Will all dreamcasts play homebrewed games that have been burned on a disc, or do I need to mod my system?
No modding required. They basically cracked the copy protection a long time ago, so now they can make self-booting isos that run without any problems. It's unfortunately one of the many factors that contributed to the console's demise.
Lets not forget.
Dreamcast versions
Version 0 = Mil-CD compatable
Version 1 = Mil CD compatable
Version 2 = not Mil CD compatable
Dreamcast verified versions
(1) [PAL|E] (blue swirl logo) Mil CD compatable
(0) [NTSC|U] (orange swirl logo) Mil CD compatable
(1) [NTSC|U] (orange swirl logo) Mil CD compatable ?? only data/data Mil-CD's (I need verification for this)
(2) [NTSC|U] (orange swirl logo) Mil CD see Dreamcast model (2) [NTSC|U] dates for more information
[NTSC|J] (orange swirl logo) Mil CD compatable
Dreamcast model (2) [NTSC|U] dates
October 2000 and earlier Mil CD compatable
November 2000 Half = Mil CD Compatable Half = Mil CD uncompatable
December 2000 and later Mil CD uncompatable
Edit me if this is taboo.