[linux-audio-user] region coding sucks, but Linux rocks !

Greetings: While we were in Italy last week Ivy (a.k.a. my Better Half) purchased two DVDs and a VHS video. I knew that I took a chance on the discs, they're both region-encoded so I figured they wouldn't play in Ivy's standalone DVD player. Sure enough, the player refused to recognize the discs. However, I _am_ able to play them on my Linux box, so now even Ivy agrees that Linux rules. Now I have some questions: Is there some way to change a hardware DVD player to accept another region coding or is it necessary to buy a standalone player keyed to the disc's region code ? How does it happen that my Linux players recognize these discs with no trouble ? Would a Windows or Mac player do as well ? The VHS tape is still a problem. Our player doesn't seem to like it, no picture appears but we can hear the audio moving along at something like twice normal speed. Can anyone tell me what's up with that and if there's some way to fix it ? TIA ! Best regards, == dp