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Emigrating DVD's?
RenHoek asks: "I found the love of my life on the internet, and I'm about to emigrate from the Netherlands to the USA. This leaves me with a big problem. My carefully collected DVD's are region 2 (Europe) and the USA is region 1. So except for buying a new DVD player (220 volts in Europe, 110 in the USA) does this also mean I have to sell my entire DVD collection here, and try to buy everything together in the US? It would seem I have a legal right to watch my legally bought DVDs, but region locking prohibits this, and circumventing region locking carries stiff penalties. Emailing the MPAA resulted in deafening silence. So what does the slashdot community advise? Should I follow the new American dream and start suing the moment I enter the US for the fact that the MPAA is either taking away my rights, or forcing me into a DMCA crime?" Thank god there are regionless DVD players! For those who don't know about them, which ones do you recommend and where are
the best places to buy them?
I've easily found regionless hacked versions of Apple's DVD player software online. While I haven't used one myself, all reports point to the regionless part of the equation working while the playback quality depends on hardware/software version.
If you disagree then it must be overrated, redundant or trolling.
Couldn't you use your old DVD player with a voltage converter? Admittedly, it's a bit of a kludge, since you'll need a new player to play US bought DVDs, but it should tide you over in the meantime. Radio Shack sells plenty of them for less than $40.
evanchik.net
Can't you just run XINE or something?
How would I know, I don't know about them, right?
Just buy a new player - but don't sell your old one, leave it at your parent's house, or put it in storage. In two years you'll be back home. :)
Well, most likely any attempt at prosecuting you would fail. However IANAL so don't trust me on that one. You should be all right if you keep a low profile, but then again you've posted on slashdot already so that's out of the question. At least you'd have the comfort of knowing that if they did try to book you on DMCA infringement you've have the entire Slashdot Crowd TM behind you :)
Pardon the inline HTML but the slashcode seems to strip the <sup> tag.
--MonMotha
If you can convince the other person to move to the Netherlands instead of yourself moving to the USA, then this is a nonissue, with the added benefit that you don't have to worry about the DMCA, UCITA, SSSCA, or ATA (or illegality of DeCSS either).
Be wary of getting a 'region-free' DVD player, as opposed to a region-switchable one. I seem to recall that some recent discs have a slightly different region-check that doesn't like region-free players, but is fine if you have a player that can be set to the correct region.
Wish I could remember what it was called, but I think Gladiator and some versions of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon were the two movies mentioned at the time.
That said, I have a region-free DVD player (Wharfdale DVD-750) and I've yet to come across a problem disc (apart from some VideoCDs, but that's another story).
"don't fall into the fallacy of believing that Perl can solve social problems. Maybe Perl 6 can, but that's a ways off"
There's several hacks available to make it play DVD's from anywhere. There's one built into the hardware of some of them as illustrated here, or you can buy a disc to do it like this.
- Freed
"Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love." -Turkish Proverb
I don't know about Dutch law, but in the US I don't see any reason why you have a legal right to watch DVDs in a different region. In general, there seems to be a lot of confusion about what "fair use" entails -- it frees you from liability if you do certain things that might otherwise constitute infringement, but it doesn't create any responsibility for the copyright holder to enable you to do anything.
Should I follow the new American dream and start suing the moment I enter the US for the fact that the MPAA is either taking away my rights, or forcing me into a DMCA crime?
RenHoek, I think you'll fit in well in our country! Hopefully, someone will have a legal solution for you. If not, if I were in your position, I'd use a mod or whatever illegal circumvention you had in mind, on the principle that it's a violation of the letter but not the spirit of the law in this case. Despite the hysterical, paranoid ravings you read here, you won't be facing any "severe penalties" if you're a user, not a mod reseller or a large-scale pirate.
Besides, now that you're in a relationship, you won't be watching your beloved collection much anyway. Brace yourself for a lot of Meg Ryan, Julia Roberts and *gag* Hugh Grant.
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
If you bring your DVD player from Holland, you'll also need to bring your TV set. Presumably the DVD would emit a PAL compatible signal, right? Or does that S-video thingy get around that problem..?
If tits were wings it'd be flying around.
If you're lucky enough to find one of the original run of this Apex player, you can disable region coding altogether. Mine plays every R1 and R2 disc I've tossed into it.
