Both NTSC and PAL on a single DVD?

[daave]

I have heard that it is possible to create a single DVD that is playable on both PAL and NTSC players worldwide. Is this true? Can anyone shed some light on this?

[edDV]

I have heard that it is possible to create a single DVD that is playable on both PAL and NTSC players worldwide. Is this true? Can anyone shed some light on this?

First most all PAL DVD players will play an NTSC DVD disc to PAL60* out.

You can't mix PAL and NTSC on the same single sided disc. There are two sided discs where you can put NTSC on one side and PAL on the other but the blank media is expensive. Better option is to include two DVD-5 discs.


* PAL60 is analog composite 525 line 59.94 fields per second but with PAL subcarrier at 4.43 MHz. Analog component YPbPr and upscaled HDMI also usually work from an NTSC disc.

[victoriabears]

yes I have seen this happen, but it shouldn;t, and you can simply create problems down the road.

I saw it happen on a Philips dvd recorder that recorded both ntsc and pal and somehow the disc got created even though it shouldn;t. Just a quirk of the system.

[jman98]

You CAN do it in that it is POSSIBLE to do it, but such creates a non-standard DVD and all bets are off as to what happens when you try to play it. Most authoring programs won't let you do this so you'll have to be able to override any attempts to prevent this from happening.

NTSC is playable in almost all DVD players worldwide already. The only ones that can't play NTSC DVDs are such pieces of crap that nobody should worry about them. And if someone in PAL land has a TV that can't deal sensibly with an NTSC signal then tell grandma to get with the times and stop trying to make her 30 year old TV still work.

[edDV]

The TV just needs to deal with PAL60. Most from the last decade do.

The opposite PAL to NTSC is a serious problem. Most major brand TV sets sold in North America refuse PAL or any 25/50 source. The motive is to poison them for trans-shipment out of the region. The reason for that is all about high TV taxes in PAL lands making similar North American TV sets look cheap.

[daave]

NTSC is playable in almost all DVD players worldwide already. The only ones that can't play NTSC DVDs are such pieces of crap that nobody should worry about them. And if someone in PAL land has a TV that can't deal sensibly with an NTSC signal then tell grandma to get with the times and stop trying to make her 30 year old TV still work.

There is a place in town here that says they guarantee their DVDs will play on any system worldwide. I just wonder how they do it. Is it because as jman98 says? Jman98, how long has this been the case for?

[edDV]

NTSC is playable in almost all DVD players worldwide already. The only ones that can't play NTSC DVDs are such pieces of crap that nobody should worry about them. And if someone in PAL land has a TV that can't deal sensibly with an NTSC signal then tell grandma to get with the times and stop trying to make her 30 year old TV still work.

There is a place in town here that says they guarantee their DVDs will play on any system worldwide. I just wonder how they do it. Is it because as jman98 says? Jman98, how long has this been the case for?

If you make an NTSC DVD disc it will play on the vast majority of players worldwide.

[Noahtuck]

There is a place in town here that says they guarantee their DVDs will play on any system worldwide.

Are they pressed dvd's or burned dvdr's

I just wonder how they do it.

Just because they "guarantee" it, that does not mean they will actually play on any system worldwide.
But the % of systems that won't play them is probably so small and the chances of them having to refund a few is not an issue.

First off, they are probably "region free", second, they are probably NTSC so they will play in the majority of systems as PAL systems are more likely to be able to play NTSC format, where as NTSC systems are less likely to play PAL format.

Now you have the issue of some systems not even playing DVDR's, although it is getting rarer for a standalone to not be able to play DVDR's.

But the bottom line is, there is NO WAY to make a standard dvd that will play in ALL SYSTEMS.

I just bought 2 NTSC bluray players and they will play PAL dvd's & dvdr's as long as there is no region coding & Xvids, MKV's, etc. from a burned DVDR/RW or BD-R/RE

[hech54]

There is a place in town here that says they guarantee their DVDs will play on any system worldwide. I just wonder how they do it. Is it because as jman98 says? Jman98, how long has this been the case for?

They are making NTSC - Region free discs like everyone here is telling you. No magic wand. No secret formula with 11 herbs and spices.....just an NTSC DVD.