Posted by Bill McClain on 02/04/07 14:04

On 2007-02-03, Slick32 <Slick32@Someware.Com> wrote:

> I was wondering, is the format of the signal on a DVD the same the world
> over and it would be the Region Code that would cause the problem (if it's
> there) or is the actual format on the DVD vary from country to country or
> region to region.

> I was going to send him one of these "Will play and DVD on any TV in any
> Country" models, but he feels that it would be something else to ship back.

No, PAL and NTSC are different DVD formats, as well as being different TV
systems. Converting from one to the other in software so you can burn a copy
is difficult to do well.

A multi-system player is your best bet. You need something that can be made
region-free and that plays both PAL and NTSC discs, and does PAL<->NTSC
conversion, both ways. Do you have a price ceiling? I strongly recommend the
Oppo models (http://www.oppodigital.com/), but the cheapest is the 970 at
$149. He could probably resell it locally before coming back. Oppo is a
"videophile" brand.

Check what inputs he has on his TV before doing this.

Burning region-free DVDs: I have limited experience, but I thought this was a
software, not a hardware issue with the burner. I suspect most DVD "backup"
programs don't bother setting a region code. But in any case, a region-free
player will handle them all.

You make the Oppos region-free by entering a code through the remote.

-Bill
--
Sattre Press Pagan Papers
http://sattre-press.com/ by Kenneth Grahame
info@sattre-press.com http://sattre-press.com/pp.html

[Back to original message]