My understanding is that having a region-free player is only half the battle... an R2 disc in PAL format won't play back on a region-free NTSC machine, but this Apex automatically senses and converts between the two formats. My one R2 PAL disc (Citizen Kane) plays fine on my NTSC television (and I would assume the reverse holds true as well) so you wouldn't have to jettison your current collection.
Quality-wise, the machine looks a little cheesy, but the picture is great, it has component video and DTS/SPDIF audio out, and all the features you could want. Best of all, it uses a standard IDE DVD-ROM drive, so all the moving parts that are likely to go bad can be replaced on the cheap.
You can also turn off Macrovision via the secret menu, but I've yet to feel the urge to make a VHS copy of any of my DVDs.
I would either just get a voltage converter for your DVD player, or find one of those nice Chinese Apex DVD players that lets your turn off region coding. Or just get something similar for your computer.
As for having rights to the movies, I think the MPAA has stated that you are only purchaseing the rights to view them under certain regions, so their stance is gonna be to just buy them all again. But then again in my opinion the MPAA sucks the large one.
What property or posession of the "Emigrating DVD" are we discussing again?
Contrary to the opinion of a bunch of know-nothing high school teachers and linguists, the apostrophe does, in fact, mean "Look out! Here comes an S!"
The site vcdhelp.com is a good site that lists just about every dvd player with it's ability to play stuff from different regions. Just about every player has a "region hack" that allows a different region to be selected.
Lets admit it. Most of your PC is Region 3. Some of it may be made by cheap labor in Region 6, and the sand might come from Region 1 or 5. But region 2? I dunno..
Break it. Buy a chipped player.
- A.P.
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
"Tee-hee, you misunderstand me for comic effect."
:) I meant that it is situated in the UK, part of Region 2.
I never really thought of it that way
The drive is a Toshiba drive, which might also be manufactured in Region 2 (Japan), although probably as you say, in 3 and 6.
"don't fall into the fallacy of believing that Perl can solve social problems. Maybe Perl 6 can, but that's a ways off"
You won't be needing all that pr0n once the two of you live on the same continent, will you?
Because everyone knows that people who don't know about them have the best opinions, as they are not prejudiced by "experience" or "knowledge"...
Free Java games for your phone: Tontie, Sokoban
Technically speaking it's not "PAL", but it is 720x576 at 25 frames per second rather than 720x480 at 29.976 frames per second. Depending on the player, it may or may not be able to output PAL-ish data as NTSC. If not, he can just bring his TV with him or look around for a multi-system set (or just use his computer).
Chu vi parolas Vikipedion?
Get a computer DVD drive made before Jan 1, 2000. You'll have to get it used, of course, but I got mine from a Dell Optiplex PII-450. The key thing here is that it must be RPC-1.
Then, install Linux on the computer with the drive, and use XINE or XMPS or any other fine DVD playing software, none of which care about region codes. Just plug and play! You can even get a video card with TV out and watch it on your normal movie viewing device.
However, I also recently bought a local DVD player because of all the local DVDs I've wanted to buy or rent, but couldn't see because they were not only region-2 encoded, but because they are in PAL format and my DVD/LP player is NTSC-only.
My advice would be to do the same in reverse for your situation -- buy a DVD player in the Netherlands or the UK that can either accept a region mod or is already region switchable. Make sure that it can output both NTSC and PAL format, because TVs in the US are NTSC-only. If you can't get a European DVD player that can output both NTSC and PAL, then you'll need to get a European TV that can handle both NTSC and PAL input that you take with you (with any luck, your existing TV will be able to handle both NTSC and PAL input).
Just keep in mind that you'll probably need a 240VAC@50Hz/120VAC@60Hz voltage/frequency converter to handle any European video equipment that you bring over with you. Make sure you get a high-quality model, not one that does only the voltage side and skips the the frequency conversion part, because that will be likely to fry your sensitive eletronic equipment. I've found good ones over here in Belgium (they tend to work both ways), but they are hard to find and expensive.
Brad Knowles
http://daily.daemonnews.org/ -- if you're not
I got a DVD player for christmas, and of course picked one that made changing the regions very easy. So far, I highly recomend the Daewoo 9000n. Dolby 5.1 decoding on board, progressive scan composite out, digital audio out, and user upgradable firmware. The one thing I havn't tested is PAL on NTSC, and havn't heard any reports for or against. For $150 on amazon, it's the best deal around as far as I'm concerned. Once you get over the legal issues involved, head ove to http://www.nerd-out.com/forum/ for all the information on picking out a DVD player and how to upgrade it.
