Will PAL dvd-r play in US dvd players?

[ahouse]

Hi

I want to send a dvd-r to a friend in the USA from the UK and the dvd is made from PAL video. I understand that the dvd-r will be region free but what about compatability? Will the disc play properly on a USA dvd player?

Thanks

[macleod]

maybe, maybe not.

I have a apex1100W dvd player and it can convert PAL without a problem. My other one (minivan) does that also. Did you do a search on the dvd player list to see what it is compatible with.

[FulciLives]

Hello

It will not play properly on a stand alone DVD player because of the differences between PAL and NTSC however it will play on a computer using either the computer monitor and if the computer has a TV out from the video card then that can be used to watch it on a TV (and will work) since the video card TV out will convert everything to NTSC.

Standard US model DVD players cannot handle the PAL format nor can US model televisions.

There are special DVD players your friend can buy that will play back any region disc and if that disc is PAL it will convert it to NTSC. There are very few DVD players that do this (and do it properly).

If you think your friend might be interested in getting such a multi-format player then let us know and I can give you some tips as to what models to take a look at.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
Some standard US model JVC players can handle playing back "region free" or "code free" PAL DVD discs with conversion to NTSC so if your friend has a JVC that is PROGRESSIVE and less than 3 years old then he might be A-OK

[flaninacupboard]

i don't understand this issue. ALL players in the UK are multisystem compatible, and the majority of TV's less than a decade old will handle NTSC or PAL60 no problem! why would the US standards be so different? it doesn't make any sense.....

[xxiangg]

I believe a lots of DVD players sold here will play PAL DVD disk. But
many of them will not convert PAL to NTSC TV signal. Unless you have
a PAL TV, you might still have a problem to view it.

My first DVD player (Pioneer 888, at least 5 years old) plays PAL DVD
disk, but it does not convert the signal to NTSC. My other two DVD
players (Sampo601 and Apex1500) both play PAL disk and convert output
signal to NTSC. Actually, Sampo601 has a control buttom to select the
output TV signal type, either PAL or NTSC.

[FulciLives]

i don't understand this issue. ALL players in the UK are multisystem compatible, and the majority of TV's less than a decade old will handle NTSC or PAL60 no problem! why would the US standards be so different? it doesn't make any sense.....

I live in the USA and *I* am not trying to bad mouth anyone but it is typical USA mentallity that we are the best and damn everyone else so as a result multi-system equipment is very rare in the USA (and a true multi-system TV will cost an average of double that of a NTSC only set not to mention you are pretty much stuck ordering it mail-order with HUGE shipping charges unless you happen to be lucky enough to live in a very BIG city like New York or LA or Chicago or something).

As I said the standard USA model JVC players (the progressive models that are 3 years old or less) are unique in that they will play and convert region free PAL discs to NTSC. Otherwise you need to buy a special code-free player with conversion. One can get a JVC that has been made code free and then there is the very popular and cheap Cyberhome (the CH-DVD 500 model) that also does excellent conversion. Most of the other popular (cheap) DVD models that do PAL to NTSC conversions do so very poorly such as the APEX, DAEWOO and SAMPO players (although SAMPO finally did just come out with a cheap DVD player that supposedly does proper PAL to NTSC conversion).

So if your friend really wants a special DVD player like that then check out the players offered by HK FLIX and also to take a look at the Cyberhome player which can be ordered directly from the CYBERHOME website. If he gets a Cyberhome he will need to check out the NERD-OUT message forums for the easy-to-do self hack (by remote control) that makes the Cyberhome region free.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
I have a Cyberhome CH-DVD 500 and love it

[resound]

I have numerous PAL discs, both commercial and homemade in London with a Pioneer DVD drive in a computer. I play them on my Apex 3201.

I had a problem playing some of the homemade discs, but the person doing them swithched to Traxdata and Datawrite discs and then there was no problem. The Apex 3201 plays them on my NTSC TV. There is a slight jerkiness when there is a lot of horizontal motion. That is a tradeoff to get a clear picture. When run it through a bonafide PAL to NTSC converter there is no jerkiness but the picture is fuzzy.

The commercial PAL discs will also play in my Apex on my NTSC TV but the motion is sometimes a bit jerky. It is probably not a major problem unless you watch a lot of action movies.

My Philips DVDR 985 does not convert the signal from PAL to NTSC.

[chazzie]

Just convert the disc to NTSC -- Problem soloved.

[Vejita-sama]

To be fair it's not just that 'we in the USA think we are the best' it's that there is not that large a demand for multiple format TVs. Most DVD players are will play PAL or NTSC, but (if I had to guess) 99%+ of TVs are NTSC only. On the other hand in Europe their is a demand for NTSC players/TVs.

In the US 'forien films' just are not main stream. For most people if it's not dubbed and full screen it's not worth watching Europe is different, several nations are cramped together in a faily small area, and interacting with differernt languages is common.

Neither is better (ok I think the US is better ) just different...

