Half the disk is formatted PAL, the other half NTSC...Doable or not???

[AlecWest]

Is there a way to create a "smart" DVD ... one where half the disk is formatted PAL, the other half NTSC ... that would "know" what kind of player it was put into and default to the proper half of the disk?

[guns1inger]

Can't be done.

It is outside the DVD specification to include both PAL and NTSC content on the same disc.

DVD Lab Pro will allow you to create a non-spec disc, however you need to chose a single format for the main menu. I would suggest NTSC, as it is more likely to play in PAL machines, whereas PAL is less likely to play in NTSC machines. I have done this before, and it has played on all my PAL equipment, switching natively between formats as required. I suspect on an NTSC system it would produce less predictable behaviour.

[AlecWest]

Thanks. I was afraid of that. I wanted to create a "universal" disk that could be put into either a PAL DVD player or NTSC DVD player - autotransferring to the programming that matched the native format of the player. The DVD Lab Pro method is certainly the next best option ... but some players are pretty picky about things like that (mine, excluded). Again, thanks.

[edDV]

Thanks. I was afraid of that. I wanted to create a "universal" disk that could be put into either a PAL DVD player or NTSC DVD player - autotransferring to the programming that matched the native format of the player. The DVD Lab Pro method is certainly the next best option ... but some players are pretty picky about things like that (mine, excluded). Again, thanks.

There are dual sided DVDR blanks but they are expensive. NTSC can go on one side, PAL on the other.

[hech54]

You can do it and they do play....but you can't have a menu. If you open both sources in DVDShrink you can put one of each(PAL and NTSC) on one disc....and they do play normally on PAL equipment.

[Midzuki]

AlecWest wrote:

I wanted to create a "universal" disk that could be put into either a PAL DVD player or
NTSC DVD player - autotransferring to the programming that matched the native format
of the player.

AFAIK, the VM command set was not designed to be so convenient.

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[Baldrick]

ALecWest: I changed your subject. "Doable or not?" is not doable.

[jman98]

It can be done, but "formatted" is not the right word to describe this. Such a disc is in violation of DVD standards and some DVD player may refuse to play it, but we've had discussions here in the past about guys who did this. The way was a little convoluted and I seem to recall someone using DVD Lab Pro to pull this off. You'll have to search for it as nobody who has yet responded seems to remember anything about this except for me. Well, what can be done, although again it violates standards, is to put PAL and NTSC video on the same disc, but the guy who did it made the user select which one they wanted to see. There's no way to make a smart disc that can autodetect which version to play on a player, but you can put both NTSC and PAL on the same disc through some tricks and then have a user pick which one to watch. If the autodetect part is critical for you, then no, it can't be done at all.

[guns1inger]

nobody who has yet responded seems to remember anything about this except for me

Actually, my post (first response) says that you can use DVD Lab Pro to so this by creating an out of spec disc. There is no great magic to it - just ignore the warning that DLP gives when you go to author.

[spyhawk]

To have both PAL and NTSC content on the same disc, the requirement is each format content be in a separate VTS. As gunslinger suggested, it is better to have the main menu be done in NTSC format for more compatiblity. As for determining if the dvd player is PAL or NTSC, use the system register SPRM(20) (Player region code) to determine whether to branch to PAL or NTSC content.

[jman98]

As for determining if the dvd player is PAL or NTSC, use the system register SPRM(20) (Player region code) to determine whether to branch to PAL or NTSC content.

This sounds like a good idea, but it won't work. Region 2, for example, contains both PAL (most of Europe) and NTSC (Japan) in it. I'm not sure, but I think Mexico (NTSC) may also be in region 2. Regions 3 and 4 are mostly PAL, but Taiwan (NTSC) is in one of them. South Korea (NTSC) is in region 3 I believe. Only regions 1 (NTSC), 5 (PAL) and 6 (PAL) are made up only of one TV standard.

[hech54]

If you are burning your own discs....region codes are no longer a factor since they(99% of them anyway) are region free.
I can create a region 1 - PAL disc but it still won't play on an NTSC only system....because Region Codes and PAL/NTSC have nothing to do with each other....for the 1000th time.

[guns1inger]

I used to have a region free player sold here (in Region 4) however the actual region, if queried, was region 3.

[AlanHK]

Actually, my post (first response) says that you can use DVD Lab Pro to so this by creating an out of spec disc. There is no great magic to it - just ignore the warning that DLP gives when you go to author.

I mix PAL and NTSC features fairly often with GuiforDVDAuthor.

It warns you you're being naughty, but I ignore it and they play on every player I've tried (all three of them).

[Radixmind]

yes, you can put PAL and NTSC content together on the same disc. they have to have seperate Title Sets, but it's doable. easiest way is with DVDshrink.

Menu is probably doable too, but ive never done this, because it seems like a lot of effort for little reward. plus, you have to break the rules of DVD authoring to do it, and i reckon that's probably going to upset more DVD players than a simple Video standards problem would.

seriously, though, are there still that many DVD players or TV's in the world left that would have a problem playing the wrong video standard? my Panasonic TV is about 15 years old and it handles signals from my DVD whatever the format - mind you, i believe it's the DVD player that's doing all the format handling.

I always say, if you need maximum compatibility use NTSC as most european TV's and Players handle that no problem. PAL looks better but the US seems to still have problems with playback.

on a side note, you'd think that the advent of Hi-Def images and broadcasting the industry would finally have an opportunity to sort out all these formats into one high quality, universal format. instead, we seem to be getting MORE confusing format types. how dumb is that?

[AlanHK]

yes, you can put PAL and NTSC content together on the same disc. they have to have seperate Title Sets, but it's doable. easiest way is with DVDshrink.

Menu is probably doable too, but ive never done this, because it seems like a lot of effort for little reward. plus, you have to break the rules of DVD authoring to do it, and i reckon that's probably going to upset more DVD players than a simple Video standards problem would.

GuiForDVDAuthor does it, one titleset, one menu, some titles NTSC, some PAL. No problems playing back on PAL/multi DVD players.

Apparently there can be glitches if you have a motion menu, but I just use a static image, and haven't run into that.