Bah! Thats all FUD! You just need to load up linux on your DVD player! Then imagine a beowulf cluster of regionless DVD players! What is so hard about the slashdot way??
i hate pansy republicans
Visit 220giftcenter for code-free dvd players. Grab a transformer and you can even bring over your old player. You'd be mad to bring a TV to the states, they're huge! Get a TV that supports PAL (so you can play it with your old DVDs/Player) as well as NTSC (for your new DVDs/Player). Try here I have a similar dilemma. But mine is what to do with my NTSC/US region DVDs when I go back to New Zealand!
Of course, you could just sell your DVD collection and not replace it. I bet you haven't watched most of your titles for quite a while -- many probably haven't been in the deck more than once.
It's too late for my preferred solution -- don't get tangled up in DVD crap at all. Temped as I have been, I still don't have a DVD player (despite being given two DVDs as a gift about a year ago). I might finally cave in and get a PS2 when Wipout Fusion finally makes it to Australian shores.
I'm in Australia - can anyone give me their opinion on what is the best DVD player to get for under $1000 AUD ?
As far as I can tell, Malata is the king of codefree DVD players. The N996 is completely region-free, is progressive scan, has a built-in PAL-NTSC converter (and vice-versa), built in Dolby Digital decoder, and is tweakable beyond belief. On the other hand, I recently bought a Philips 712 that is remotely hackable (like the legendary Apex) for $179, and am quite happy with it. Check out www.dvd.reviewer.co.uk for lots of good info.
I own an LG 3000E bought in France. It is 110V/220V ( switchable ) and it is "multi-zonable". On a PAL TV, it can play both NTSC and PAL DVDs. For the NTSC DVDs it uses the proper PAL color scheme, but mantains the NTSC frame rate ( 30 fps ) which most modern TVs can handle. However, it will only output NTSC video of NTSC encoded DVDs.
Because the USA is a cultural behemoth, Europe has an ample supply of players and televisions with the ability to decode and display NTSC disks with reasonable accuracy.
In the USA, there are very few means to play your PAL-encoded disks without distorted colors and other artifacts. The converter devices and the few PAL capable TVs sold for US use are both found in only two grades: cheaply made models with poor quality, or very expensive.
The best solution might be to check availability of American (NTSC/Region 1versions) of movies at good prices in the USA, and sell off the easily replaceble disks before you leave the Netherlands.
I do not deploy Linux. Ever.
Uh, dude, I've been playing Wipeout Fusion on my PS2 since I grabbed it in a local shop a week or so before christmas...
Run, don't walk, to get yourself a PlayStation 2, Wipeout and, if you can find one, an old, obsolete neGcon controller...
-- kai
Specialist Mac support for creative pros, Melbourne
It's now region free, and the hack had the added the benefit of removing macrovision. Not bad.
The player plays pretty much anything (DVD, VCD, SVCD, MP3, CDR/RW), and also does NTSC/PAL conversion. Not bad for a unit I picked up for $80 US.
A couple of posters have suggested bringing a PAL TV with you. That seems just plain silly.
Fry's (and I'm sure other places, too) sells a NTSCPALSECAM converter that was reasonably priced. Little thing about the size of an analog cable box.
On the other hand, Toshiba, Princeton and I'm sure others make (or made) 27 and 32 inch "TV's" that were really multi-scan monitors. I remember the Gateway "destination" home entertainment PC came with one (Princeton) and Toshiba sells (or sold) a line called TIM that was very similar. I'm sure a 50hz PAL signal would be well within the limits of one of these (plus having a VGA input is always nice... Get an HDTV decoder with VGA out and go to town....)
This isn't really what your looking for, but I just bought both an LG DVD-4210 and a Cyberhome 528 DVD Player here in the UK, and have easily found multi-region hacks for both of them. :-) A lot of new players have hidden menus in the firmware, only acsesible (sp?) using secret codes.... of course, these are widely available on the net.
My best advice is to pick out a DVD player that you like, then look on the net for info. (starting with Google, of course
Just look around, it's easily done, fairly sure the american DVD players can't be too different from the UK ones in this regard.
Happy Hunting
ok....mark me as flamebait or off topic....but i just can't reading statements like these, and never say anything. so here is my official remark. beowulf clusters are great....but when people start talking about clustering evrything under the sun i quite frankly find it annoying. i long for the day that i can read an entire slashdot editorial @ -1 nested and not see a comment about a cluster of wrist watches. Mark this how you like, but enough is enough, lets cluster in reason. lets not be frevilous and wastefull with our clusters, for we may give the phrase beowulf cluster a bad name. ok....
ty
Pseudocode is code to demonstrate a concept, not designed to be run. Like certain M$ software.
