DVDs come in both Pal and Ntsc here at the buff but what we really need to worry about is the kind of copyright control over 'regions' of the world, North America being '1' and Europe being '2' etc. However, (ALL *edit) MANY DVD players can play any region DVDs. They just need to be "Unlocked"
disclaimer: Do this at your own risk neither I nor the buff will be responsible if you drop your remote in a cup of coffee whilst attempting this.
Simply find the brand and model number of your player and google it along with "region unlock code" i.e. "Sony DVR150 region unlock code", with a little time and research you can quite easily find a code for most players. This usually involves some sort of sequence of buttons you press on your remote, et voila. An all region player.
Edit* According to stellar dingleberry Tim Curry:
"About 1/3 of the DVD players made today are Universal, the other 2/3's being either exclusively PAL or exclusively NTSC. Even after the Region Code is hacked, the players in the later category cannot play DVD's from the the other format. You have to specifically get a Universal player for that. They are often refered to as "Multi-Region" players to make matters even more complicated"
8 comments:
i thought everyone knew this...
anyway, here is a good site for hacks/unlock codes:
http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks
Ahhh...... WRONG!
The PAL format refers to the TV and not the media. Euro/PAL TV's accept 25fps video input (the audio is the same, which is why you can hear but not see a PAL DVD) while NTSC accepts video inputs at 29.97fps. They are incompatible video broadcast systems. Region Code is an entirely different thing and is as you've described it.
There are many DVD players that have a PAL/NTSC frame rate converter built in, but many don't.
This is why art students shouldn't comment on technical matters. Leave that to the professionals.
Sporgey
oh, there actually are (however small) technical differences between PAL/NTSC/SECAM, though they are very similar to the naked eye.
sorry scott - that comment was aimed at tom, not you - you published while i was typing mine...
Oh yes BSc (hons!) Media Technology, very artsy stuff. I remember just breezing through electronics, acoustics and broadcast systems right next to picassos blus period. Jebends.
I've put this up for the benefit of customers, everyone I have mentioned this to had no idea.
What you say about the broadcast systems is true but yes we're on about dvds right.
My point was when we say a PAL dvd, what we mean is it's a UK region 2. I believe this still stands? I also have some doubts but what are you saying exactly, I know for a fact this works cos I've done it twice myself back in England. I must say, quite enjoying this debate.
I guess what I'm asking is,
A) Is is technically correct to call UK dvd's PAL as opposed to just region 1?
B)Will this work?
I'll try to put this as simply as I can in the hopes that you can actually use some of your BSc(hons) Media Technology degree somewhere down the road.
We are talking about two specific things when discussing PAL/NTSC and Region Code.
On the matter off PAL/NTSC.....
All DVD players do not play both PAL and NTSC video signals. Some players have a converter built into their design that faciliates the conversion of the DVD video signal from PAL to NTSC and from NTSC to PAL. Most do not. Normally this feature is described under a term like "TV Standard" in the DVD spec's. The choices are "NTSC", "PAL" or "Universal" ("Universal" inferring that the DVD player can receive input from source video encoded in either PAL (25fps) or NTSC (29.97fps). Regardless of the input format, the output needs to be to the TV standard you have.
Region Code
This is a code that the manufacturer has placed in the DVD player software that verifies with a little check routine that the disk in the drive is from the same "region" as the player is. There are 7 or 8. A Region Code 0 disk will play in any machine. A Region Code 1 disk will only play in a Region 1 player, etc. The workaround that is described on numerous hack sites is to set the DVD PLAYER to be Region Code 0 making it compatible with any disk from any region (notwithstanding the PAL/NTSC matter noted above).
About 1/3 of the DVD players made today are Universal, the other 2/3's being either exclusively PAL or exclusively NTSC. Even after the Region Code is hacked, the players in the later category cannot play DVD's from the the other format. You have to specifically get a Universal player for that. They are often refered to as "Multi-Region" players to make matters even more complicated.
Hope that helps.
S
Okay well that all makes sense and is as I understood, not sure what I wrote that was misleading I guess I worded it badly, I'll have a look and an edit. I actually didn't know about that one 3rd two 3rds statistic so I'll add that as a note. In my experience it has always worked even on the cheapest 20 quid players. Anyway, good talk.
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