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• How do I access the Universal Studios Home Entertainment website?
• What titles are currently available on DVD? How can I find out about upcoming titles?
• How do I contact the Universal Studios Online Store about my DVD order?
• How should I clean and care for my DVDs?
• How do I get rid of the black bars at the top and bottom of my television?
• Why does my Widescreen DVD play in full frame and make the picture appear stretched?
• Why does a DVD 'pause' or 'freeze' for a few seconds?
• I don’t know the parental control password for my player. What do I do?
• How can I replace a DVD that I damaged?
• What are "region codes"?
• How do I tell if a DVD is an illegal copy?
• I think I may have purchased a bootleg copy of one of your products. How can I report this?

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.

• Handle only at the hub or outer edge. Don't touch the shiny surface with greasy fingers.
• Store in a protective case when not in use.
• Do not bend the disc when taking it out of the case and be careful not to scratch the disc when placing it in the case or in the player tray. Make certain the disc is properly seated in the player tray before you close it.
• Keep away from radiators/heaters, hot equipment surfaces, direct sunlight (near a window or in a car during hot weather), pets, and small children. Magnetic fields should have no effect on DVDs.

• Do not use strong cleaners, abrasives, or solvents.
• With a soft, lint-free cloth, gently wipe in a straight line between the hub and the rim, and only in a radial direction. If your cloth is not clean or you do not rub in a radial direction you may cause further damage to the disk that cannot be repaired.
• Don't use canned or compressed air, which can be very cold and may thermally stress the disc.
• For stubborn dirt or gummy adhesive, use water with mild soap or isopropyl alcohol.
• There are commercial products that clean discs and provide some protection from dust, fingerprints, and scratches. Cleaning products labeled for use on CDs work as well as those that say they are for DVDs.

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):

1. Look for a fullscreen choice in the main menu of the DVD
2. Use the "aspect" button on the remote control

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.

1. U.S., Canada, U.S. Territories
2. Japan, Europe, South Africa, and Middle East (including Egypt)
3. Southeast Asia and East Asia (including Hong Kong)
4. Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean
5. Eastern Europe (Former Soviet Union), Indian subcontinent, Africa, North Korea, and Mongolia
6. China
7. Reserved
8. Special international venues (airplanes, cruise ships, etc.)

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.