If I remember correctly, I believe mplayer for linux http://mplayerhq.hu/ hasn't gotten around to implementing the region stuff yet. Grin... sounds like a pain to implement to me, it'll probably never get written. :)
:(
I peronsally use a computer for tv/dvd viewing, then it doubles as a work station. I'd wish I had a non-us dvd so I could test it out for ya, but I don't so I can't
I believe that DVDGenie and similar programs will advise you that current DVD players are "RPC-2", meaniing that they are region-locked or can only be changed a limited number of times. see http://perso.club-internet.fr/farzeno/firmware/dvd /dvdfi.htm
:-)
Thus the PC/Mac region-free solution would require that you obtain an older (RPC-1) DVD drive. Having said this, my brother reports having obtained a region- and macrovision-free standalone DVD player in the US without difficulty (though clearly the market is smaller than in europe
r.
The digital data is PAL?
DVD-Video discs contain instructions as to what video formats players may output. If a player doesn't support PAL, it can't play discs that require PAL. (I found this in a manual for a TV-out card.)
Will I retire or break 10K?
Your ability to watch DVD's which you have purchased, wherever you choose, constitutes fair use.
Under United States copyright law (which does not apply outside the United States), fair use is a defense to copyright infringement. It is not a defense to access control circumvention. Access control circumvention is a separate offense, completely orthogonal (i.e. perpendicular, or separate) to copyright infringement.
And yes, the consumers approve of this. They show their approval by continuing to purchase DVD players and discs.
Will I retire or break 10K?
Obviously, nothing prevents countries like Brazil of using the european color scheme ( PAL ) with the american TV standard ( M ), thereby creating their "own" incompatible system...
Several people have referred to PAL-M by several different names in this discussion (PAL/525, PAL/60, etc). Apparently, DVD players designed for sale in New Zealand (whose law considers region lockouts an unlawful restraint of trade) are region switchable and output PAL-M when playing a 30fps disc. Most modern PAL TVs and digitizers can handle both 50 Hz PAL and 60 Hz PAL.
By the way, PAL refers to "phase alternation by line," where the R-Y signal is inverted on each line, synchronized to a color burst that runs at 135 and 225 degrees rather than 180 degrees.
Will I retire or break 10K?
At least in this case. He is proving the point about clueless posts. His post is a mocking example of the typical Slashdot crap post.
Begs the question? I don't think so. Learn to use the phrase correctly: http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/begs.html
Isn't that pretty much what I said?
Yes and no. The DVD player just takes the signal on the disk and dumps it out to your TV, projector, etc. Generally the player doesn't care if the signal on the disk is PAL, SECAM, or NTSC.
Wrong. My research and experience confirms that the disk itself is encoded as NTSC, PAL, etc.That is to say, I live in the USA, and I personally have a copy of ' South Park: vol 4 ', as released in Region 2. This disk is clearly labeled as 'PAL'.
I can play this disk in a 'region free' Apex player on my NTSC television, and it works fine because the Apex internally does the conversion from PAL to NTSC.
A friend of mine has another brand of 'region free' DVD player, and while the player plays the disk, his TV displays a severely distorted picture.
In other words:
DISKS CONTAIN PAL CONTENT, OR NTSC CONTENT, OR BOTH. A PAL DISK WILL NOT DISPLAY CORRECTLY ON A NTSC-ONLY AMERICAN TELEVISION SET.
I know this both from references and from personal experience. If you claim otherwise, prove me wrong.
I do not deploy Linux. Ever.
Hmmm.. checked your links and stand corrected. But it does bring up some issues though:
Why have region encoding at all? If having different encoding systems was good enough to keep markets seperated with video tapes, then why not do the same thing with DVDs. Since the DVD consortium (sp) has the right to dictate what goes in a licencee's machine (and therefor give them the right to display the DVD logo) why not just mandate "DVD players sold in PAL countries can only show PAL DVDs, DVD players in NTSC countries can only show NTSC DVDs, etc." Granted, there will be those manufacturers who tell 'em to "get bent" and do it anyway, but they're the same manufacturers who are telling them to "get bent" by making region free VCRs.
