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Hitchhiker's Guide DVD to be released on January 28

Posted by chrisd on Sun Jan 20, 2002 03:04 AM
from the fakey-looking-second-head dept.
Media Movies
hitchhacker writes "It looks like The BBC series version of 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' is being released on DVD January 28, 2002. 'disc set contains all six episodes from the classic BBC sci-fi comedy as well 10 minutes of additional footage which was cut to acheive the 30 minute run time. Also included are a few additional features - making of, deleted scenes, interviews and more.'" CD: Word has it that this is a region 2 dvd.
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  • Region 2? (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    What's that? [elby.org]
    • Again I ask this: why are they region protecting DVDs of things that haven't been in any international theaters for a loooong time anyway? The MPAA is demonstrating quite clearly here that their argument for region protection (skew releases so a particular region can't have it on DVD when it is still showing in the theaters) is a lie, and that their real reason for having region coding is different.

      • Re:Region 2? (Score:4, Informative)

        by Amanset (18568) on Sunday January 20 2002, @05:27AM (#2871703) Homepage
        Then check out DVD Region X for the PS2. Older versions came with a special memory card, newer versions just take up space on a standard memory card. You boot from a special disc, then it prompts you to choose your region. You select it, the disc tray opens, you replace the disc, push in the tray and then select the DVD in the browser.

        It is simple and it works. I use it all the time to view R1 DVDs with my R2 PS2. Your TV has to be capable of outputting the PAL source though, which is one area where Europe has an advantage. Our TVs these days are almost always PAL/NTSC compatible, whereas US TVs rarely have PAL compatibility.

        You have to get an NTSC version of DVD Region X. I know it exists, but I don't know where you buy it. The PAL version is widely available and is made by Datel Electronics.

        Finally, you can plug in codes from the website [dvdregionx.com], if you update your PS2 DVD driver version.
  • affect the average /. reader? All of our dvd players ignore region codes ;P

    • Re:And how do regions... (Score:5, Funny)

      by SkulkCU (137480) on Sunday January 20 2002, @03:32AM (#2871543) Homepage Journal

      Well, if you can't even view it outside of a single DVD region, it's not much of a guide to the galaxy, now is it?

      • Re:And how do regions... (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward
        Not all players automatically output PAL on zone 2 DVDs. My Pioneer does, however, my other player (an Apex) autoconverts to NTSC output. YMMV.

        Regardless, there's nothing to keep you from using css-cat to rip the DVDs then convert them to NTSC SVCDs with TMPGEnc. If it was originally shot on film and not video, you can convert to NTSCFilm and use Goldwave to do the 25/23.976 length conversion on the audio like with the Buffy DVDs.
      • Not always true; Japan is also region 2 but NTSC.
  • I remeber seeing this on video ages ago. My favorite were the Vogons- proof that men in rubber suits look like men in rubber suits even when they're shouting "Resistance is Useless." IMHO one of the world's greatest B movies ever made... Combined with *an interview with Douglas Adams* and whatnot, it'll be worth every penny of the ~US$40... I just hope ThinkGeek manages to import it, or I can find it on eBay... :D

    And it's too bad they're doing reigon crap for this. Don't they know that H2G2 is an international phenomenon with millions of fans? Or are they going to release a special 'americanized' version? >:(
    • The disc, like most BBC DVDs, will probably be dual region 2 and 4; so the Australians will be able to see it.

      Different companies have different rights areas; the BBC will want to release a R1 version for NTSCers out there, but it's not such a high priority for a company which is resoundingly Region 2. Also, BBC discs are released by Fox in the States, who won't want their area treaded upon. Complain to them.

      Maybe also the rights to HHGTTG are owned by someone else; "Monty Python's Flying Circus" and "The Avengers" are owned by A&E, for example.

      Now you get all the problems we have every time something cool is released in the States that we can't get; e.g. "Almost Famous" bootleg cut, Monty Python series box sets, Criterion "Life of Brian" and so on. That's why a lot of British people (including me, and most of uk.media.dvd) have their players modded. You should too, even if it's just a DVD-ROM drive [club-internet.fr] and DVD player software [inmatrix.com] (or a H+ hardware card [hplus.hu].) Enjoy a whole new world!

