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dvds are region encoded, uk ones are region 2, usa is region 1., ie a DVD thats region 1 wont play on a region 2 dvd player.
a DVD player in a PC is a two part system, the DVD player hardware itself, and then the DVD MPEG decoder part, most commerical systems tend to have region encoding.
in order for you to watch a region 1 on a 2, you can either change the region on the dvd CD drive, usually you get 4 tries before it locks you in. This is done via the control panel/system/hardware/dvd driver/advanced normally.
once you've changed it 4 times, its locked, unless you crack it, which is in effect what the dvd region changer software does.
however to combat it a lot of dvd playback software detects the region the drive used when it was installed and locks to that, sometimes reinstalling after a switch is required, other times you'll need dvd genie or such
Installing the firmware might give you a region free drive, or it might give you a nice lump of metal and plastic, as the firmware has normally been cracked, and who knows what effects it may have, as well as that it has to be the exactly correct firmware, a lot of drives look and report alike, but require different firmware, and you'll still need a dvd player software update.
if the dvd boots up in the player and says it can't play it because its a region problem, then you need to change the drive and player, if you don't find dvd region software that is compatible with your dvd playing software, buy a new dvd player software
it sounds like your decoder isn't installed properly, so either reinstall your dvd player software, or get a new one.
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