I understand why they do it too - but in the end it's totally useless practice to have seperate zones for DVD's. Basically they want one to have for example the new Spider-Man on DVD before it comes out in Europe or Asia. But a hardcore fan will now have a DVD machine that will play all zones. Which I guess is illegal to buy through a chain or retail shop. But it is frustrating, for instance I am a fan of Godard's work - and lot of stuff is coming out in Japan on DVD. I guess if I wanted to go through the bother I can locate and buy a zone free DVD machine, but I am not really a hardware type of person. I think books, goods, etc. should be borderless. -- Tosh Berman TamTam Books http://www.tamtambooks.com