  • Remember the movie? (Score:5, Funny)

    by YouAreFatMan (470882) on Sunday January 20 2002, @03:13AM (#2871521) Homepage
    I remember, the first 10 minutes were the worst. The next 10 minutes, they were the worst. The next 10 minutes after that were even more horrible. After that, it went into a bit of a decline...

  • HGTTG Saved My Life (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Agamous Child (538344) on Sunday January 20 2002, @03:14AM (#2871525) Homepage Journal
    I was a 5th Grader who had read a few things, you know read some books on cool stuff, had a z80 computer, the basic programming guide for the rest of us, etc. but I had little interest in school, I was a beach-bum loser. This friend of my Mom, he hands me this dog-earred paper-back book with a black cover and a little green sphere man sticking his tongue out at me... the guy, Dennis, tells me "Hey read this, you WILL like it." I was like, "sure, whatever".. I read the first few pages, and I couldn't stop reading.. I can honestly say I have about 4 copies of almost every other DA book, mostly first edition hardcovers. Big deal, everyone does? The thing was, this guy who gave me the book, pretty much the same day said to me that I should go to school more often, and I should really (in his words) "do something with your life." Maybe it was the book, maybe it was DA, maybe it was nothing, but certainly, it tied together and I started to go to school... I saw all of the HGTTG episodes on local PBS here in the states, and they are hilarious... I highly suggest them. They gave me a great cast to play out the rest of the books in my head with.. uh.. anyway.. I like them.. ALOT.

  • Region 2 DVD??? (Score:3, Funny)

    by tswinzig (210999) on Sunday January 20 2002, @03:27AM (#2871535) Journal
    Beg pardon? Surely you mean region 42?

    (No, and don't call me Shirley.)

  • extras (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Transient0 (175617) on Sunday January 20 2002, @03:27AM (#2871536) Homepage
    the list of extras is impressive, but it would have been really nice to see:

    1. text of the original novels.
    2. audio if the original radio show.

    The mini-series was alright, entertaining at least. The radio show on the other hand was brilliant.
    • audio if the original radio show.

      Indeed! I had the original radio shows on tape for a long time (taped from the radio), but the tapes have slowly been either chewed by tape decks or lost. The radio show had a significantly different plot in places... I prefer it.

    • Re:extras (Score:4, Interesting)

      by ewhac (5844) on Sunday January 20 2002, @08:08AM (#2871817) Homepage Journal

      ...it would have been really nice to see:
      1. text of the original novels.

      There is no "authoratative" version of the story. Douglas Adams kept making small changes to it every time it was published in a new medium. Even different BBC radio broadcasts were slightly different. I remember reading somewhere that he did this deliberately just to mess with the fans' heads, but I can't locate the reference. I daresay he would have insisted the DVD go out with yet another minor tweak to the story line.

      Here's a quote from the Introduction to The Original Hitchhiker Radio Scripts:

      "The people who heard the show on BBC World Service will have heard a slightly different version from the original BBC Radio 4 transmission. Those people who heard the BBC transcription service disc will have heard another version, and those who heard the commercial records will have heard another version again. Those people who saw the television show will have seen another different version, and those people who have read the books will have come across yet another different version."

      -- Geoffrey Perkins

      Schwab

  • why on earth? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by neurojab (15737) on Sunday January 20 2002, @03:27AM (#2871537)
    Why would the the BBC region encode a circa 1990(?) miniseries? The purpose of region encoding is to ensure that a movie leaving US markets can be "staged" into foriegn markets, forcing DVD sales to be after film sales to avoid home viewing cutting into theater reciepts. Region encoding old TV material serves no purpose other than to simultaneously reduce sales and annoy customers. Why would the BBC want to stop sales of this DVD to the US? The math is simple...more sales means more money when there are no greater revenue streams to cut into. If the people at the BBC are half as smart as their accents make them seem, this DVD will be region-free ;)

    • Re:why on earth? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by forged (206127) <soltesz@ g m a i l . c om> on Sunday January 20 2002, @04:11AM (#2871612) Homepage Journal

      The purpose of region encoding is to ensure that a movie leaving US markets can be "staged" into foriegn markets

      You're forgetting that other countries produce film material, too. The region coding in this case is to ensure EU marget gets served first before anyone else can get it.

      Region encoding [...] serves no purpose other than to simultaneously reduce sales and annoy customers.

