The DijonStock Digital Home Recording Support Forum

I've been wondering...

I can burn a DVD here and play it back in any DVD player... but then I'm burning a DVD for European standard, right? Things like PAL and 50 Hz and stuff like that. Can the same DVD be played on an American system, or do I have to burn American versions with different settings?

Thanks!

Robbie

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Don't judge the coffee by its cup.
The proof of the cheese is in the eating

I guess the region code might be a problem here... unless you've all got code-free players, that is.

PAL vs. SECAM might be another problem... but I guess that REgion code could even be more tricky .

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Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground

About a year ago I sent 60's guy a short video CD, I made it just like I made them for playback here, and he could play it back.

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Don't judge the coffee by its cup.
The proof of the cheese is in the eating

It would all depend on the flexibility of the player, Robbie.

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"You think you are going to die...and then you don't." © Robbie Jukebox - 23rd July 2004.

Well, but a VCD is a whole different thing again .

I guess Anndra is on the money .

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Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground

I've heard that there are differences between Euro and Yank DVDs but I have nae a clue what they are. I have 2 or 3 DVD players around the house and there's nothing special about them so I'll volunteer to be a guinea pig and test one out for you if you like.

The only difference is a piece of code at the beginning of the DVDs content... this piece of code determines where a DVD has been sold (regionally).

Region 1 - The U.S., U.S. territories and Canada
Region 2 - Europe, Japan, the Middle East, Egypt, South Africa, Greenland
Region 3 - Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Hong Kong
Region 4 - Mexico, South America, Central America, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Caribbean
Region 5 - Russia (okay, former Russia), Eastern Europe, India, most of Africa, North Korea, Mongolia
Region 6 - China



So, if you're able to burn it code-free... we're all set, I guess .

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Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground

How about the PAL vs NTSC story? And the 50 Hz vs 60 Hz thing?

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Don't judge the coffee by its cup.
The proof of the cheese is in the eating

Not sure if the signal on the DVD is different, or if it's just decoded in another fashion .

I've once ordered "The Osbournes" on DVD from the US... and those worked fine in my code-free DVD, without changing anything from PAL to SECAM... but I'm really not 100% sure if this will work.

Maybe it's best to use someone over in the US as a Guinea-pig .

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Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground

I'll add my name to the list of potential guinea pigs. I have three DVD players (why I don't know) as well as one on the PC.

Robbie, I've dealt with this issue in the past. In the USA, we need a DVD player with two modifications to play international DVDs on our typical American (NTSC format) TVs:

* multi-region playback ability

* PAL to NTSC converter

These options aren't expensive, but without them, European DVDs won't play here. There are companies here (e.g., http://www.220-electronics.com ) that sell such new but modified DVD players cheaply. My JVC model only cost about $90.

Unfortunately, without such a modified player, folks at this end will have to use their lively imaginations so evident in these threads.

J.

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Recent AW16G fiascos: http://www.jlh.2tunes.com

Jeff....would there be the same issues when playing back on a computer as well?

...Tony

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God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh...Voltaire...(LMAO....Big Dawg)
HIGHSTREETSHELTER.COM

I beg to differ. The only difference in DVDs is the Region Code. I have brought DVDs from the States (1), and played them on equipment here (2), after modifying the Region Code accepted for both computer and Player.

I wish I could remember the site that gave all the makes and models of players and how to modify the Region Code...usually by a combination of keys on the remote.

NTSC and PAL is up to the player, unlike video tape.

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Honor is a debt you owe to those that see it in you.

Good question, Tony. I have no idea. I've never watched DVDs on my computer, so I'll leave it up to others to comment on this issue.

DC, with all due respect, my information differs from yours. The PAL and
NTSC formats are not limited to just the player--the television must accept the format that your player sends. Most American (NTSC) TVs do not accept a PAL signal, so an internal (in the player) or external converter is necessary. The TV you mention may accept both formats; when I live in Europe, i find such TVs more readily available. Here in the states, though, the NTSC version is pretty much the standard for all TVs.
Check out the website I listed above for some better explanation, but here's the gist copied from that site:

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Regional Coding Explained and Pal/NTSC standards explained.

All our DVD Players are Codefree with no region lock, PAL-NTSC multisystem guaranteed to play all region DVD Movies. The following terms all mean the same thing: Code Free DVD Player, Region Free DVD Player, Mutli Zone dvd player, Multi Region DVD Player and may be used interchangeably on this website.

Please note that all DVD discs have a region code on them; (region 1 for USA, 2 for most of Europe, and 3-5 for Asia, Middle East & other countries. Along with the Region number, the DVD discs also say either Pal or NTSC on them. This is the broadcasting system that the DVD is recorded in. NTSC is for the USA, and Pal is for most other countries including Europe, Middle East and Asia.

To play PAL DVDs on an American (NTSC) TV you will need either:

1) A Dvd player with built-in converter: Toshiba, JVC, &International. This will allow you to play Pal cassettes on a NTSC (USA Standard TV, and NTSC cassettes on a Pal TV (European Standard).

2) A external Pal <-> NTSC video converter also available on our website, will allow you to play DVD discs on any codefree dvd player to any TV.

**********************************************************

At least that's my understanding and personal experience, but I admit that I'm no whiz kid with this stuff. I'm always learning and could be missing something here.

Best,

J.

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Recent AW16G fiascos: http://www.jlh.2tunes.com

Yes, of course all the analogue equipment must follow the standard, including the Tele.

I can only tell you from practical experience. I used a european player to play movies out of the region simply by changing the region code in the player.

The information on the DVD is digital and universal...that is the reason for the region code: to maintain control and thwart copies. But, more than that, it was also to protect the theater industry outside of the US. Generally, movies go to DVD in the US often before or around the same time movies are first released here.

The NTSC and PAL standards govern the encoding of the analog signal. If there is additional information needed on the DVD for the analogue standards, both bits of information are on all 12 DVDs I bought from the US with Region Code 1 and played on my european PAL systems (not just one, but two, plus the computer).

To change the region code in the players, I found this web site which listed my players and gave me instructions on how to change it. In both cases, I had to push a couple of keys on the remote to get access to the players operating system and then issue special code sequence to change it in its EEPROMs or Flash or whatever. For the computers, it was a software selection (though one of the the software players said if would freeze the region code after 5 uses of it).

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Honor is a debt you owe to those that see it in you.

I'm not going to say that I have the definitive answer.

But, it's common for Euro products to be multi-format. In otherwords, you'll find many products that playback or display NTSC and PAL. In the case of Euro DVD players, my understanding is that they all play back NTSC or PAL with few exceptions ( Playstation 2 for example ). Many Euro TV's are multi-system as well.

On the otherhand, it's highly uncommon to find North American Video products that record, playback or display anything BUT NTSC.

DVD players made for REGION 1 do not play back DVD's from other regions.

My guess is this. You might get a Euro DVD to play in your computer by downloading appropriate codec, but I suspect there is going to be issue with playing it back on your Region 1 DVD player connected to your television.

Perhaps if you have an NTSC digital television, you'll be able to find some type of work around ( I'm not aware of one ). But, few people are using digital TV unless your television is an HD, HD Ready or HD Compatible Television.

My CP says there is a hack for most DVD players on the internet somewhere. Got him working on it.

He's very savy about stealing sattelite signals and keeps abreast on all the lastest "tools"

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THE MUSIC IS DOWN IN HERE
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Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

Sounds great Rob. It might be close to greasy guy time.

O no not again........

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THE MUSIC IS DOWN IN HERE
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Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

That's right. And this time Robbie gets to be in the middle.