Question about DVD formats
Submitted by buber on Mon, 02/16/2004 - 05:02
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Hi Everyone,
I know that DVDs are often region encoded, with the US being region 1, Europe is region 2, etc. My understanding is that some DVDs are encoded for no region, or region 0. Is this correct?
My main confusion is about the actual format. If I understand correctly, video tapes come in at least two formats, PAL and NSTC. Is the same true of DVDs, or is there just the region encoding to worry about?
Thanks Everyone.
There are indeed some region 0 DVDs.
The format is really the same. The region system is more like a copy-protection, like somebody knocking the tab out of a VHS tape. A region 1 player looks for the region 1 coding before it will play the disc. If it doesn't find it, it won't play it.
Most (if not all) players can be modified not to look for this coding, but beware. You should know what you are doing, because you will void your warranty by attempting this.
Does that help?
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
That helps some. So, with DVDs, there is no issue of PAL vs NTSC, just the region encoding. Is that correct? I'm not looking to modify my DVD player, as if I screwed up my wife would kill me :) but I'm hoping that some DVDs I want to get from Spain are region 0. Someone mentioned to me that I need to worry about PAL vs other formats, and that's what I wanted to make sure of.
Thanks for the help, lbangs.
You've got it. As far as I know (and I am pretty darned sure), the format is exactly the same.
Good luck on the discs!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
A friend of mine in Spain happens to have a copy of one of the DVDs I'm interested in. He just wrote me a note, and on the DVD jacket it says:
"All PAL", "DVD 9"
What do these mean? It seems to suggest it's in the PAL format, but then it says All, so I'm completely confused.
Alright, I looked this one up. Here's what I found from a DVD FAQ available all over the net:
"DVD has the same NTSC vs. PAL problem as videotape and laserdisc. The MPEG video on DVD is stored in digital format, but it's formatted for one of two mutually incompatible television systems: 525/60 (NTSC) or 625/50 (PAL/SECAM). There are three differences between discs intended for playback on different systems: picture size and pixel aspect ratio (720x480 vs. 720x576), display frame rate (29.97 vs. 25), and surround audio (Dolby Digital vs. MPEG). Video from film is usually stored at 24 frames/sec but is preformatted for one of the two display rates. Movies formatted for PAL display are usually sped up by 4%, so the audio must be adjusted accordingly before being encoded. Unless the audio is digitally processed to shift the pitch back to normal, it will be slightly high. All PAL DVD players can play Dolby Digital audio tracks, but no NTSC players can play MPEG audio tracks. PAL and SECAM share the same scanning format, so discs are the same for both systems. The only difference is that SECAM players output the color signal in the format required for SECAM TVs.
Some players only play NTSC discs, some players only play PAL discs, and some play both. All DVD players sold in PAL countries play both. These multi-standard players partially convert NTSC to a 60Hz PAL (4.43 NTSC) signal. The player uses the PAL 4.43 MHz color subcarrier encoding format but keeps the 525/60 NTSC scanning rate. Most modern PAL TVs can handle this kind of "pseudo-PAL" 60-Hz signal. A few multi-standard PAL players output true 3.58 NTSC from 525/60 NTSC discs, which requires an NTSC TV or a multi-standard TV. Some players have a switch to choose 60-Hz PAL or NTSC output when playing NTSC discs. There are a few standards-converting PAL players (from Samsung and others) that convert from a 525/60 NTSC disc to standard PAL output. Proper standards conversion requires expensive hardware to handle scaling, temporal conversion, and object motion analysis. Because the quality of conversion in DVD players is poor, using 60Hz PAL output with a compatible TV provides a better picture. Most NTSC players can't play PAL discs. A very small number of NTSC players (such as the Apex) can convert 625/50 PAL to NTSC. External converter boxes are also available.
A producer can choose to put 525/60 video on one side of the disc and 625/50 on the other. Most studios so far are including Dolby Digital audio tracks on their PAL discs.
There are actually three types of DVD players if you count computers. Most DVD PC software and hardware can play both NTSC and PAL video and both Dolby Digital and MPEG audio. Some PCs can only display the converted video on the computer monitor, but others can output it as a video signal for a TV."
So I am a liar!
I guess you need to find out what kind of DVD player you have...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Here's an additional tidbit I picked up:
"Almost no US players can play PAL DVDs. All PAL players can play both PAL and NTSC DVDs, but only on a 60-Hz-capable PAL TV or a multistandard TV. Most DVD-equipped computers can play both NTSC and PAL discs."
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Thanks lbangs. I had tried to search the net but didn't find this FAQ. I appreciate your help. Unfortunately, it means I likely can't play these DVDs :(
You're more than welcome, although I hate to bear bad news (not to mention mislead you at first!).
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
The manual for my JVC XV-S500 (mainstream US model) says: "This unit accomodates the NTSC system, also can play back discs recorded with PAL system whose Region Code numbers include '1'. Note that the PAL video signal on disc is converted to an NTSC signal and output." It then shows examples of a bunch of Region Code symbols that qualify. Apparently, some DVDs are multi-region (i.e., two or more regions) and some are single-region.
So, if the DVDs from Spain are Region Code 2 (only), my JVC wouldn't play them, which is consistent with what your previous respondent has said. However, their claim that almost no US DVD-player is PAL-capable appears to be erroneous.
As a follow-up to this, is there a DVD player anyone would recommend that is both multi-region and can play both NTSC and PAL formats?
I'm afraid I don't have any personal experience with such players, but I know Google returns tons of relevant information.