      I couldn't agree more with this statement.
      Now imagine that this would be the case for you almost every time a movie comes out on DVD. Annoying, eh?

      Why would the BBC want to stop sales of this DVD to the US? The math is simple...more sales means more money ...

      Your point is also valid viewed in the other perspective. Why would the US firms possibly want EU and other zones to wait sometimes 6 months or 1 year, to get the material on DVD ? See all the points above.. Makes no sense to me.

      • The region coding in this case is to ensure EU marget gets served first before anyone else can get it.

        Granted, the original post was somewhat American-centric. However, I think his point still holds. This is not a film being released first to theatres and then to DVD/VHS, it is an old series finally making it to DVD. The "staging" he mentioned was referring to selling all the theatre tickets you can first, THEN selling all the rentals/DVDs/etc. The regions allow them to do this in all the various markets (even though the film isn't released to the theatres at the same time in various markets).

        Now imagine that this would be the case for you almost every time a movie comes out on DVD. Annoying, eh?

        Well, I agree that it's annoying, but as much as I hate to admit it I can sort of see the logic for Region encoding for films . I still don't like it, but I see the logic. Again, we weren't talking about movies here though -- just an old TV series. You had a point mentioning that the same holds true in when other countries are forced to wait when a US region DVD comes out -- but in most cases those are for films. The logic of region-encoding an old TV series simply escapes me -- no matter what region it's from.

        Ah well, I still say ... 42.

        • The whole "why region TV shows" issue is something that confuses me too. Recently I bought 2 BBC DVD box sets, Fawlty Towers, and The Blue Planet (a documentary series about the sea)

          Now Blue Planet is region 0 (i.e. will play on any player), but Fawlty Towers is region 2.

          The only possible answer I could think of was that Blue Planet was a joint BBC / Discovery Channel production, and the Discovery Channel wanted to sell it outside Europe

        • Re:why on earth? (Score:5, Insightful)

          by Zeinfeld (263942) on Sunday January 20 2002, @11:42AM (#2872231) Homepage
          Well, I agree that it's annoying, but as much as I hate to admit it I can sort of see the logic for Region encoding for films . I still don't like it, but I see the logic.

          The purpose of region encoding, from start to finish was to support differential pricing. The story about movie releases is a smokescreen. If the industry execs. stated that the purpose of zone encoding was to allow them to maintain DVD prices in Europe that were double those in the US they would end up in jail.

          In fact they may still end up with a huge fine. The EU commission is investigating the DVD zone encoding scam and unlike the US regulators they are not easily bought off with Enron sized campaign contributions.

            • The DVD consortium is backed by deep pockets in Hollywood, so it's unlikely that a one-time fine will convince them... and a tax on regioned DVDs

              The EU commission can fine a company up to approximately a years revenues from the products whose price was manipulated. So for the DVD scam the fine would be in the billions or tens of billions.

              The EU commission has imposed fines of that scale in the past - they fined IBM 1 billion for anti-trust practices back in the 80s. There would be no way the studios could avoid paying since their assets in Europe (including copyrights) could be siezed to pay the fine.

              The EU can also prohibit the sale of region locked DVD players, mandating all players sold in the EU to be multi-zone (with the exception of those for public audiences). This has already happened in New Zealand.

              Ultimately the studios are in a weak position. They have a US corporate, Enronesque view of regulation.

    • Perhaps making it viewable in non-domestic regions could be construed as making it available to non-domestic markets, making the BBC liable for additional licensing fees, royalties to actors, or what have you. Or perhaps locking out other regions gives the BBC the option of licensing it through another distributor for overseas markets.
      • AFAIK, there is a region 1 version of Blackadder, and it's better than the region 2 version... Has more extras. One or two out of the series episodes and some historical stuff about the UK concerning the eras in which the four seasons of Blackadder are set... Stuff they didn't feel were necessary for the European release because they assume that the whole of Europe knows Brittish history, or so it seems...
  • Gosh, I guess that means I just won't be able to play it here in the US, with my US-bought DVD-ROM drive, huh?

    • Re:Region two? (Score:5, Funny)

      by tunah (530328) <sam AT krayup DOT com> on Sunday January 20 2002, @03:38AM (#2871555) Homepage
      Yeah, finally the region coding is effective. They've managed to stop you buying a copy to play at home (they frown on 'fair use'), and forced you to download a DVD rip from kazaa.

