Bootlegged (Illicit) Media

Outlets selling bootlegged (illicit) CD's, CD ROM's and DVD's are on the increase.

These outlets once confined to courtyards and market stalls have expanded their operations with bright new shops and well organised street kiosks in prime locations.

Although completely illegal throughout the majority of the world, Russia's slack copyright protection allows such things to freely exist. While in no way promoting the practice, the merchandise is known to be high in quality and demand.

DVD's (Digital Video Discs)
Some DVD's purchased in Russia may not necessarily play on machines in the US or Europe, this is because the media can be regionally encoded.

The regions are numbered and usually found on the back cover of a DVD case.

Region	Areas
0	All regions
1	USA, Canada
2	Europe, Middle East, Japan, South Africa
3	South Korea, Taiwan, HK, ASEAN
4	Australia, NZ, Latin America
5	Ex-Soviets, Indian sub-continent
6	China
7	Reserved
8	International territory (airplanes, cruise ships, etc...)

The DVD disc cannot be changed to suit the player, but vice-versa? Depending upon the manufacture of the player it can be done. How legal/illegal this procedure is, is unclear, but there are numerous Internet sites explaining how to do it.

Tip:Even though a DVD cover may indicate a particular language it may not necessarily be true – ask for it to be played.

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