[ADS Ivan]

I have quite a few DVD Players here in the States that will automatically convert a PAL DVD to NTSC output. All of my Apexes, my Mintek, my Conia, my Cyberhome and even my GoVideo all offer this feature without any hack or anything like that (hacks are usually only needed to escape the limitations of Region coding). Only my Pioneer, Toshiba and Playstation 2 do not offer this. Bottom line is it depens on the player.

ADS Ivan

[macleod]

I live in the USA and *I* am not trying to bad mouth anyone but it is typical USA mentallity that we are the best and damn everyone else

Not this USA'ian

as far as poor quality on the apex. I don't see it. the look the same as my NTSC dvd's.

[txpharoah]

Every one of my players will play PAL DVDs and PAL VCDs. Look in my profile if you're curious. The Apex and Mintek even play R2 discs... the others need region-free versions.

Quality is fine. No degradation of any kind.

[flaninacupboard]

you mean they output PAL from a PAL disc which your TV can play? or do they output NTSC from PAL disc which your TV will accept? if it's outputting NTSC from a PAL source, then i assure you, there is degredation. speaking from the perspective of owning multi system equipment, PAL looks a lot nicer. you don't see any degradation because you're used to a lower resolution image.

[FulciLives]

you mean they output PAL from a PAL disc which your TV can play? or do they output NTSC from PAL disc which your TV will accept? if it's outputting NTSC from a PAL source, then i assure you, there is degredation. speaking from the perspective of owning multi system equipment, PAL looks a lot nicer. you don't see any degradation because you're used to a lower resolution image.

Most mainstream US model DVD players cannot play back PAL discs at all. Some may be able to play back a PAL disc but will output a PAL video signal and multi-system televisions are almost unheard of in the USA so a standard US model TV can ONLY display a NTSC signal.

Now some US model DVD players CAN play a PAL DVD disc and convert it to NTSC so a normal NTSC TV can be used. None of the major brands support this other than JVC (the progressive scan models only) but it is an undocumented "secret" to the average consumer. Of course all major brands are region 1 so the JVC can only play back a region free or all code PAL DVD disc.

However, there are players out there in the USA that can convert PAL to NTSC but these are mostly very "cheaply" made and tend not to work well. They are definately not mainstream devices that the average American will have. Of all the DVD players that can do PAL to NTSC the best would be the JVC (which you can buy from speciality mail-order outlet's who have modified it to be region free) and the Cyberhome (specifically the CH-DVD 500 model) which can be made region free using a "secrete" remote control "hack". These two are the best and most popular amoung those who want QUALTY conversion of PAL to NTSC.

The other popular models (mostly because they have been around longer) are the APEX and DAEWOO and SAMPO models but almost none of them will do a proper PAL to NTSC conversion. The converted image will either be slightly squashed (making everyone too short and fat looking) or it will be stretched (making everyone too tall and thin looking).

For someone living in the USA it is best to get the Cyberhome or one of the modified JVC players although I will point out that SAMPO does have a new players out that claims proper PAL to NTSC yet I don't know anyone who has one and I have seen hardly any comments about it on various forums that I routinely visit.

Anyways ... a properly converted PAL to NTSC image looks rather nice on a NTSC television. Atlthough I have no experience (due to lack of need) with NTSC to PAL conversion I have heard that it is much more difficult and results in a less pleasing image than PAL to NTSC.

Also please note that most PAL people bash NTSC because they rarely get to see a TRUE NTSC image on a NTSC television. My understanding is that most European DVD players and televisions convert NTSC to a "hybred" format that can be viewed on a PAL TV but is not a TRUE NTSC singal.

The differences in quality between a true NTSC and a true PAL signal (on a properly calibrated TRUE multi-system TV display) are minimal ... at least not so much so that NTSC in no way deserves the "bashing" that PAL people like to sling.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[txpharoah]

I have 4 DVD players and 4 different tv sets. They all play PAL discs. I can only guess that the output is NTSC, converted by the DVD player. I stick PAL DVDs and PAL VCDs in them all the time. I have a bad habit of buying movies from amazon.co.uk and ebay.co.uk, all of which are PAL discs. The R2-only discs are played on my Mintek, Cyberhome and Apex players. The Toshiba player cannot play anything outside of R1.

[rhegedus]

Anyways ... a properly converted PAL to NTSC image looks rather nice on a NTSC television. Atlthough I have no experience (due to lack of need) with NTSC to PAL conversion I have heard that it is much more difficult and results in a less pleasing image than PAL to NTSC.

No real need to convert NTSC to PAL since most (98% or so) of PAL DVD systems will quite happily play/convert a NTSC disk and give a wonderful picture. I know - I've ripped R1 DVDs and watched then on a PAL system with no problems at all.

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=530776#530776

[birdygal]

My apex 1100 will play them but my apex 1050 does not .

[energy80s]

The differences in quality between a true NTSC and a true PAL signal (on a properly calibrated TRUE multi-system TV display) are minimal ... at least not so much so that NTSC in no way deserves the "bashing" that PAL people like to sling.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

Not true. I've seen footage shot with an NTSC BetaCam played back on a multistandard monitor and it looks a lot worse than the same footage shot with a PAL BetaCam. NTSC has a lot of problems with it (not just the lower resolution thing and crappy colour response) and that's why it's the first system to go HDTV.