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Guest nl5xsk1

How "global" are DVD's?

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Guest nl5xsk1

I'm unsure if this is a dumb question, but would DVD's bought in the UK (or Ireland or Holland, etc.) work on an American DVD player? I know VHS has issues, but do DVD's?

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Guest El Satanico

DVD's have the same problem as VHS. DVDs also have Regions which prevents the US from watching British discs.

 

We're Region 1 and they're Region 2.

 

 

If it's a Region 0 Disc it'll play anywhere, but those are usually bootlegs or Japanese discs.

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Guest areacode212
I'm unsure if this is a dumb question, but would DVD's bought in the UK (or Ireland or Holland, etc.) work on an American DVD player? I know VHS has issues, but do DVD's?

There are some Region-free DVD players that are available. I have a cheapo Apex one that can be "hacked" to be made Region-free by simpling burning a CD-R with a different firmware, but there are some better ones out there.

 

Go here for more on regional coding info:

http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#1.10

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Guest Crucifixio Jones
This site has hacks for most DVD players. I've hacked my Philips player to be region-free but when dealing with things from the UK (region 2), you're gonna have one major problem and that is you need a PAL compatible television set. If not, your picture will be black & white and scroll. The vast majority of US tv's only handle NTSC signals, not PAL.

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Guest dreamer420

I have a DVD that I haven't played around with that much. On it there is a button to choose PAL or NTSC. Does that mean I have a universal player?

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Guest Crucifixio Jones

No, it just means you can adjust the output signal depending on what country you go to so that it will still work. Most DVD players have the option to switch from NTSC to PAL and vice versa.

 

You'll still only be able to watch Region 1 DVDs on your player, but in a country that uses PAL (different voltage), you have to adjust your player to the right voltage or it won't work correctly.

 

Living in PAL countries is a bitch because your American products either have to have voltage switches on them (and most things don't, except computers) or you have to buy a mini generator/converter to give your appliances enough juice. It's either that or buy mostly new shit.

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