DVD Player Compatibility list

[oddbod77]

After just answering another PAL to NTSC conversion question I thought that maybe it would be possible to add a field to the player list that indicated whether it was multisystem compatible.

By this I mean - for example - whether a PAL player can play NTSC discs correctly without relying on the TV/Monitor that it's connected to, being NTSC capable. I realise it's not a must have feature but not having to do system conversions can make life much easier especially for newcomers.

Thoughts and comments welcome.

[Baldrick]

http://www.vcdhelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=341244#341244

but I think it will be the same problem as with some other features like integrated dts/dd decoders that I have to disabled cause too many user reports wrong....and with pal/ntsc they will probably just check if they can play it and not check if their tv supports both system. I was thinking of adding some features manually but I never have the time....it would take severaaaaal daaaays and lots of players do not have any decent webinformation.

[Gazorgan]

Having done a lot of PAL and NTSC work for cable TV, I'll take a stab.

Most US DVD players I have looked at will play PAL. Of course you have to ask yourself why, how many PAL countries are there in our region? Very few, so why do they support PAL? Simple, the chipset does.

Specifically there is usually only 1 model world wide. The Europeon version simply has a different Region setting than the US version. Most of the newer units have switching power-supplies that will operate between 100-240 volts AC. This makes manufactuing simple and cheap. Very simple when you consider there's no tuner like in a VCR.

You realize, of course, that if you flip your DVD player over to PAL, you going to have a hell of a time flipping it back to NTSC when you can't see the screen? The real question maybe should be: Does it play PAL/NTSC discs on a NTSC/PAL TV ? (can it transcode?).

Multimode TV's are much more common in Europe than in the US.

Don't Forget SECAM!