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We would like to give a special thank you to Jim Taylor. Many of these FAQ's are reprinted with permission from Jim Taylor's DVD Demystified Web site http://dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html

The Universal Studios Home Entertainment website is available at http:universalstudioshomeentertainment.com.

Please visit the Universal Studios Home Entertainment website for a list of currently available and upcoming Universal titles. The web address is: http:universalstudioshomeentertainment.com.

Visit the website at http://nbcuniversalstore.com or call 1-800-329-0892 (every day of the week, 4am to 10pm Pacific time.) You can also check the Online Store FAQ page at http://www.nbcuniversalstore.com/info.php?f=faq

Since DVDs are read by a laser, they are somewhat resistant to fingerprints, dust, smudges, and scratches. However, surface contaminants and scratches can cause data errors. So it's a good idea to take care of your discs. In general, treat them the same way as you would a CD.

The black bars are part of the letterbox process, and in many cases you can't get rid of them. If you set the display option in your player to pan & scan (sometimes called fullscreen or 4:3) instead of letterbox, it won't do you much good since no DVD movies have been released with this feature enabled. If you set the player to 16:9 Widescreen output it will make the bars smaller, but you will get a tall, stretched picture unless you have a Widescreen TV.

There are a few ways to get to the fullscreen version (usually only one works, so you may have to try both):

DVD was designed to make movies look as good as possible on TV. Since most movies are wider than most TVs, letterboxing preserves the format of the theatrical presentation. DVD is ready for TVs of the future, which are Widescreen. For these and other reasons, many movies on DVD are only available in Widescreen.

You are watching an anamorphic picture intended for display only on a Widescreen TV. You need to go into the player's setup menu and tell it you have a standard 4:3 TV, not a Widescreen 16:9 TV. It will then automatically letterbox the picture so you can see the full width at the proper proportions.

In some cases you can change the aspect ratio as the disc is playing (by pressing the "aspect" button on the remote control). On most players you have to stop the disc before you can change aspect.

Some movies, especially those over two hours long or encoded at a high data rate, are spread across two layers on one side of the disc. When the player changes to the second layer, the video and audio may freeze for a moment. The length of the pause depends on the player and on the layout of the disc. The pause is not a defect in the player or the disc.

If you have damaged a DVD and would like to replace it, please click here: Universal Studios Home Entertainment Consumer Damaged DVD Replacement Program.

Most DVD players allow you to lock out discs above a certain rating. The rating level is protected by a password so that children can't change it. If you don't know the password you won't be able to play some discs. You might be able to clear the password by resetting the player (see the user manual) or unplugging it for a few days. Otherwise, you'll have to call the Customer Service number of the manufacturer and see if they can help you.

Each player is given a code for the region in which it's sold. The player will refuse to play discs that are not allowed in that region. This means that discs bought in one country may not play on players bought in another country.

Regional coding is not an encryption system, it's just one byte of information on the disc that the player checks. Region codes are a permanent part of the disc, they won't "unlock" after a period of time.

There are 8 regions (also called "locales"). Players and discs are identified by the region number superimposed on a world globe. If a disc plays in more than one region it will have more than one number on the globe.

Technically, there is no such thing as a region 0 disc or a region 0 player. There are, however, all-region discs. There are also all-region players. That is, some players can be modified to play discs regardless of the regional codes on the disc. The main reasons for regional coding are to prevent the theatrical release of a title in one region being jeopardized by imports of DVDs from other regions, and to protect the interests of foreign distributors.

One way to determine if a copy is legitimate is to check the Universal catalog listing here, http://www.universalstudioshomeentertainment.com/home_ent_content.html.

If a recent Universal film is not listed, it probably has not been released on DVD in the U.S. or in Canada. If a "complete" television series is offered and our website lists only a few seasons of the series, the "complete" series could an illegal copy.

All authentic Universal releases include bar codes on the back of the package and selection numbers at the base of the package spine. Bootleg packages often do not include these items.

Another indicator of illegal copies is poor quality printing and misspellings on the packaging or the DVD itself.

Finally, if you're not sure, please ask us. Contact Us and we will research and get back to you as quickly as possible.

If you have information about bootleg copies of our movies or TV series, please click here to Contact Us.