Can someone explain all this "region" coding jargon, or direct me to a site that will explain it.
Thanks

There's no jargon -- for DVDs, the world is divided into 6 regions. Discs sold in one reagon cannot be played in players from another. For instance, North America is region 1. Europe and Japan are Region 2.

Daniel,

That much I am aware, but I am seeing more and more of this region hacking stuff. I also see bits about one region has this and that, yada yada yada. I really do't care if I can use my DVD player in Japan. If my company transfers me there, they'll have to spring for a new one anyway. I was just a bit curious as to the reasoning behind the coding, and what advantages there may be to hacking.
Danny

The only reason to hack is if a particular DVD title that you want has been released in a region other than your own. If you're in Region 1 there's less reason to do so than anywhere else, however still a few titles are available in Region 2 & 4 that aren't yet here.

The reason that disks are coded is because of the origional movie release schedule. Often, by the time a movie is released on dvd or video in the states it is just coming out in theaters in other countries. if an asian guy can buy an imported film for $25 and see it in the comfort of his own home whenever he chooses there is little incentive for him(and all his friends) to each pay full price to see it on somebody elses schedule. I mean, c'mon, those poor studio execs have to scrounge out a living somehow.

karl

I just came back from europe and noticed that in addition to the numeric code, region 1,2 etc, the discs in the UK were marked PAL, (versus US NTSC)

So is the region coding stictly a digital key issue, or is it also a different video format issue?

The TV format here in europe is PAL instead of your NTSC system (execpt for france who uses SECAM). This isn't a big problem for the europeans since most dvd-players sold here can handle both NTSC and PAL-discs. Many players are modified to be "region free" so that you can play discs from an arbitrary region. I'm not sure weather american NTSC players can handle PAL-discs.

If you want more information regarding the different TV formats, check this link:

[Link: ee.surrey.ac.uk]

/Christian

Christian,

Thanks for the response - Sorry to go to multiple choice but .....

would a European DVD player that handles both NTSC and PAL DVD's

(a) always need an NTSC TV? or

(b) always need a PAL TV? or

(c) play into either PAL or NTSC independent of the source material? or

(d) Need a TV corresponding to the source material being played?

Thx

Steve

Steve,

My DVD-player can be set up so that it either sends PAL to the video outputs regardless of the disc type or PAL or NTSC depending on the disc. My TV can handle both PAL and NTSC input so I use the last alternative, but some older sets can only handle PAL input, so they must use the conversion in the player (which mostly dagrades the picture quality somewhat).

This description is somewhat simplified. Please get back if theres something you want me to explain furter.

/Christian