Are they safeguards against bootleg or otherwise illegally possessed products?
My first impression was....Geez, doesnt anybody buy stuff legally?
My second impression was to recommed contacting who you bought the player from.....that is(of course), unless that was from the trunk of somebodies car.
DVD players are made to play discs from a certain region because discs are released in different parts of the world at different times. They are to keep people from playing discs from other countries that haven't been released in their area yet. Also to keep people from buying discs from other areas that may be cheaper than where they are.