I’m going to feel extremely old saying this but at least 10 years ago i had a big girl crush on Jessica Simpson. Who am i kidding, yes i follow her on instagram i think she’s great. So back when Jessica Simpson was married to Nick Lachey (from 98degrees just in case you’re scratching your head), they did a reality TV show called Newlyweds. I’m pretty certain that this was when reality TV was just starting out. Of course back then (as far as i’m aware) we didn’t get many of the american shows over here is Oz. So naturally i just had to get my hands on Newlyweds! Thank you Amazon! I remember being so excited when the package arrived, i put it straight into the DVD player …. and then…. it didn’t work …wrong region. Say what??? I was so upset but you know its okay, because i worked out that i could watch it on my computer.
Fast forward to last week and i’m doing my daily FBW (fat burn walk) on our treadmill in the garage. We have the old TV and spare DVD player in there to keep me amused whilst on said treadmill. I usually like to go on YouTube but sometimes our internet can get a bit patchy which gets annoying when you’re trying to learn the correct way to apply mascara. So i go through our DVD collection, which is getting quite old (seriously who buys many DVDs these days) and i see it … my Newlyweds box-set and I know that i have to watch it. So i put it in the DVD player… and then… it didn’t work.. wrong region. Clearly i’m not getting too much smarter in my “old” age. However i have a light bulb moment. I’m going to google this. Okay so realistically at this point i’m just trying to avoid my FBW by focusing on the more important task of getting these American DVDs from 2005 to play.
Google to the rescue. I found a site called lifehacker.com that says:
Electronics manufacturers have to include region coding by law, but many engineers provide hidden unlock codes that enable your DVD player to view DVDs from any region.
Why does region coding exist? When DVDs first appeared in the late 1990s, films that are slated to be summer blockbusters in the United States may end up being a Christmas release in Europe or Asia. When that happens, the DVD release of the film in the US may proceed the theatrical release elsewhere and impact the box office return in that country. Region Codes allow, in theory, for a film distributor to determine the release date, price, and other variables.
So there’s a website (http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks) that has a DVD hack database that allows you to change the region of your DVD player. All you have to do is search the database for your DVD player (info usually found on the back of the machine) and it will give you step by step instructions. I changed our DVD player to region “0” which means it will play DVDs from any country. It was so ridiculously simple to do and i just love when things actually work.
I actually look forward to my FBW now as i get to watch Newlyweds. It’s so interesting to watch because back then they didn’t have smart phones or social media. If Jessica had a random question she couldn’t just google it, they would sit there and discussed it, or called someone to find an answer. I know she cooped a lot of flak from her tuna question but i honestly would’ve questioned it myself. I mean you know that it’s tuna… but the packaging says Chicken!! Or am i the only one?
This Housewife Gig 