Linux, there has always been libdvdcss to unlock region codes:

https://www.videolan.org/developers/libdvdcss.html

Your knowledge of GNU/Linux is severely limited.

But then you will withdraw into your standard argument that CD/DVD/BDR
is no longer relevant in the "modern" world.

Ha, ha, ha, ha! What a total clown!

Uh, wasn't the region lock nowadays (read: possibly the past two
decades?) handled by the *firmware*? Similar to why earlier drives would
give you scrambled output without "authenticating" with the CSS keys,
but newer ones give I/O errors? So libdvdcss would do nothing other than
let you play CSS-scrambled discs from the region the firmware is
currently set to accept.

--
Nuno Silva

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Nuno Silva <[email protected]d> wrote:

On 2025-07-13, Farley Flud wrote:

On GNU/Linux, there has always been libdvdcss to unlock region codes:

https://www.videolan.org/developers/libdvdcss.html

Your knowledge of GNU/Linux is severely limited.

But then you will withdraw into your standard argument that CD/DVD/BDR
is no longer relevant in the "modern" world.

Ha, ha, ha, ha! What a total clown!

Uh, wasn't the region lock nowadays (read: possibly the past two
decades?) handled by the *firmware*? Similar to why earlier drives would
give you scrambled output without "authenticating" with the CSS keys,
but newer ones give I/O errors? So libdvdcss would do nothing other than
let you play CSS-scrambled discs from the region the firmware is
currently set to accept.

Libdvdcss cracks the encryption (when present) by brute force in
software. In my experience that can take a while, although I think
there's some caching ability for next time you play the same disc
(though I rip such discs so I don't have to bother with it again).
I think I also had it fail once but that might have been a
scratched disc. Generally I still try to avoid DVDs from other
regions, although DVDs marked Region 2 only are often really Region
2/4 so play fine here in Aus.

--
__ __
#_ < |\| |< _#

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On 7/14/25 12:17 AM, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:

Nuno Silva <[email protected]d> wrote:

On 2025-07-13, Farley Flud wrote:

On GNU/Linux, there has always been libdvdcss to unlock region codes:

https://www.videolan.org/developers/libdvdcss.html

Your knowledge of GNU/Linux is severely limited.

But then you will withdraw into your standard argument that CD/DVD/BDR
is no longer relevant in the "modern" world.

Ha, ha, ha, ha! What a total clown!

Uh, wasn't the region lock nowadays (read: possibly the past two
decades?) handled by the *firmware*? Similar to why earlier drives would
give you scrambled output without "authenticating" with the CSS keys,
but newer ones give I/O errors? So libdvdcss would do nothing other than
let you play CSS-scrambled discs from the region the firmware is
currently set to accept.

Libdvdcss cracks the encryption (when present) by brute force in
software. In my experience that can take a while, although I think
there's some caching ability for next time you play the same disc
(though I rip such discs so I don't have to bother with it again).
I think I also had it fail once but that might have been a
scratched disc. Generally I still try to avoid DVDs from other
regions, although DVDs marked Region 2 only are often really Region
2/4 so play fine here in Aus.

Look, by SOME defs you're a CRIMINAL here ... trying
to STEAL rightfully-owned content.

"Free For All" is NOT a biz model. You don't
"just deserve" commercial content. What EGO !
What HUBRIS !

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c186282 <[email protected]> wrote:

On 7/14/25 12:17 AM, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:

Nuno Silva <[email protected]d> wrote:

Uh, wasn't the region lock nowadays (read: possibly the past two
decades?) handled by the *firmware*? Similar to why earlier drives would >>> give you scrambled output without "authenticating" with the CSS keys,
but newer ones give I/O errors? So libdvdcss would do nothing other than >>> let you play CSS-scrambled discs from the region the firmware is
currently set to accept.

