it's not a myth. I took a couple dvds of mine and backed them up without any region codes. Region free means it will play on all 8 regions. I haven't had a dvd player that wouldn't play region free dvds, but I'm guessing they are older models that require a region code.
Don't worry, soon there will be Blu-ray and HD-DVD formats coming out, so the rules will change again.
just checked the web:
"However, the regional coding system is entirely optional and discs without Regional Codes will play on any player in any country."
http://www.sendit.com/help/help_dvd_regions
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