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    DVD drive modules for CF-31

    Discussion in 'Panasonic' started by sunrk, Nov 23, 2019.

  1. sunrk

    sunrk Notebook Evangelist

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    For the first time in over a year I thought I might watch a dvd movie. Umm, oh bugger none of my toughbooks still have a DVD drive module in them! My current one (cf-31) doesn't either - now I tried looking on Fleabay and for some reason it seems the only CF-31 DVD drive modules I can find are all in the USA. Is 'region coding' with DVD's still a 'thing' now? If I was to get a DVD module from the US for my CF-31 will it be crippled and not work here in Australia?

    Are there any different DVD drive modules to fit CF-31's or only one single type?

    No I don't have/use/want any Netflix type thing to download/watch movies.

    Ta.
     
    sunrk, Nov 23, 2019
    #1
  2. UNCNDL1

    UNCNDL1 Notebook Deity

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    Michael AU might be able to answer this...
     
    UNCNDL1, Nov 23, 2019
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  3. Michael AU

    Michael AU Notebook Geek

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    Region coding does still exist unfortunately. For use in Australia you have 3 options.
    1. Region 4 (Australia-Oceania)
    2. Region 0 (Region free)
    3. Region ALL (self explanatory)
    If you can pick up a drive from a Latin American unit (except for those still in Colonial possession best to send me a PM about this as I am not going to post this publicly due to the political nature of it) or a Caribbean unit you may get lucky otherwise Panasonic or a very clever tech may help you find or "make" a Region 0 or Region ALL unit.
     
    Michael AU, Nov 23, 2019
    #3
    UNCNDL1 and Shawn like this.
  4. kingstu

    kingstu Notebook Consultant

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    The DVD drives in laptops should allow the changing of the region a limited number of times. The stand-alone DVD players are the ones that are usually hardcoded to the region you buy them in. In Windows it is an property of the DVD drive that you can set.
     
    kingstu, Nov 25, 2019
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  5. sunrk

    sunrk Notebook Evangelist

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    Ok thanks for all that info. Now which is the correct module?

    I see VDM311U and VDM312U parts on Ebay. Is the later code just a typo, or was there an upgrade to the module offered by Panasonic later on?
     
    sunrk, Nov 30, 2019
    #5
  6. Shawn

    Shawn Crackpot Search Ninja and Options Whore

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    312u is upgraded version.
     
    Shawn, Dec 1, 2019
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