British to America Video Imports?
 

I know somebody in the UK who has some Doctor Who episodes on DVD--
probably made on an incompatible region 2 DVD player. But even if they
were either region 0 or region 1 discs, would they still be incompatible
because of the PAL/NTSC differences?

Ron

On Thu, 19 May 2005 00:05:43 -0700, "Ron Hubbard"
wrote:

I know somebody in the UK who has some Doctor Who episodes on DVD--
probably made on an incompatible region 2 DVD player. But even if they
were either region 0 or region 1 discs, would they still be incompatible
because of the PAL/NTSC differences?

Ron

You should have an option in the setup of your DVD player to set it to
either NTSC or PAL.

In article , Ron Hubbard
writes
I know somebody in the UK who has some Doctor Who episodes on DVD--
probably made on an incompatible region 2 DVD player. But even if they
were either region 0 or region 1 discs, would they still be incompatible
because of the PAL/NTSC differences?

Home recorded DVDs do not have region coding.

And all DVD players (in the UK certainly) can play back "PAL" or "NTSC"
discs.
--
Tim Mitchell

Ron Hubbard wrote:
I know somebody in the UK who has some Doctor Who episodes on DVD--
probably made on an incompatible region 2 DVD player. But even if
they
were either region 0 or region 1 discs, would they still be
incompatible
because of the PAL/NTSC differences?

Ron

you'd also need a tv capable of reproducing NTSC. Or at least syncing
to NTSC's 60hz field rate, (most recent sets will) then you'd get a b&w
picture but viewable.
Ben

In article .com, b
writes

Ron Hubbard wrote:
I know somebody in the UK who has some Doctor Who episodes on DVD--
probably made on an incompatible region 2 DVD player. But even if
they
were either region 0 or region 1 discs, would they still be
incompatible
because of the PAL/NTSC differences?

Ron

you'd also need a tv capable of reproducing NTSC. Or at least syncing
to NTSC's 60hz field rate, (most recent sets will) then you'd get a b&w
picture but viewable.
Ben

That was true with VCRs but (most?) DVD players will produce a proper
PAL or NTSC output (depending on how you set up the options)

--
Tim Mitchell

"Ron Hubbard" wrote in message
...
I know somebody in the UK who has some Doctor Who episodes on DVD--
probably made on an incompatible region 2 DVD player. But even if they
were either region 0 or region 1 discs, would they still be incompatible
because of the PAL/NTSC differences?

Try news:alt.video.dvd.tech

N

On Thu, 19 May 2005 00:05:43 -0700, "Ron Hubbard"
wrote:

I know somebody in the UK who has some Doctor Who episodes on DVD--
probably made on an incompatible region 2 DVD player. But even if they
were either region 0 or region 1 discs, would they still be incompatible
because of the PAL/NTSC differences?

**Hi Ron. Yes, they would be incompatible but: If you're looking for
the new Doctor Who episodes, go to alt.video.tape-trading and you'll
probably find someone in Canada who has them. Or even if you're
looking for any Doctor Who :)

Those burnt discs are probably in PAL. There are several cheapish DVD
players here in the US that can be region hacked with the remote and
can also convert PAL to NTSC on the fly. Two of them that I can think
of offhand are the Philips 642 and the Magnavox 458/17. I bought both
of them onsale, the Philips was $56 and the Magnavox $35.

The Magnavox will convert uncoded PAL DVDs to NTSC right out of the
box. However, it favors DVD+R. It will play -R but with a very slight
occasional, barely noticeable stutter. With a few button presses on
the remote, you can change the region to zero. I played a Swedish
commercial disc (region: 0) on it and it converted beautifully. It
looked and sounded fantastic.

The Philips has a rep of being able to plow through many types of
video, however, I haven't experimented with mine yet so I can't really
comment. According to what I've read, you can also change the region
with the remote.

Here's a site with a list of DVD players and their hack-ability:

http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks.php

kaboomie

In article ,
kaboom wrote:
Those burnt discs are probably in PAL. There are several cheapish DVD
players here in the US that can be region hacked with the remote and
can also convert PAL to NTSC on the fly. Two of them that I can think
of offhand are the Philips 642 and the Magnavox 458/17. I bought both
of them onsale, the Philips was $56 and the Magnavox $35.