    • Heh. For once you guys in the US are suffering the consequences of this stupid region coding which was forced into the DVD standard. Now see how it feels to be on the other side of the atlantic for a change.

      It's so often us (outside the US) which suffer from region coding, since virtually everything comes on region 1 before other regions, when at all.

      rotfl :->

      • Was I really that droll? My post was intended to be funny. I can watch (and copy) DVDs from any region, with or without CSS. I can strip macrovision, compress to MPEG4, and archive any video DVD I've come across. I can do all this on commodity hardware I assembled myself, under a free OS, using free software in a lonely shack in North Dakota powered with solar panels I bought as government surplus with cash in Missouri.*

        * That too, was an attempt at humor. Please laugh, or at least chuckle or grin.
    • Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but there are two types of players that could solve the region problem (I'm not talking about DivX, or ripping or whatever, I don't know anything about that).

      First, you can get a "codeless" DVD player. These things ignore the region coding. They're a little expensive , though. But (!), the movie industry doesn't like these things, so they started releasing DVD's with a slightly modified region 1 code. Some of these DVD's will not play on a codeless player!

      I'm not endorsing any vendors, but doing a search on Google with "codeless DVD" gives several links to places where you can buy these players. Usually they sell solutions for the PAL/NTSC (often built into the codeless players) and 110V/220V issue too.

      Second, you can get a "multi-region" player. It just recognizes the region code, and adjusts itself as needed. A friend of mine has one of these. I think they can play any region DVD. Alas, they are also substantially more expensive than regular players.

      A Google search for "multi-region DVD" also results in several links, however, the companies selling these seem to be mainly in the UK or Australia.
  • liked the radio broadcasts (kazaa rules!) and turned the BBC crap off after about 1 and 1/2 hours. That drek is unwatchable. This coming from someone who likes Red Dwarf! The special effects are worse than cheesy, the acting wasn't, the costumes were rotten and they seemed to change stuff simply for the sake of changing it. All in all, to say I was dissapointed would be an understatement... Save your money and spend it on that new Holy Grail dvd....
  • For some reason, it just seems bizarre that BBC would region-code something. I thought they were legit.

  • Region codes cut both ways... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by JScarpace (463675) on Sunday January 20 2002, @03:53AM (#2871574) Homepage
    The Hitchhiker's DVD may only be region 2 for now, but on the other side of the coin, the March release of the Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1 box set will be region 1 (U.S.) only.

    How about a trade? We get the BBC to release the six episodes of HHG in region 1 over here, and we'll give them 26 episodes of ST:TNG for region 2 in return. I think we'd come out better on the deal, but hopefully the Brits will be too busy watching the ST:TNG episodes to notice. :-)

  • BBC DVD region coding (Score:5, Informative)

    by e6003 (552415) on Sunday January 20 2002, @05:00AM (#2871671) Homepage
    BBC DVD releases are usually regions 2 and 4. The reason for this (more specifically, no region 1) is because BBC Worldwide handles the marketing of BBC video releases in the UK and Australia/NZ. However for the US it sub-licences the rights and BBC video releases are issued by Warner, who decide their own release schedule. It's because of this contract that the discs employ region coding to "prevent" them being played in the US. Although you can import the release and use a region-free player, remember you will need a PAL (or dual-standard) TV set and these are AFAIK less common in the US than they are in Europe! This applies even if using a computer DVD drive to play the disc, unless you just want to view it on your monitor.

    • Re:BBC DVD region coding (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Most modern European TV's can handle both PAL-50Hz, PAL-60Hz and NTSC pretty easily. I get quite a bit of Region 1 anime imported from the US and they all play great on my chipped Pioneer DV444K.

      As far as I'm aware, if your dvd player can output in plain RGB and your TV can support 60Hz RGB input, then you should be able to watch any format video on it.

      I realise thats a bit of a problem in the US where most TV's have only [video + L audio + R audio] inputs. If only you all had the all encompassing SCART connector on all your TV's!!!

      "If you're not scared, then you're not going fast enough"
      -
      http://www.btinternet.com/~megatron

      • The computers I've seen that have a video-out(Composite or S-Video) usually allow for the output to TV to be set to either NTSC or PAL.