Libdvdcss cracks the encryption (when present) by brute force in
software. In my experience that can take a while, although I think
there's some caching ability for next time you play the same disc
(though I rip such discs so I don't have to bother with it again).
I think I also had it fail once but that might have been a
scratched disc. Generally I still try to avoid DVDs from other
regions, although DVDs marked Region 2 only are often really Region
2/4 so play fine here in Aus.

Look, by SOME defs you're a CRIMINAL here ... trying
to STEAL rightfully-owned content.

I guess it would only be criminal if decoding the data was an
offence, and a region-free drive/player would do that without
Libdvdcss, so no more criminal than using one of those. Or maybe
it depends on what's considered "circumventing" restrictions.

"Free For All" is NOT a biz model. You don't
"just deserve" commercial content. What EGO !
What HUBRIS !

I like to paraphrase out loud the unskippable "WARNING" legal
disclaimers they put before DVDs here about places that home DVDs
aren't allowed to be screened (come on, how big is the oil rig
workers' entertainment market really anyway?). "Warning: You are
watching a DVD! Don't you know you could be fined thousands of
dollars for watching this DVD? You could go for prison for
watching this DVD! Jesus Christ what are you doing? STOP!!!"

--
__ __
#_ < |\| |< _#

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 14/07/2025 05:43, c186282 wrote:

On 7/14/25 12:17 AM, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:

Nuno Silva <[email protected]d> wrote:

On 2025-07-13, Farley Flud wrote:

On GNU/Linux, there has always been libdvdcss to unlock region codes:

https://www.videolan.org/developers/libdvdcss.html

Your knowledge of GNU/Linux is severely limited.

But then you will withdraw into your standard argument that CD/DVD/BDR >>>> is no longer relevant in the "modern" world.

Ha, ha, ha, ha!  What a total clown!

Uh, wasn't the region lock nowadays (read: possibly the past two
decades?) handled by the *firmware*? Similar to why earlier drives would >>> give you scrambled output without "authenticating" with the CSS keys,
but newer ones give I/O errors? So libdvdcss would do nothing other than >>> let you play CSS-scrambled discs from the region the firmware is
currently set to accept.

Libdvdcss cracks the encryption (when present) by brute force in
software. In my experience that can take a while, although I think
there's some caching ability for next time you play the same disc
(though I rip such discs so I don't have to bother with it again).
I think I also had it fail once but that might have been a
scratched disc. Generally I still try to avoid DVDs from other
regions, although DVDs marked Region 2 only are often really Region
2/4 so play fine here in Aus.

  Look, by SOME defs you're a CRIMINAL here ... trying
  to STEAL rightfully-owned content.

  "Free For All" is NOT a biz model. You don't
  "just deserve" commercial content. What EGO !
  What HUBRIS !

Its a fine point when you buy a second hand DVD but want to rip it onto
a hard disc so its instantly available.

Any commercial lawsuit would fail, because there was no intent to
deprive anyone of cash.



--
“A leader is best When people barely know he exists. Of a good leader,
who talks little,When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,They will say,
“We did this ourselves.”

― Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

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On 14 Jul 2025 17:48:44 +1000, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:

I like to paraphrase out loud the unskippable "WARNING" legal
disclaimers they put before DVDs here about places that home DVDs aren't allowed to be screened (come on, how big is the oil rig workers' entertainment market really anyway?). "Warning: You are watching a DVD!
Don't you know you could be fined thousands of dollars for watching this
DVD? You could go for prison for watching this DVD! Jesus Christ what
are you doing? STOP!!!"

One of the local groups had a fund raiser where they screened Michael
Moore's 'Bowling for Columbine'. There wasn't an admission charge but they hoped for contributions. Free is good and I was curious about the film. I chuckled when they fired up the DVD with the warning that what they were
doing was not legal. I was not inspired to make a contribution.

Those piracy warnings make me want to run up the Jolly Roger but tbh I'm
too lazy to bother. Netflix DVDs or streaming after they dropped the DVDs
is easier.

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