Vaio Z - DVD drive region free

Hi guys,

I've managed to unlock my dvd drive mata UJ-862AS to become region free (RPC-1)



Supported drives:
The tools work with Mata UJ-84x, UJ-85x, UJ-86x, UJ-87x, UJ-88x, UJ-89x drives.
Mata BD drives and the old UJ-81x, UJ-82x, UJ-83x drives are not supported yet.

According to Ala42 (Firmware Patcher),
1. The firmware dump tool reads the firmware from your DVD drive
2. It then generates 1 original and 1 RPC-1 patched firmware file
3. The flash tool allow you to flash these files to your DVD drive
4. As it uses the firmware from your DVD drive, there is no compatibility issues.

Take note that in order to playback a DVD from any region, 2 conditions need to be satisfied.
1. Hardware to be region free - RPC-1
2. software - e.g. anyDVD

Disclaimers: I am NOT liable if You managed to BRICK your dvd-drive for whatsoever reason, howsoever caused!!

http://forum.rpc1.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=46246

 

Is this legal?

I did it, nonetheless.
Works on FWs too

 

I have an IDE\CdRomMATA_DVD-RAM_UJ862AS________________1.06____


Is this the same

 

well, according to the supported drives,

The tools work with Mata UJ-84x, UJ-85x, UJ-86x, UJ-87x, UJ-88x, UJ-89x drives.

Since yours is a UJ862AS, it falls under the category.

But as per usual, flash at your own risk.

 

Looks like quite a neat tool not sure if I am brave enough to try it yet though

 

Well i flashed it and my drive is now region free, but Win7 will not play any bought dvd` region 1 or region 2 , though my own created dvd`s play fine , I supposed it it`s to do with my drive being region free and Win7 not liking it.

I have tried dvdregion killer and it does not appear to work , any suggestion on how to hack Win7 x64 region detection?

 

For DVD to play for region free, 2 conditions need to be satisfied.
1. Hardware to be region free - RPC-1
2. software - e.g. anyDVD

 

I have been looking for a region hack for my dvd-rw without sucess and this works, +REP, thanks.

 

np...

guess everything working for you now huh

 

Ah, the question is it possible to make the Blu-Ray drive region-free too?

 

not at moment

 

This should be legal considering that you see DVD players being sold and advertised as 'region-free' from all the big stores. Seriously, why shouldn't computers be region free too (yeah yeah, this is knowing computers have the ability to copy them, which I don't do).

I'm pretty interested in how the Matashi_a BD drives work with region-locking. Do they have "5x time changes allowed" limitations like DVD drives on computers?

...And rather than using the OPs method, why not just get AnyDVD and use that? One less step of flashing your firmware....

 

The whole DVD region thing was primarily done to protect studio/movie theaters since they would release movie and DVDs on widely different time frame in various countries. To the consumer, it's more of hindrance.

I'm no lawyer but I always thought that as long as you own the DVD, that you've paid for it, you should be able to watch it, no matter what region it comes from.

 

Because AnyDVD doesn't work at all with Matsua drives. All it can do for them is remove the advertisements and trailers.

 

When you pop a DVD into the drive, the hardware will check whether it is of the same region code or not before it will start to play. If it is not, you have 4 more chances of switching region before it is locked permanently.

Software itself e.g. Cyberlink DVD player also comes with region lock. This usually allows you to change for like 5 times or something.

So, some people think, why not just get a region-free program like anyDVD or DVDidle or VLC and bypass both the hardware and software issue?

Unfortunately, it's not that simple. For most other brands of manufacturers (e.g. Lite-on, that is suffice), but for matsh1ta brand, it's not

Matsh1ta DVD drives are RPC-2 drives do not work with region free programs such as VLC because the drive's firmware actively do a region check before raw access is permitted. (Most DVD player software that try to bypass region codes attempt to use raw read access).

Hence you will still end up having to convert the drive to RPC-1 and using a region-free software before it will work

 

Great find and excellent post!
+1 rep and much obliged.

The fact that Sony and partners purport to limit my options after I plunked € 2700 for a laptop is scandalous and tantamount to , I am in no way inclined to tolerate this!

 

Most, if not all of the available laptop dvd drives come with region lock.

it just happen that sony uses matsh1ta drives, which is @#$%^ strong in region lock ability

 

Has anyone cracked the egg of making the blu in the VAIO region free yet?

Also, which model does the Z12 use for DVD drive? Is it still the same?

 

I made my drive region free as can tell by my earlier posts, but i tried to flash it back with the original firmware but the software says it does not match my dvd-rw now i have tried a dozen times even in safe mode.

 

Do you know the forums on AnyDVD are claiming that "AnyDVD" should work on all Blu drives?

 

I use a VirtualCD program to get extra virtual drives. Each of them can be set to a different region.

 

Getting DVDs to play region free is easy on the Z, the definite question lies in region free blu's.

 

DVDfab is the best for backing up dvd or blu-rays, Anydvd just removes the copy protection you still need a copy software.

But if you have an Panasonic/ Mata dvd-rw or blu-ray writer they will not allow you to play other regions as the region is locked in the drive.

You will need to find region free firmware to play/copy other regions.

 

Does all this crazy firmware void the warranty?

 

One of the first things I did as soon as my Z arrived was to try out ANYDVD.

And...IT WORKED!

AnyDVD ran the Region B blu-ray (Martyrs) beautifully.

Amazing!!!

 

Some current estimates suggest 70% of available [movie] Blu-ray Discs from the major studios are region-code-free and can therefore be played on any Blu-ray Disc player, in any region

e.g.
Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios - region free
Sony Pictures and Warner Bros - most titles are region free
Lionsgate and Walt Disney Pictures - mixtures
20th Century Fox and MGM - mostly region locked


have you tried whether you are able to play the disc even w/o that program?

 

I used a REGION B disc. Martyrs is region coded. I have not tried playing it without the program yet though.

 

anyway, i read further up on coding...

it seems that for bluray playing its restricted by s/w only

are you able to run dvd successfully as well?

 

I had a UJ232as blu-ray writer for the VGN-Z (returned to seller for replacement due to issues).

I too have read somewhere that blu-ray region locking is purely software. Though I can't really confirm at the momen (without reinstalling the OS, which sounds like a real pain in the backside).

I have INTERVIDEO WinDVD BD for VAIO, and the very first time you start that app up, it asks you to select a region for the blu-ray (or DVD, your choice). I clicked on CANCEL (thus no region settings on my new drive), and inserted Book of Eli, a region-free blu-ray movie. It wouldn't play. WinDVD told me to choose a region from the TOOLS menu, and stayed that way till I did.

WinDVD, after choosing my region for both DVD and Blu-ray, says I have 4x changes left. I go into DEVICE MANAGER and see the region locks; there the DVD REGION SETTINGS TAB says 4x times left as well (though there is no blu-ray tab). So yeah. Is it really software or hardware for blu-ray drives..?