        Yes, but they also allow apps (such as DVD player) to override such a setting. Otherwise, the drivers probably won't get Microsoft's signature. I haven't read anything important about this exact issue, but if MS Secure Audio Path [pineight.com] is any indication of the direction Microsoft is heading for the operating system that will come with your next PC...

        Besides, the telecine method is different. With a 50Hz video technology like PAL, they just speed the 24Hz film up 4% and draw each film frame into two video fields. In 60Hz formats such as NTSC or PAL-M, they draw each frame for three fields, then two, then three, then two... I doubt that most DVD players can convert NTSC telecine to PAL telecine or vice versa, so they just output the format that most closely matches the encoded frame-rate.

  • Go get the Mega-Adams.tar (Score:4, Informative)

    by thrysoee (530539) on Sunday January 20 2002, @05:34AM (#2871709)
    I made the obvious Google [google.com] and found this treat:
    The Douglas Adams media archive is presented here by the wi2600.org groups for your enjoyment. This allso is to serve as a tribute to Mr. Adams's great, but suddely shortened carrer. Those who have not heard his voice, and those who know it well, will both enjoy having this material available. We will miss him! For convienience, you may download the "Mega-Adams.tar" which is a simple tarball of the entire Adams collection.
    Go get your copy of the Mega-Adams.tar [wi2600.org], enjoy!

  • Babelfish Technology (Score:3, Funny)

    by Nathdot (465087) on Sunday January 20 2002, @07:13AM (#2871767)
    Thanks to new Babelfish technology there will be no multi-language versions of the HHGTTG DVD.

    Just insert the DVD and let the fish do the rest.

    :)
  • ... it's terrible. Even allowing for the early 80's BBC sci-fi show "look", ie; shot on betacam under lighting that looks like it was lifted from a bus station.

    The sum total of Ed Bye's "direction" seems to have been to just stick the camera in the middle of the set and make the actors run through long scenes in one (often awkward and badly timed) take. It's like watching a stageplay that hasn't been rehearsed, only a stageplay wouldn't have been lit with 40,000 flourescent tubes. Even worse is that they changed Trillian from a no-nonsense scientist type into a squeaking brainless gangster-moll. I'm not sure who was behind that decision but her performence alone is bad enough to make you want to shove a fork in your eye. There's a few points that are kinda ok, like the sequence on the Vogon ship, but overall it's a mess.

    I grew up with and love the radio series and the books. I really want to see this as a show/movie done right, and I only hope that DA's death won't derail the plans for the movie.

  • Off-Topic: The Whale (Score:5, Funny)

    by ewhac (5844) on Sunday January 20 2002, @08:27AM (#2871825) Homepage Journal

    This is easily one of my most favorite of Adams' explanations on where he got an idea. This is a quote from The Original Hitchhiker Radio Scripts:

    "Ah yes, the whale. Well, this came about as a result of watching an episode of a dangerously insane TV detective show called
    Cannon [imdb.com] in which people got shot the whole time for incredibly little reason. They would just happen to be walking across the street, and they would simply get killed, regardless of what their own plans for the rest of the day might have been.

    "I began to find the sheer arbitrariness of this rather upsetting, not just because characters were getting killed, but because nobody ever seemed to care about it one way or another. Anybody who might have cared about any of these people -- family, friends, even the postman -- was kept firmly offstage. There was never any, 'Good night sweet Prince,' or, 'She should have died hereafter,' or even, 'Look you bastard, I was meant to be playing squash with this guy tonight,' just bang, clear them out of the way, on to the next. They were merely, excuse me, Cannonfodder.

    "I thought I'd have a go at this. I'd write in a character whose sole function was to be killed for the sake of a small detail in the plot, and then damn well make the audience care about it, even if none of the other characters in the story did. I suppose I must have succeeded because I received quite a number of letters saying how cruel and callous this section was -- letters I certainly would not have received if I had simply mentioned the whale's fate incidentally and passed on. I probably wouldn't have received them if it had been a human either."
    -- Douglas N. Adams

    Schwab

  • Patience, Region 1'ers, Patience (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Masem (1171) on Sunday January 20 2002, @09:51AM (#2871932)
    Using "The Prisoner" and "Dr. Who" as previous examples of BBC releases, we'll probably see a Region 1 DVD in about 6 months. Both of the forementioned series (in the case of DW, various installments) were out in the UK and other Region 2 before Region 1, typically between 4 to 8 months.

