"Player" is either a software or hardware player.
"A BD optical disc drive" is just a drive. If you open a standalone player, you'll see that it has an optical drive, too.
Just a small observation, generally when people whoever, they often use the term "player" in answer, it's sometimes unclear whats meant with "player" (software-player or hardware-player or both together)
(It might be difficult to s.o. new who is newer to this BD-topic to see the correct interpretation from context sometimes.)
Anyway, the drive or the player or the software in the player or the playback software has nothing to do with region locking.
The only thing it does, is if code run from the disc asks for the region of the player, it answer with either 'A', 'B' or 'C'. Every other response would be invalid.
I just reremember from the developers and members that there can be region code on some/many, but not on all Blu-ray-ROM discs, which certain (BD)-playing-software can check for.
If the region code run from the BD-DISC doesn't match to the region-code-(region-setting) registered in the licensed-BD-playing-software, that kind of BD-playing-software refuses to play back the BD-disc.
This matters only to licensed playing software like PowerDVD or in a PS3.
(Un)-licensed playing software like MPlayer and VLC do ignore to execute any region code on the BD-Disc.
I know that AnyDVD can remove the region code with correct setting.
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So afaik ripped BD-ROM ISOs with A/B or C ripped with wrong wrong region code setting in AnyDVD, still play in Unlicensed playing-software like VLC or MPlayer.
Such copies set in AnyDVD with wrong region are just
unplayable in software player like PowerDVD or in a PS3.
Please correct me if that's wrong.
Well tested this with one disc "Avatar"/"Red bird".
My version has region B, for making the test-ISO-copy I chose region A in AnyDVD, the ISO still plays without any issues with unlicensed software like MPlayer/VLC.
But wouldn't recommend to do so. It's just a small hint if original disc gets broken suddenly, but the copy was made with wrong region-setting, it doesn't play in PS3, it still might play in an unlicensed player.
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Anyway, the drive or the player or the software in the player or the playback software has nothing to do with region locking.
So I'd guess what kind of (licensed) playing-software still can play (some small) role with the region code (only "handling"), if it makes use of the region code from the disc to execute
Could you rephrase that question? Where does the "A+B+C region Blu-ray disc" or "region-free Blu-ray disc" come from? To me this is the same thing.
Fo me it's also A+B+C is also like region-free. Afaik it's not completely the same. Thanks for the information with just some small playing difference, like FBI-Logo.
Earlier I presumed both were compeletly the same.
I'm not sure if there are circumstances that can take into bad effect if you rip a A+B+C-Disc or a region-free-BD-disc with A- or B- or C- setting in AnyDVD (see question at the bottom).
At least when I rip a BD-disc which has A+B+C Logo marking on cover, I alyway choose region-free in AnyDVD ask-back-window (setting in AnyDVD, to always ask for the region of the (BD)-disc)
Same doing with BDs without any region code (neither any A/B/C nor any A+B+C-marking on the box/label existing).
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Sry and I must say that's all how I know it, I'm not that clever person, and I need to think harder to understand that region code stuff more in detail.
All that new stuff from the posts to me complicate to remember anything
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What happens if you copy an A+B+C -BD-disc to ISO with region A-setting in AnyDVD, instead of "region-free-setting"?
Is the resulting ISO also playable with licensed playing-software?
I'd guess it gets either unplayable in licensed player or playable here, only if the software is set to region A.
Please correct me if I'm wrong. Region (A+B+C) discs do also contain Java region checking code like BD-discs with only one region, correct?
It's just it accepts all region settings in the player software?
There are also other kind of region free Blu-ray which don't contain any region check code, correct?
If yes, so there might be differet behavior between both sorts of when not making "region free setting in AnyDVD.
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Just curious, don't want to buy a Blu-ray standalone player nor install PowerDVD.