Issues with your account? Bug us in the Discord!

A question regarding Region codes and video formats (NTSC/PAL)

RedAssAg05RedAssAg05 Ranger
in Zocalo v2.0
Okay, I have a question for all those who know something about the subject. Seeing as the UK Babylon 5 Universe boxed set is about 100 US after shipping from amazon UK, and I am tired of waiting for WB to release same in the US, I'm thinking about buying the Region 2 UK version. In order to play Region 2 DVDs here in the US, I've been looking into unlocking my DVD player to be region free. Before I do it however, I was hoping to get a little more information before making the changes and spending the money. Please bear with me, and keep in mind I live and bought my equipment in the US.

A) If I unlock my DVD player, I techincally would be able to play all regions? That's what 'region free' means, correct?

B) Once I've unlocked my player, would I even be able to play Region 2 DVDs on my NTSC/ATSC HDTV? From what I've read online people who have 'unlocked' their samsung dvd players in the US can play other region DVDs, but I'm just unclear on this NTSC/PAL issue.

C) I guess that's it!

If anyone has any information to help me make a better informed decision, I welcome it!

Comments

  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    Re: A question regarding Region codes and video formats (NTSC/PAL)

    [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by RedAssAg05 [/i]
    [B]A) If I unlock my DVD player, I techincally would be able to play all regions? That's what 'region free' means, correct?[/quote][/b]

    Yes.

    [quote][b]B) Once I've unlocked my player, would I even be able to play Region 2 DVDs on my NTSC/ATSC HDTV? From what I've read online people who have 'unlocked' their samsung dvd players in the US can play other region DVDs, but I'm just unclear on this NTSC/PAL issue.[/B][/QUOTE]

    Only if your DVD player converts from PAL to NTSC, or your TV can also handle PAL input, or you have some piece of equipment in between the player and the TV that can perform the conversion. Otherwise you will get a black and white, very out of sync (jumpy, not aligned properly, etc) picture.
  • RedAssAg05RedAssAg05 Ranger
    Re: Re: A question regarding Region codes and video formats (NTSC/PAL)

    [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Biggles [/i]
    [B][/b]

    Only if your DVD player converts from PAL to NTSC, or your TV can also handle PAL input, or you have some piece of equipment in between the player and the TV that can perform the conversion. Otherwise you will get a black and white, very out of sync (jumpy, not aligned properly, etc) picture. [/B][/QUOTE]

    Damn. Okay. Any second opinions?;)
  • MessiahMessiah Failed Experiment
    Second opinion: Biggles is always right.

    Seriously though, he [b]is[/b] right. NTSC/PAL has nothing to do with coding, and has everything to do with your cables, and what information goes through what lines..
  • Random ChaosRandom Chaos Actually Carefully-selected Order in disguise
    A fast way to check your TV for Pal support: if you have a laptop with TV out, check to see if you can change output mode to Pal in the video settings. If you can, hook it up and try.

    --RC
  • JamboJambo Scriptkiddie
    It's £80 in the UK, so even before shipping it's going to be more like $155, not $100.
  • RedAssAg05RedAssAg05 Ranger
    [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Jambo [/i]
    [B]It's £80 in the UK, so even before shipping it's going to be more like $155, not $100. [/B][/QUOTE]

    Once I put it in my cart, though, it was 68.71 (UK):D After 6-10 day shipping (3.xx UK), it comes to around 105 US.

    Thank you for the information, Biggles, and the confirmation, Messiah. I'll have to check out my equipment.
  • JamboJambo Scriptkiddie
    Even at £69 you're still looking at about $135 before shipping. What exchange rate are you basing your calculations on?
  • RedAssAg05RedAssAg05 Ranger
    Oops...I'm an idiot...I was doing Euro to dollar...but the UK doesn't use Euros, do they?! It's pounds. minor oversight;)
  • Mr_BesterMr_Bester Earthforce Officer St Louis MO
    A lot of the region free players convert ntsc/pal. One problem aside from resolution is framerate Ntsc 29.97 and pal 25 which is why it can get jumpy. I bought a Phillips DVD player($60) specifically for R2 discs and it works great.

    Dug
  • SanfamSanfam I like clocks.
    Also consider that when you're getting B5 in PAL, you're not quite getting the same thing that R1 guys would get. 25 FPS vs. 29.97 FPS, slight additional clipping to the screen to account for downscalling of the PAL content (as well as a substantially softer image overall) and some inaccurate color reproduction on NTSC devices..
  • RedAssAg05RedAssAg05 Ranger
    Interesting facts, thanks.

    I think now I'll just wait for the possibility of a R1 boxed set release (perhaps after TLT DVDs have all been released?)

    Thanks again all for your input.
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    [QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Sanfam [/i]
    [B]Also consider that when you're getting B5 in PAL, you're not quite getting the same thing that R1 guys would get. 25 FPS vs. 29.97 FPS, slight additional clipping to the screen to account for downscalling of the PAL content (as well as a substantially softer image overall) and some inaccurate color reproduction on NTSC devices.. [/B][/QUOTE]

    Wow, Sanfam, could you have written that in a more confusing way? :P

    What Sanfam means is that in converting the PAL signal to an NTSC signal, you might lose part of the picture (PAL is higher res than NTSC - 576 vs 480 so it might crop rather than resample). You might get a softer picture for the same reason. You may lose colour information from the PAL signal (PAL has better colour than NTSC) but I don't know if it will be any worse than seeing it in NTSC original. (It's worth pointing out here that the colour info is stored differently on DVDs, in YUV format rather than in the native PAL or NTSC format, so technically you don't lose or gain colour info by buying NTSC or PAL, the only difference is the resolution and fps.) On the other hand, if you have a TV that can display PAL natively then you'll get a better picture than the R1 discs, but at a slightly slower framerate.

    Of course, Sanfam could have meant the opposite of that, but that would mean he's under the misguided impression that NTSC provides a better picture.
  • SanfamSanfam I like clocks.
    I should kill you for that last part. :p If I had the chance, I'd walk up to the person(s) responsible for NTSC and slap them in the face.

    But yeah. Biggles said what I attempted to.

    As far as the color conversion goes, the gamuts do not match up fully, so many colors will be "clipped" or softened artificially. I have also seen this happen on some DVDs where the source material was taken from the broadcast content, rather than the original undigitized gear. YUV is nice, but if the content is still in PAL form, then you will get color muddying and softening through frame interpolation

    Therefore, eBay. :p
Sign In or Register to comment.