NTSC vs. PAL question

[Tim Frank]

In the bad old days, PAL and NTSC videos were incompatible formats...VHS tapes were not viewable on the other system.

With newer formats, is it possible to view PAL stuff on new North American equipment, or are we still stuck with the PAL/NTSC roadblock?

I'd like to buy a few DVD titles from the UK that are unavailable in North America. I would upgrade my DVD player if that is an option, and all that is required.

 

[MTboatguy]

Check your DVD player, many of them made in the last few years have cross platform capabilities, I know in my blu ray machines, I can watch pretty much anything I can put in them. I buy videos from basically every where now a days with no problems.

 

[fhhuber]

Depends on the TV and DVD player... Some will autodetect a LOT of video formats and auto-adjust. Some you set it "manually" (menu and remote) Some are locked into one or just a couple of formats being available.

What you are likely to run into is the region encoding. In order to reduce pirate copies, there are different video encoding formats (not NTSC/PAL, but encryption) for different regions (North America being one big region. Not sure how the rest of the globe is split up)
You'd have to reset the DVD player's region for the different DVDs.

Not sure about newer ones, but the DVD players I have all have a limited number of region resets, so you'd want to have one DVD player per region or you'll quickly get to where the player is locked on its last reset setting.

 

[Tim Frank]

Check your DVD player, many of them made in the last few years have cross platform capabilities, I know in my blu ray machines, I can watch pretty much anything I can put in them. I buy videos from basically every where now a days with no problems.

Thanks.
I'll phone a few electronics stores and see if any of them sound like they know really whether they have a machine that will work.

 

[bruceb58]

You would need a multi region DVD player. You might be able to get those north of the border easier than we can. OR...just rip the DVD and watch it.

 

[thumpar]

I think region will be more of an issue than format. They do make region free players but they usually have brand names you would never know of.

 

[MTboatguy]

Phillips Region Free DVD player:

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Region.../dp/B004BI6MVS

Phillips is a pretty big recognizable name in the electronics industry.

This one sells for $49.99

Here is link to an article about region free equipment.

http://buyersguide.bargainoffers.com/region_free_dvd_guide.shtml

 

[thumpar]

I haven't checked them out in years (been on bluray). Looks like the big brands are learning that they missed a needed market.

 

[MTboatguy]

I haven't checked them out in years (been on bluray). Looks like the big brands are learning that they missed a needed market.

I went to blu ray 5 years ago, I have two machines Sony and Magnavox and they are both region free machines. Then all of my blu ray burners in my computers are region free as well

 

[thumpar]

I never got the bluray burner for the computer. I just rip them and put them on my plex server and stream from the rokus.

 

[Tim Frank]

Great info folks, thanks. I'll make all the enquiries and post back that it's beaten....or with more Qs.

 

[Tim Frank]

This may have been too easy.
I ordered this....seems almost too obvious to have had to ask the question. We'll see whether it works.
Thanks again.

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00KRM1X3Y?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00