Quoting bbbbbb:

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Quoting T!M:

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If a disc plays in Region 2, you check Region 2, of course. But if a disc plays in every region you check nothing?

You're missing a small, but important detail here: we check Region 2 if the disc only plays in Region 2. Just like we check Regions 2 and 4 if the disc only plays in Regions 2 and 4.

Just like we check Regions 2, 4 and 5 if the disc "only" plays in Regions 2, 4 and 5?

Indeed. It seems you're starting to get it... 

Quoting Taro:

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Region A locked : disc has region information encoded, namely A
Region A, B locked : disc has region information encoded, namely A and B
Region ABC : disc has no region information encoded on it

So in those cases, Ken would be correct to autoconvert ABC to 'no region coding' as it is not an inclusion of all region codes but rather the absence of any region coding.

Indeed, and that's precisely why the program deals with this matter that way.

Quoting Taro:

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However, I completely agree that the filter should work correctly:
e.g. if you filter with region 'A' checked only, it should show discs encoded as:
- A
- AB
- AC
- no region coding
as all these discs will play in a region A player. If 'no region coding' is omitted, then that is indeed an issue that really needs to be addressed.

I can't speak for Blu rays - but DVDs omit the no region coding when searching for R2s. Which is why I have to manually change every single DVD profile so that those with no region coding have all regions selected instead. 

AnyDVD HD can usually tell if the disc is region free or locked, but it can't always determine the region automatically because of the way it is protected by the application layer. But it can always be tested manually. And of course with a modified hardware player such as a multi-region Oppo it is an easy task.

Quoting Taro:

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I can only speak for the handful of Blu-rays that I've analysed with various tools on my PC

Could you name some of these various PC tools that ascertain the B-rD Region playability, please?

Sure! Here's a handful of tools I use to check various things like region, layers, audio codecs, etc:
BD Info Tool
AnyDVDHD

BDInfo doesn't analyze or display any Region information.

Where does AnyDVD HD display the Region information of a B-rD?

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There was another one I used a lot in the past but I can't find the link right now and I've removed the software    I'll have to look it up

Just in case you meant DVDFab, it's not capable to display the Region code either, like AnyDVD it removes the Region coding respectively lead the player software to believe to be multi Region. AnyDVD even has an option to ask the user (!) for the Region code of the inserted disc.

I personally always thought Ken went the wrong way with this as well... he definitely went the opposite way I would have done it. My line of thinking is the same as...

Quoting bbbbbb:

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I'm not completely sure: if a B-rD plays in Region A, we check Region A. If the disc plays in Region B, too, we also check Region B. If the disc also plays in Region C, we uncheck Region A and B again?

And not only that plus it gives us the added bonus of being able to tell the difference between a title that is all regions and a field that just never was done. I don't know how many times I looked at a title thinking maybe it is something that was never done only to discover it is all regions and needs to be blank. And then months later see the same title and pull out the disc again to check all over again... just because you couldn't tell it was done in the first place.

Flag nothing... though I personally believe it should be the opposite for reasons I mentioned above.

Quoting VirusPil:

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Perhaps I don't get the whole discussion, so I have a simple question:
For a DVD a software tool shows me
Media is locked to region(s): 1 2 3 4 5 6!
What must I enter in DVDP? Flagging 1+2+3+4+5+6 or flagging nothing?

Either or. Only for media that play in all Regions Ken has chosen to uncheck the playable Regions, instead of consistently always check the playable Regions.

Quoting VirusPil:

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Thanks for the answers, now I think I got it. 

It can be very confusing.  DVD region control and Blu-ray region control are vastly different.

With DVDs, the player queries the media to find out if it is allowed to play it.  Though there have been attempts by Hollygreed to add code to the DVD disc to query the player to see if more than one region is set.  Of course, that resulted on modded players with the ability to change the region code freely via the remote control.

In any event, as pointed out, with DVDs, there is no such thing as region free.  Of the 8 possible bits, only 6 are viable for home use.  For a region to play, it must be set on the disc, therefore, for a disc to play in any of the 6 possible regions, all 6 of the bits must be set (which is actually a 0 level because of the way the bit is detected).  So, for DVDP to use an all clear nomenclature for DVDs is technically incorrect.  But, as long as DVDP does correct searches for individual regions, it is fine.

But, Blu-ray is different when it comes to region code detection.  It is not the player that does the detecting, but a program that is placed on the disc that does the work.  Unlike DVDs, a disc does not have to be region coded (though players must).  As pointed out in an above posting, the odds are that a region free disc will be free of any firmware to actually check the player.  As noted, why bother to put code on the disc that checks the regions, all regions.

So, in this case, with the odds pretty much being 100% that a region free disc really is region free, the setting of DVDP to no region would be correct (unlike for a DVD).  Showing all three region codes enforces the idea that the disc will play in any region.  It is easier to show all three regions than it is to display no region, or none.

An interesting, if out-of-date piece of data, is that out of 766 discs (as of Sept 2008 @ blurayregioncodes.com), only 30% had region codes.  The breakdown was Fox (95%), Disney (including Miramax and Buena Vista, 56%), MGM (77%), Sony (which controls MGM, 24%), Paramount, Universal and WB (133 titles, 0%).  New Line from WB, a handful.