    Given that we also have MP, Blackadder, and Faulty Towers now out on R1 DVD sets, I very much doubt BBC is *stupid* enough to not put out a HHGTTG R1 DVD.

  • It's only fair (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Paul Boven (211567) on Sunday January 20 2002, @12:27PM (#2872396)
    After all, it's the Americans and especially their movie-industry that came up with this insane region-system. And the main reason they got away with it is that their domestic audience would get the releases first anyway. So I think it's only fair that some Americans get to experience what it is like to be on the 'wrong' side of the region system, and I hope it happens more often. Who knows, they might even learn something from it. I mean, you can only get shafted by the big corporations so often in return for brown-nosing them, somebody is going to get the hint, right?

    I'm not trolling, I'm just bitter.

  • This is terrible!!! (Score:3, Funny)

    by toupsie (88295) on Sunday January 20 2002, @12:48PM (#2872514) Homepage
    Holy Zarqoun's Knees! You mean I won't be able to use this on my Region 1 DVD player? Belgium!

  • I've seen this. (Score:3, Informative)

    by JimPooley (150814) on Sunday January 20 2002, @02:19PM (#2872895) Homepage
    It's a two DVD set, where DVD 1 contains the six episodes of the TV series in their longest cut available, coming to 3hrs and 20 mins. The DVD includes "Production Notes" which come up like subitles and are snippets of information about the scene you're watching.
    The second DVD is stuffed to the gills with extras, some of which have never been seen before.
    It's a tremendous package and an essential purchase for all Hitch-Hiker fans.
      • DVDs don't need PAL to NTSC convertors. The whole point is that they don't conform to any type of picture standard other than aspect ratio. It's the job of the DVD player to render the picture in PAL, NTSC, SECAM, SVGA or whatever standard you care to mention. The aspect ratio obviously depends on the physical screen, but can be corrected by adding black bars at the top or sides of the picture or by stretching if the view prefers.

        This is why there is so much dicussion about the region coding - because there is no reason why any DVD cannot be played anywhere in the world, the 'region coding' has been added because the film industry has got very used to controlling when and where a product can be distributed by choosing what picture standard to release it in. By delaying PAL releases they have been able to release films later in UK cinemas without the cinema release clashing with tape sales and therefore decreases losses if the film is a flop.

        I would guess that the BBC have decided to delay marketing this new DVD in the US, and so are pragmatically taking advantage of the region coding to see how it does over here first.

        The only time a PAL/NTSC convertor might be useful is if a foreign DVD player were imported in order to play DVDs from another region, which at 100 dollars/pounds, it's quite a viable thing to do. Of course, here in the UK many off-the-shelf players will play any region.....

        • Re:Regarding the PAL vs. NTSC (Score:4, Informative)

          by Markus Landgren (50350) on Sunday January 20 2002, @05:24AM (#2871694) Homepage
          DVDs don't need PAL to NTSC convertors. The whole point is that they don't conform to any type of picture standard other than aspect ratio.

          ...and of course frame rate. Even though the signal on the DVD is neither in NTSC nor PAL formats, the DVDs are made for either NTSC or PAL. The fact that the frame rate is the only thing that really separates the two types makes it an even bigger scandal that some players can't output both NTSC and PAL from any type of disc.
    • For the software side of things, I use DVD Genie [inmatrix.com], which works with a number of different players, including WinDVD.

      However, you also need to have a DVD-ROM drive that is region-agnostic. You can check this with DVD Genie, one of the tabs in the program allows for this. If the drive is RPC-1(Region Protection Control, I think), your drive doesn't care what region encoding the disc has, and all you need is DVD Genie. Most drives are RPC-2, though, meaning that it will allow for a certain number of discs from different regions to be played before it "locks" on the final one, usually the fifth switch. Many can be changed to RPC-1 by installing different firmware(I did this with the drives on both my desktop and my notebook.). The best place I know to find region-free firmware is The Firmware Page [club-internet.fr].

      Good luck to you.
    • >My favorite was the poor, pathetic depressed robot. Some days I take after him just a wee bit too much :)

      According to DNA, Marvin (the Robot) was heavily based on a real person - the script writer Andrew Marshall. "2point4 Children" (UK TV series) is probably his best known work.

      You can see the rest listed at imdb.com [imdb.com]

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