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How do i get unlimited region changes for mac? Please tell me a good virus protecter as well.

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Brief, practical update that fills gaps in the replies from and others: DVD region behavior has two separate parts — the optical drive’s firmware (RPC phase) and the player software — and the message about “RPC‑1 required” or “you’ll lock your drive” is about the drive side, not the player. Most modern computer drives enforce region at the hardware level, so a tool that expects an RPC‑1 drive may fail or try to reflash firmware. (learn.microsoft.com)

What that warning means in practice: many drives are RPC‑2 and keep a small, hardware‑stored region‑change allowance (commonly five). Converting or reflashing firmware to make a drive “region‑free” is a firmware change — it can exhaust counters, permanently change behavior, void warranty, or render the drive inoperable if the flash fails. Don’t proceed unless the exact model/firmware and a compatible image are confirmed. (cheapiesystems.com)

On legality: circumvention of technological access controls (which is how region coding and DVD CSS are categorized) has been addressed under the U.S. DMCA; rulemaking and exemptions have changed over time, so simple forum assertions that “it’s legal” aren’t reliable. The legal risk depends on jurisdiction, intent, and current exemptions — check the U.S. Copyright Office guidance for the authoritative view. (copyright.gov)

Practical, safer options and antivirus notes: if the goal is just to watch a foreign disc, prefer commercial region‑free hardware or legitimately region‑free releases rather than firmware hacks. For malware protection, rely on macOS built‑in protections (keep macOS updated) and, if you want an extra scanner, choose a vendor with consistently high independent‑lab scores; recent lab testing and editorial roundups list top performers and can guide a low‑impact choice. (av-test.org)

Actionable checklist before touching anything that claims to make a drive region‑free: identify the drive model/firmware, read the vendor support notes, search for a verified community recovery procedure, back up important data, and accept that flashing carries real hardware and legal risks. This clarifies points raised earlier by , and while emphasizing caution.

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Member Avatar for Dani

For all your mac dvd/video questions, check out:

http://www.dvdrhelp.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=9

Please don't discuss unlimited region changes here because as far as I know, that's illegal. (Correct me if I'm wrong) Head over to that site though and they should be able to help you.

Personally I don't feel that macs are in need of antivirus software. However, Norton and McAfee both make good software. I don't think Norton is compatible with Panther yet though.

Member Avatar for Jason

Region changes for your DVD are completely legal, it's only copying commercial DVD's that gets you into trouble. Writing your own DVD's to region 0 means they can be used by ANY other country.

Try Region X that can be downloaded from http://www.macupdate.com
It allows you to reset th code of your superdrive to any region, including Zero for Region free.

Member Avatar for Bayard

The best regionfree DVD player that you can get for Mac OS X is definetely at the moment VLC. It plays all formats (divx, avi, mpegs etc.) you don't have to worry about any anything. Get it from here:

http://www.videolan.org/

To CSCGAL: definetely protect your computer with an anti-virus program such as Norton AntiVirus for Macintosh, Version 9.0.1. And YES, it is works for Panther and runs beutifully in the background (and gets all the updates by itself). Again, no worries and peace of mind :-) Afterall, there exists viruses on Macs as well even if not so common!! :cool:

Member Avatar for davidsamm0

I downlaoded Region X, but got concerned beofre installing about their message: " a Region free RPC-1 drive is required.....
Unless firmware has been intentionally udated, your DVD region is locked.
....if you proceed with Region X, you'll lock your drive.

any comments to this, or have i misunderstood and it is still OK to run it?
thanks

Region changes for your DVD are completely legal, it's only copying commercial DVD's that gets you into trouble. Writing your own DVD's to region 0 means they can be used by ANY other country.

Try Region X that can be downloaded from http://www.macupdate.com
It allows you to reset th code of your superdrive to any region, including Zero for Region free.

Member Avatar for Rick150

My advice is 'Don't use Norton' so many hassles. Use 'CamXav' and set it up to scan your Library. It caught 3 viruses last year for me. Well worth the donation. And yes VLC is great!

Member Avatar for Rick150

Oh yes, you will be locked out of your drive as MAC also uses software that is region coded. You have to do both, the drive and the software.

Member Avatar for Selwyn

HELLO PEOPLE
Thank you to cscgal who pointed my in the write direction for some mac video editing software.
I personally use vlc aswell and find it it leaps and bound better than quick time (mind you what isn't).
As other people have said Norton on your system is opening up a can of worms , slows your system down blocks things that shoudn't be blocked.
Clamxav is the way to go as its light on resources and does the job.
I'm slowly gettin more on the mac ladder (ce ya blue screen o death lol)
Cheers ppl

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