DVDs don't use either PAL or NTSC. Those are both coding systems for
analogue video. Talk instead about field and frame rates.

--
*Virtual reality is its own reward *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Thu, 19 May 2005 00:05:43 -0700, "Ron Hubbard"
wrote:

I know somebody in the UK who has some Doctor Who episodes on DVD--
probably made on an incompatible region 2 DVD player. But even if they
were either region 0 or region 1 discs, would they still be incompatible
because of the PAL/NTSC differences?

Ron




There are two issues here. First, there's the DVD region code. If
they are original pressed DVDs, they will almost certainly be region 2
which won't play in an unmodified US DVD player. If they were made on
a computer, or in a video DVD recorder, there will be no region code.
Consumer DVD recorders don't region code the discs they make.

The second problem is the PAL/NTSC issue. DVDs are different for 525
line NTSC, or 625 line PAL. Not all US DVD players will play PAL DVDs
even if there's no region code. Some DVD players will play PAL DVDs
and even give you the option to view it in PAL, or have it convert it
to NTSC.

Ironically, the cheap, off brand Chinese DVD players are the best way
to get around both these issues. My Toshiba and Sony DVD players
won't play PAL and there's no region hack that I'm aware of. My
Philips DVD recorder will play PAL DVDs, but won't convert them to
NTSC and there's no way around the region problem except to copy the
DVD onto a DVD-R with my PC.

On the other hand, my $35 Cyberhome DVD player can be made region free
by entering a code on the remote and it will convert PAL to NTSC, NTSC
to PAL, or let you view it in its original form. Many other cheap DVD
players I've seen will do the same thing. I've even seen a few of
these DVD players in for repair because they had been changed to
output PAL.
Andy Cuffe

-- Use this address until 12/31/2005

-- Use this address after 12/31/2005

Andy Cuffe wrote:
On Thu, 19 May 2005 00:05:43 -0700, "Ron Hubbard"
wrote:

I know somebody in the UK who has some Doctor Who episodes on DVD--
probably made on an incompatible region 2 DVD player. But even if
they were either region 0 or region 1 discs, would they still be
incompatible because of the PAL/NTSC differences?

Ron




There are two issues here. First, there's the DVD region code. If
they are original pressed DVDs, they will almost certainly be region 2
which won't play in an unmodified US DVD player. If they were made on
a computer, or in a video DVD recorder, there will be no region code.
Consumer DVD recorders don't region code the discs they make.

The second problem is the PAL/NTSC issue. DVDs are different for 525
line NTSC, or 625 line PAL. Not all US DVD players will play PAL DVDs
even if there's no region code. Some DVD players will play PAL DVDs
and even give you the option to view it in PAL, or have it convert it
to NTSC.

Ironically, the cheap, off brand Chinese DVD players are the best way
to get around both these issues. My Toshiba and Sony DVD players
won't play PAL and there's no region hack that I'm aware of. My
Philips DVD recorder will play PAL DVDs, but won't convert them to
NTSC and there's no way around the region problem except to copy the
DVD onto a DVD-R with my PC.

On the other hand, my $35 Cyberhome DVD player can be made region free
by entering a code on the remote and it will convert PAL to NTSC, NTSC
to PAL, or let you view it in its original form. Many other cheap DVD
players I've seen will do the same thing. I've even seen a few of
these DVD players in for repair because they had been changed to
output PAL.
Andy Cuffe

-- Use this address until 12/31/2005

-- Use this address after 12/31/2005

The combo drive on my laptop (DVD-ROM/CD-R) has a utility to change the
region, but when you enter it, it pops a dialogue which says something to
the effect that you can do it 'x' number or times, then there's no way to
change it back.

jak

On Thu, 19 May 2005 19:53:57 -0500, "jakdedert"
wrote:



The combo drive on my laptop (DVD-ROM/CD-R) has a utility to change the
region, but when you enter it, it pops a dialogue which says something to
the effect that you can do it 'x' number or times, then there's no way to
change it back.

jak



Isn't it great what happens when the movie industry and the
electronics industry cooperate? Things like this just interfere with
normal people's use of technology while doing nothing to stop illegal
copying.

There are ways around that limitation on many DVD drives. You can
replace the firmware with a region free firmware which eliminates the
region counter. Windows and DVD playback software still keeps track,
but there are software tools to work around that.

