After watching the Beeb's Frozen Planet series I thought I would buy a copy for my Californian friends. It would make a nice Xmas present.
Are there regional variations on DVD players....something at the back of my (admittedly small) mind tells me there are?
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The DVD's you buy in this country are encoded to region 2. So your friends DVD player would have to be "region free or multi region" capable in order for it to work.
USA by standard is region 1
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There are 2 aspects SFAIK. These days most players will play DVDs from any region but US uses a different TV system. Europe uses PAL and USA uses NTSC (Never The Same Colour Twice). You could get round the problem, if any, by ordering on amazon.com for $29.99 and that will ensure that it will work in USA!
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The NTSC thing is not an issue, most DVD players will output both. The region thing is an issue and the player will need to be "region free"
Of course if you are using digital connects, ie HDMI, the TV standard is irrelevant, but the region coding is still a barrier.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 9 Dec 11 at 08:35
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I'd phone these guys.
Email: bbcshop@bbc.co.uk
Telephone: 8.30am-6pm Monday to Friday
UK 0844 848 9799 (Charged at the national rate)
Outside the UK +44 (0)1795 414 989
Fax: +44 (0)1795 414 555
Postal address: BBC Shop, PO Box 308, Sittingbourne, Kent ME9 8LW
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BBC Enterprises will be keen to flog the series in such a big market as America, so I think it's almost certain they are producing a DVD which will work over there.
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It will be sold through BBC enterprises, they have an american company. They may be keen for a national broadcaster to pay for and show it first, its only available for pre order in the states I understand. And even then they may stagger HD blue ray first, then SD DVD to maximise revenue.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 9 Dec 11 at 09:04
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Not so sure of the situation in these digital days, but it was quite common to find a UK TV that would cope with 60Hz NTSC, and many folk in the UK have naughty DVD players that will play any region. Neither was true in the USA as NTSC TVs won't work with 50Hz PAL and a muti-region DVD player is a real rarity.
As far as I know, the Blu Ray region thing has not been cracked - or a least not widely available.
Some DVDs are Region 0, playable anywhere without a 'cracked' player, but I doubt the ones you want are.
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>> Neither was true in
>> the USA as NTSC TVs won't work with 50Hz PAL and a muti-region DVD player
>> is a real rarity.
That'll be because the Digital Millenium Copyright Act makes the things illegal over there (although it's not illegal to own a Region 2 player - go figure). ISTR that US models are even obliged to have different ROMs to ensure that the usual hacks don't work. Elsewhere in the world, players are innately multiregion and software locked to a specific one. This lock can usually be easily reversed.
This is what led to the hilarious outbreak of pig ignorance in the press when Obama gave Gordon Brown a load of DVDs. Some dumb, insular hack on the New York Times wrote a piece saying they'd be useless as they were Region 1. The British press trotted this out verbatim to a man.
Anyone owning a single-region DVD player who wants to magically make it a multiregion one should try here: www.dvdchips.co.uk/
No connection, just used 'em a few times and they are excellent.
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Might be safer if legacylad gives his Yank friends the book instead:
www.amazon.co.uk/Frozen-Planet-Alastair-Fothergill/dp/1846079624
It's only £11.
Or there's a calendar for a fiver.
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thanks Iffy.I assume the book has lots of nice color fotos.
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Can DVD's be played universally? - Redviper
