" ... Most DVDs do the same thing. ..."
Just to clarify a bit:
All DVD players, including computer drives, have the region code and the 5 change limit. It's part of the DVD spec, and if your machine doesn't do that, it isn't a "real" DVD player.
It's got nothing to do with Apple or Microsoft or any other software company that makes DVD players.
Some DVD players (none of the computer drives) don't do the region code thing and are therefore unlicensed DVD players. Typically they are ultra-cheap models (the cheapest player in the store) made in China, where the company that makes them simply doesn't pay it's DVD license fee. They are rare, however, because the DVD consortium chases after them if they find out.
At one time you could buy an APEX DVD player from FutureShop that was unlicensed and did not comply with the region code. APEX has since paid it's fee and now makes compliant players, after legal action by the DVD group.
One possible clue that you might be looking at a non-compliant DVD player is if the DVD-Video logo doesn't appear (ie it just claims to be a DVD player but doesn't have the logo on the player's front somewhere). If the logo appears and it is also region free, it's a counterfeit.
Region code PROM can be changed to "region free" with a hack on computer DVD drives (actually, a hacked firmware upgrade). This uses up one of the 5 changes. If you ever need to upgrade the firmware, you will have to change it again afterward, again using up one of the changes you have. That's assuming the authorized firmware upgrade will even work; it might not.
Making a mistake during a firmware upgrade can render the drive useless and this cannot be fixed. So, you're trusting the hacked firmware to do it's job without errors.
VLC is a great player; it's freeware, open-source and cross-platform. It's developed and upgraded as a class project by a group of French High School students.