See if your drive is listed he

http://forum.rpc1.org/portal.php
Andy Cuffe

-- Use this address until 12/31/2005

-- Use this address after 12/31/2005

"kaboom" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 19 May 2005 00:05:43 -0700, "Ron Hubbard"
wrote:

I know somebody in the UK who has some Doctor Who episodes on DVD--
probably made on an incompatible region 2 DVD player. But even if
they
were either region 0 or region 1 discs, would they still be
incompatible
because of the PAL/NTSC differences?

**Hi Ron. Yes, they would be incompatible but: If you're looking for
the new Doctor Who episodes, go to alt.video.tape-trading and you'll
probably find someone in Canada who has them. Or even if you're
looking for any Doctor Who :)

Those burnt discs are probably in PAL. There are several cheapish DVD
players here in the US that can be region hacked with the remote and
can also convert PAL to NTSC on the fly. Two of them that I can think
of offhand are the Philips 642 and the Magnavox 458/17. I bought both
of them onsale, the Philips was $56 and the Magnavox $35.

The Magnavox will convert uncoded PAL DVDs to NTSC right out of the
box. However, it favors DVD+R. It will play -R but with a very slight
occasional, barely noticeable stutter. With a few button presses on
the remote, you can change the region to zero. I played a Swedish
commercial disc (region: 0) on it and it converted beautifully. It
looked and sounded fantastic.

The Philips has a rep of being able to plow through many types of
video, however, I haven't experimented with mine yet so I can't really
comment. According to what I've read, you can also change the region
with the remote.

Here's a site with a list of DVD players and their hack-ability:

http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks.php

Thanks, for the info; it's much appreciated!

Ron

In article , "Dave Plowman (News)"
writes
In article ,
kaboom wrote:
Those burnt discs are probably in PAL. There are several cheapish DVD
players here in the US that can be region hacked with the remote and
can also convert PAL to NTSC on the fly. Two of them that I can think
of offhand are the Philips 642 and the Magnavox 458/17. I bought both
of them onsale, the Philips was $56 and the Magnavox $35.

DVDs don't use either PAL or NTSC. Those are both coding systems for
analogue video. Talk instead about field and frame rates.

Whilst that is technically true, and it annoys me too, commercial DVDs
are sold labelled as NTSC (=60Hz field rate) or PAL (=50Hz field rate),
so it looks like that misnomer is here to stay.
--
Tim Mitchell

On Thu, 19 May 2005 22:30:08 -0700, "Ron Hubbard"
wrote:


"kaboom" wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 19 May 2005 00:05:43 -0700, "Ron Hubbard"
wrote:

I know somebody in the UK who has some Doctor Who episodes on DVD--
probably made on an incompatible region 2 DVD player. But even if
they
were either region 0 or region 1 discs, would they still be
incompatible
because of the PAL/NTSC differences?

**Hi Ron. Yes, they would be incompatible but: If you're looking for
the new Doctor Who episodes, go to alt.video.tape-trading and you'll
probably find someone in Canada who has them. Or even if you're
looking for any Doctor Who :)

Those burnt discs are probably in PAL. There are several cheapish DVD
players here in the US that can be region hacked with the remote and
can also convert PAL to NTSC on the fly. Two of them that I can think
of offhand are the Philips 642 and the Magnavox 458/17. I bought both
of them onsale, the Philips was $56 and the Magnavox $35.

The Magnavox will convert uncoded PAL DVDs to NTSC right out of the
box. However, it favors DVD+R. It will play -R but with a very slight
occasional, barely noticeable stutter. With a few button presses on
the remote, you can change the region to zero. I played a Swedish
commercial disc (region: 0) on it and it converted beautifully. It
looked and sounded fantastic.

The Philips has a rep of being able to plow through many types of
video, however, I haven't experimented with mine yet so I can't really
comment. According to what I've read, you can also change the region
with the remote.

Here's a site with a list of DVD players and their hack-ability:

http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks.php

Thanks, for the info; it's much appreciated!

Ron

I picked up a Daewoo that is region free, model # DVG-5000N.
I've managed to play dvd's from Australia, Great Britain and Germany
so far with no problem.(NTSC to PAL via the remote control and no need
to rehack or reset the region.)

On another note some brands only allow you to reset the region once or
twice then it locks the region option.
The hack sites usually have a work around, either a hack or a bios
update.