HD DVD to carry unwelcome DVD baggage - Region Codes

Perhaps capitulating to studio pressure, the DVD Forum has moved to burden the next-generation HD DVD format with region coding similar to that of its predecessor. Called Region Protection Coding, the new specification will function in much the same way as current DVDs do: restricting players from showing content from discs purchased outside of the player's region. The number of regions and the geographies they each will cover are not yet known.

Blu-ray is also using region encoding, narrowing the seven regions of the current DVD specification down to three. In a somewhat curious move, Blu-ray is combining the Americas and much of Asia into a single region, meaning that US anime fans will be able to easily import and watch the latest and greatest from Japan for viewing on their PlayStation 3 or US$1,000 Blu-ray players.