DVD region code blocks British Prime Minister from enjoying Obama's gift
By Darren Murph 
posted March 20th 2009 5:43AM
posted March 20th 2009 5:43AM
[Via techdirt, image courtesy of AmericaLives]
posted March 20th 2009 5:43AM
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Can Obamadingdong be any more incompetent?
Fail
he wouldnt be able to play the dvd's - Britain is PAL and USA is NTSC.
All players in the UK have been PAL & NTSC capable since VHS.
I called it!! They should send him a Denon regionless.
I'm surprised the Obama administration didn't give him the book "Avoid Paying Taxes For Dummies."
What is the Prime Minister brand and model number of his DVD player?
With some remote trick and accessing hidden menus, I'm sure it can be unlocked.
Just google Sir.
I have been working in military protocol for many years and I have to tell you that I would expect to be fired if I didn't research what mementos a distinguished visitor was bringing and suggest a comparable reciprocal gift. Prime Minister Brown's gifts were meaningful and well thought out. President Obama's return gift was pathetic and a disgrace to the United States. This was a rookie mistake that makes it apparent that President Obama hired buddies to work in his protocol office without regard to experience. I just hope they remembered to take the "To: Barak, From: Bob Dole" Christmas tag off of it first.
I knew that would happen when I first heard about it.
Maybe it was a gift intended to send a message.
VP Biden is as you all know a huge proponent for all things DRM.
What an outrageously bad gift. He might as well got him a gift card to Circuit City.
if homobama gave me a gift I would burn it immediately and wash my hands if I touched it!
Well - nobody said Obama was smart. He is an idiot after all.
Silly Commander in Chief
oh DRM how you fail
This is a surprisingly tech-challenged gift from a supposedly tech enlightened administration. Not only were the DVDs from the wrong region, they're NTSC. Someone in the Obama administration must know they use the PAL system in the UK.
Perhaps they should have looked up DVD box sets on Amazon.co.uk (http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_d_h__0_8?url=search-alias%3Ddvd&field-keywords=box+sets+dvd&sprefix=box+sets).
Obama administration could just send over a DVD player so that he can play them. Sheesh they're like 30 bucks now.
Send him a link to DVD Shrink!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
wheeze...sigh..inhale...
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
ok, I feel better now.
One I can see the disparity in the gifts but its over. Obama is new; just what would you get an important guy who just shows up. Admittedly it was cheap but thats what we produce in this country, culture so he gave him a culturally item. The fact that Brown can't play them is just an example of irony and people making the decisions getting what they deserve. I suppose now maybe the BS policy will change now that those who make the policy are affected similar to how AIG exec. will have to sue to get their bonuses and they think thats unfair but they did not think it is unfair to make policies that deny they consumers insurance payouts and make them sue to be paid that they deserve.
Lame, Lame, LAME!!! Have none of Obama's staffer's ever even heard the words "region code?" Was this handled by the same team of screw-ups who provided Hillary's gift of a mislabeled red button (what were they THINKING?) to her Russian opposite number? I am so tired of these myopic American-centric knuckleheads who don't seem to understand the first thing about dealing with another culture, even one as similar as that of the UK. Hint to State Department: the UK as 220v power . . .
Serious business, I like the new commander and chief, but these little mistakes have got to end. DVD collections are not gifts for the Prime F&*$(&# Minister. Gifts like this are suppose to be legendary, but not for its massive failure. Besides, he and the people working for him have Harvard, Yale, etc. degrees and should be more intelligent that this.
Details people, details! Get yo shit straight.
Sorry, couldn't help myself. How this gift should have read.
Being a sports fan, President Obama should have given the Prime Minister a collection of every championship game every played by his favorite team and an addition collection of that sports championship games (all of them). These should have been Blu-ray, digital remastered, REGION FREE, and in a one of kind metal disc box with the PM portrait etched on the back. It should have also been paired with a Blu-ray player (with the correct plugs) and a custom surround sound system with gold/silver plate of the PM family crest on the sides of the speakers.
That is a gift worthy of the PM.
I have always bought phillips brand dvd players. They have region free unlock codes that work quick and easy. and they play most any file you can throw at it. Right now I have the DVP 5960. you can find them most places, they are cheap and do the trick.
What idiotic president would give such a meaningless gift to our strongest ally? Oh, that's right... Obama. Regretting the vote? I am. I should of thought this one through a bit more. He's already made more screw ups without even being in office a solid three months
Actually Mr. Hawk it takes a bit of intelligence to reach PM. For all we know Obama is still not even a legal citizen (he refused to provide real documents to prove it) and we have no record of him existing. Here it's a pure popularity race.