Also, the FAQ mentioned that most NTSC DVD players don't have PAL converters, but all of mine have played region 2 PAL DVDs with no problem. Granted, a few DVD players does not a sample set make, but I've yet to find any problems.
220v comes into the house on 2 each 110v lines. For 110v circuits, you use the voltage between a hot and neutral. For 220v, it's the voltage between 2 hot. That's how electric ranges and all of the other heavy equipment in our houses are wired. The trick would be to change the circuit in your "entertainment room" to 220v at the breaker panel, and then change the outlets in the room to the appropriate 220v receptacles. Snip the cord ends off the European electronic equipment and replace them with American pattern. Double Pole Breaker: $10 220v outlets (3): $15 220v plugs (3):$15 Beer for an friend to do the wiring:$20 (heineken, right?) Not having a cheap xfmr/power converter set your residence and equipment on fire: Priceless Next question - is Netherland 60Hz or 50Hz, and does it patter to DVD and TV set power supplies?
"As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
Oh, also forgot:
DISKS CONTAIN PAL CONTENT, OR NTSC CONTENT, OR BOTH. A PAL DISK WILL NOT DISPLAY CORRECTLY ON A NTSC-ONLY AMERICAN TELEVISION SET.
Is there any way of checking what's on a DVD disc (in term of encoding)? I have some region 2 DVDs that I would think would be PAL only (frightfully british content, never sold here) that plays fine on my region 1 DVD/NTSC only TV.
Part of it might be lack of granuality- there are just three competing video formats in the world, but more than three regions:
Another issue is that DVD are different in that they usually offer both the original soundtrack and a local dub, where most tapes were only available with the local-language soundtrack. For example, many of my US DVDs have a Japanese or French soundtrack also). Both Japan and the USA use NTSC, but they are in different regions, and Japanese releases of US movies are delayed by six months.
I do not deploy Linux. Ever.
Intervideo's Win2000 software decoder works fine without having to hack anything. I can play any region DVD without having to change the region. Matrix DVD bought here in the US - works fine. Mylene Farmer DVD (region2) from Paris - works fine. The regular dvd on my tele doesn't though.
DVD City sells them. Here's one by Daewoo. More expensive than a plain old region one, but it works with NTSC and PAL, or so they say.
sulli
RTFJ.
I have a nit to pick:
'An argument which improperly assumes as true the very point the speaker is trying to argue for is said in formal logic to "beg the question."'
'many people mistakenly suppose the phrase implies something quite different: that the argument demands that a question about it be asked'
I'd suggest the writers of that page decide what they mean. Any answer where the argument is baseless does beg (as in _ask for_, not imporperly take for granted) a question. The question it begs is "Why is that so?". If that didn't go through your mind the moment you read their example, I'm a little surprised.
'If you're not comfortable with formal terms of logic, it's best to stay away from this phrase, or risk embarrassing yourself.'
I might not be comfortable with formal terms of logic, but I don't risk embarassing myself through an overly complex (and fundamentally flawed) analysis of a simple set of words.
Wait a minute, I just contradicted myself. At least I didn't do it on a website.
Damn irony.
Now they've done it: They are making firm comments on part a of english that isn't finalized.
Let's take this for example. Perhaps regular english would dictate they are correct. However, since anyone referring to the CD-ROM would be speaking in the technical domain of computers, computer usage should apply.
As someone who works at a computer store, I can tell you it is very common (common enough to be fact) that a CD-ROM is the drive unit itself, whereas a CD or CD-ROM disc is the media.
Why? Isn't that wrong?
No. Think about it. CD-ROM is not the media, it is the format. The format is a round disc made of polycarbonate and aluminium foil. CD-ROM drives/players play the round disc format. CD-ROM discs are discs produced in the CD-ROM format. This double use of the same acronym demands clarification.
This is validated by the fact that CD-DA is Compact Disc Digital Audio. The CD is the description of the media, DA is a description of the data on the disc. If I say CD-DA there's no expectation that I am talking about a piece of media. In the CD-ROM case, CD is again a media description, ROM is referring to the immutability of the data on the disc.
Now with DVD. DVD is a format. DVD-R shows the recordability of the format. DVD video is infact the logo itself. If the logo specifically goes out of its way to be "redundant" then perhaps the creators of the DVD format are going out of their way to let these people know they man DVD is a format which requires the "redundant" descriptor for accuracy's sake.
