Hardware Secrets
Home | Audio | Case | Cooling | CPU | Input | Memory | Mobile | Motherboard | Networking | Power | Storage | Video | Other
Content
Articles
First Look
News
Reviews
Tutorials
Main Menu
About Us
Compare Prices
Datasheets
Dictionary
Download
Drivers
Forums
Gabriel's Blog
Links
Manufacturer Finder
Newsletter
On The Web
RSS Feed
Test Your Skills
Newsletter
Subscribe today!
Search




Recommended Book
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About DVD
By Jim Taylor
McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics
Price: $0.01

Home » Storage
Unlocking your DVD Unit
Author: Gabriel Torres
Type: Tutorials Last Updated: February 14, 2005
Page: 2 of 4
$ Check REAL-TIME pricing for LG GSA-5163D DVD±RW Dual Layer Burner $
CompuVest: $44.98 eBay: $59.99
Geeks: $41.99 Amazon: $72.79
Amazon: $44.99 CompuDirect: $59.00

Unblocking Your Unit

To unblock your unit, first check whether or not it has area blocking. That can be checked with the program DVDInfoPro (http://www.dvdinfopro.com/).  Run this program and see what it shows in "Region Control."  If it shows "RPC2" that means your unit has area blocking.  If it shows “RPC1” that means your unit is already unblocked. In the "User changes left" field of this program, you see how many area alterations you can still do.

Blocked LG GSA-4160B DVD recorder.

Figure 1: Blocked LG GSA-4160B DVD recorder.

The process of unblocking the unit consists in updating your firmware with a version that is not blocked, a process similar to the compute BIOS upgrading.  To do that, you need to download an unblocked version of the your DVD unit firmware from the Internet.  Obviously you need to know the brand and the model of your unit.  At http://www.firmware.fr.st/ you will find the firmware of practically all DVD units and recorders in the market.  All you have to do is download a version identified as "RPC1" (in other words, unblocked) and run the program that you download.

After doing the firmware upgrade, you will have to restart your computer.  Check if the upgrade was successfully done running DVDInfoPro again and seeing if the area control code has changed from "RPC2" to "RPC1." Compare Figure 1 to Figure 2. Check the "Region Code" field: it is now "All".

Unlocked LG GSA-4160B DVD recorder.

Figure 2: Same DVD recorder, now unlocked.

 

Pages (4): « 1 [2] 3 4 »
Print Version | Send to Friend | | Bookmark Article | Comments (0)

Related Content
  • Measuring CD-ROM and DVD-ROM Performance
  • Anatomy of an Optical Drive
  • How To Convert VHS Tapes Into DVDs – Part 1
  • Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD
  • Panasonic DVD-S53 DVD Player Review

  • Recommended Deals
    Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500 GB SATA Hard Drive


    eBay: $53.24 Dell: $7200.11
    TECHONWEB: $68.73 ISSI Data: $73.76
    Amazon: $61.05 Amazon: $59.80
    Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750 GB SATA II Hard Drive


    TigerDirect.com: $89.99 CompUSA.com: $89.99
    eBay: $59.21 Now Direct: $49.44
    CDW Corporation: $62.99 Amazon: $59.80
    Hewlett Packard (375861-B21) 72 GB SCSI Hard Drive


    Sillworks: $228.00 TECHONWEB: $254.05
    ISSI Data: $257.90 Super Warehouse: $261.99
    Gocomputersupplies: $40.00 Suppliesguys: $41.10
    Seagate MaXLine® II 250 GB SATA Hard Drive


    Sillworks: $145.00 DiscounTechnology.com: $109.00
    Officemax: $119.99 Pcnation: $116.11
    Best Buy: $109.99

    RSSLatest News
    Thermaltake Launches Fanless 330 VGA Cooler
    November 19, 2008 - 6:17 PM PST
    Mushkin Launches Triple-Channel DDR3 kits for Core i7 Processors
    November 18, 2008 - 6:43 PM PST
    Manufacturers Launch Intel X58 Motherboards
    November 18, 2008 - 6:11 PM PST
    Intel Launches Core i7 Processors
    November 18, 2008 - 6:02 PM PST
    Scythe Kama Panel 3.5” Multifunctional Panel
    November 17, 2008 - 6:50 PM PST
    AMD Launches 45-nm Opteron Processors
    November 14, 2008 - 4:34 PM PST
    Noctua Presents Cooler for Intel Core i7 CPUs
    November 12, 2008 - 11:37 AM PST
    Thermalright Launches Ultra-120 eXtreme Cooler
    November 11, 2008 - 4:04 AM PST
    PowerColor Launches Water-Cooling Ready Radeon HD 4870
    November 10, 2008 - 4:22 PM PST
    Enermax Launches Revolution 85+ PSU Series
    November 7, 2008 - 5:40 PM PST
    .:: More News ::.

    RSSLatest Content
    GeForce GTX 260 with 216 cores Video Card Review
    Laptop Design: What are some ways that form can enhance function?
    Panasonic Link-to-Cell Phone System Review
    Topower TOP-1100P10 Power Supply Review
    Gigabyte MA78GM-S2H Motherboard
    OCZ Neural Impulse Actuator Review
    OCZ EliteXStream 1000 W Power Supply Review
    Everything You Need to Know About Megapixels
    Battery Life: How Long Does a Battery Need to Last?
    Corsair HX1000W Power Supply Review
    AMD ATI Chips Comparison Table
    What is the ideal size for a notebook?
    ASUS P6T Deluxe OC Palm Edition Motherboard
    All Pentium Dual Core Models
    Sapphire HD 4850 X2 Video Card Review

    Our Most Popular Articles
    Maximum CPU Temperature
    821,689 views
    nVidia Chips Comparison Table
    511,976 views
    AMD ATI Chips Comparison Table
    450,914 views
    How to Find Out Your Motherboard Manufacturer and Model
    432,175 views
    ATI Radeon X1300 Pro Review
    428,650 views
    ATI Radeon X1600 XT Review
    422,207 views
    Connecting Two PCs Using a USB-USB Cable
    383,630 views
    How To Correctly Apply Thermal Grease
    367,997 views
    Sempron vs. Athlon XP
    289,435 views
    Sempron 3400+ Review
    281,807 views

    Latest Threads in Our Forums
    Motherboard Repairing
    by joseph
    How to Manually Clean Your VCR Heads
    by michellek4760
    Thermaltake Launches Fanless 330 VGA Cooler
    by Hardware Secrets Team
    GeForce GTX 260 with 216 cores Video Card Review
    by Hardware Secrets Team
    17Amps per 12v-rail??
    by Merman
    A good quality 600W power supply
    by Gabriel Torres
    Laptop Design: Design: What are some ways that form can enhance function?
    by Hardware Secrets Team
    Panasonic Link-to-Cell Phone System Review
    by Hardware Secrets Team
    ASUS M3M HT deluxe Motherboard not tunrning on
    by obso1337
    Outlook keeps locking up
    by rektech
    .:: Visit Our Forums ::.

    © 2004-8, Hardware Secrets, LLC. All rights reserved.
    Advertising | Legal Information | Privacy Policy
    All times are Pacific Standard Time (PST, GMT -08:00)