What is "Dual Boot"?

"Dual Boot" is the term used to describe a DVD player that is equipped with two versions of firmware. It is done by having two versions of the firmware stored in the chip and choosing the firmware you require by a switch on the back of the player.

The main reason for Dual Booting is to have two different regions (for example Region 1 and Region 4) and selecting between the two depending on the region coding of the DVD. By having two proper regions instead of just being region free stops any problems with RCE discs. Another option is to have a dual-boot machine, one half Region Free and the other half Region 1.

With RCE encoded DVD discs these days, the need to have a proper region set to play the disc has become an issue. Gone are the days where Region 0 (region free) works for all DVD discs because some of the latest releases have this "RCE" encoding to stop Region 0 from working.

If you live in America then you get access to pretty much all the DVD titles available, so all you have to do is make a Region 1 version of the firmware and you are set There is no real need for a "Dual Boot" machine unless you have some imports. But for places like here in Australia (Region 4) we are not so fortunate. By and large our choice to "older" or classic DVD titles is still limited, and even if we get a title (new release or old) released here, generally the Region 1 version has more content (previews, trailers, deleted scenes, etc).

So what does a "Dual Boot" chip look like? Here are the two options:

The picture on the left is a single chip type holding two firmware versions in one chip while the picture on the right is a double-chip type where each chip holds only one version of firmware. They both work the same so with the cover on the DVD player you would not know the difference. The Dual Boot chip is installed on the main circuit board where the current firmware chip is.

Dual Booting is easy. Before turning on the player you select the firmware you require by flipping the switch and then turn the player on. Note you must turn the player off before touching the switch otherwise it does not work! Apart from that there is nothing else to it!