This is completely different than the obvious redundancy of words like "Tuna Fish". Tuna is a fish. Always has been, AFAIK. Always will be. No question about it. Anyone you talk (including those in the fishing industry) wouldn't say any different, unless they were to be more specific as to what class of fish a tuna is.
CD-ROM has never had such a clear definition, and therefore clearing up the question is very much in order, IMHO. The DVD people clearly explain they mean format, not media.
They go on with other such things, like UPC under "PIN Number". If UPC is a thing and not a format, then what is the general format for a UPC called?
Methinks someone will reply with something witty. Please, do so! Correct me! I want to know why I'm wrong, if I am.
Past that, the rest of the site seems good. Will bookmark it and shut up now.
What's wrong with buying a voltage converter and continuing to use your DVD player here? Of course, there's still PAL vs. NTSC issues to contend with, but if you're bringing your DVD player I'm assuming you're bringing a TV as well. That won't help if you're planning on buying new region-1 DVD's, though.
With DVD players being as cheap as they are these days, it almost doesn't hurt to have two of them. With a PAL to NTSC converter you could buy a new TV and new DVD player, but keep your old DVD player handy. This would only make sense if your collection is very large, however.
Region free players aren't always the best thing. For one thing, they officially shouldn't exist, so getting support for them is difficult if you have problems. However, when they do work, they work very well.
This is a concrete example of why region coding is a stupid, stupid idea. You legally have the right to view your DVD's no matter where on earth you wish to watch them. I wish there was other info I could give you, but short having 2 DVD players or getting a region free one, I don't have any other solutions for you.
In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet and say to us, Make us your slaves, but feed us. - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Japan is in Region 2 and all of Western Japan has 110-Volt power. Japan also uses NTSC, just like the US. Depending on the TV you use your DVD Player with, you might need one. TVs with SCART ports are expensive here.
My suggestion: Look for a Japanese DVD Player.
NB: BTW Americans do not sue for everything. Our legal system prefers to handle things in court that Europeans like to handle by making new laws. It has to do with a philosophical preference for not restricting everyone's rights because of the actions of a minority.
Try to make some friends while you're here.
Most electonics nowadays have switchable (automaticaly ?) powersupplies. It doesn't hurt, sticking a 220v player in a 110v outlet.
I'm using my European Sony DVD player without any problems in the US. Just make sure you use the scart or s-video output and not the composite, which sucks anyway.
If you think about it, the MPAA operates in a very similar manner to a drug cartel when it comes to "protecting their rights" on DVD.
Let's compare them: Drug cartel is a large continental or worldwide organization distributing its product through individual agents. Those agents pay for the right to distribute the product by giving the next guy up the ladder a "cut". They enforce the exclusivity of their business agressively, immediately nuetralizing serious emerging competition. Since you can't profit from product siezed by the government, they corrupt governments by giving large bribes to border guards, police, and whoever to get their product to market at maximum profit potential.
DVD cartel has a complex, worldwide distribution network with many agents, each paying "taxes" back to the cartel. In this case, the "tax" is in the form of the licensing fee paid for the right to decode DVDs. In exchange, the cartel aggressively "protects" their local distribution business by region coding DVDs, and paying off the lawmakers to make breaking the "region coding" system a felony offense. End result: consumer pays more for content than would otherwise be the case, especially if they do the unthinkable and move from on distribution area to another.
Drug cartel does it with guns and violence, MPAA does it with lawyers. End result: They maintain a stranglehold on the "content" or "product" they sell, and corrupt the governments of the countries they operate in. Is there really a big difference between one and the other?
Who did what now?
I am in the UK (region 2) and am thinking of purchasing some Region 1 DVDs. My question is: assuming I have all the correct PAL and NTSC outputs/convertors for my TV/DVD player, will the NTSC quality on a DVD be inferior to a PAL disc?
My understanding is that NTSC DVD discs are encoded at a resolution of 720 by 480, while for PAL, the resolution is 720 by 576. Is this correct? If so, does this mean an NTSC disc playing on, say, a PAL TV will look less sharp that a PAL DVD (given the lower resolution)?
The main reason I'm thinking of purchasing some region 1 DVDs is that many of the "extras" on these discs, such as behind-the-scenes documentaries, are often missing from region 2 releases.
Some RPC-2 drives can be converted into RPC-1 ones by changing their firmware -- for example, BDV212B, that I have seen being sold for $59. And free software players -- say, Ogle that I use now, don't care about those things.
Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.