Region 2 DVD will play, but no subtitles

[guinevere67]

I was given a set of dvds from Denmark (I'm in the USA). They will play, but the subtitles won't show up even though the subtitle drop down menu on my player shows that it's set to show English subtitles. I can watch the full set of dvds if I choose, but I just can't understand anything being said.

Any ideas?

[Krispy Kritter]

Are they original discs? Have you looked up the disc information to confirm they actually have the subtitles? What are you using to play them and have you tested in a different player?

[guinevere67]

They are the original discs. I've looked up the info and they are subtitled for English, Danish and Swedish. I have a Panasonic DVD/CD player S27. They play fine with subtitles on my computer, so I'm making the assumption it's my dvd player.

[guinevere67]

It's definitely something faulty with my dvd player. On my computer, it plays in color with subtitles. But my dvd player will only play it in black and white with no subtitles. Weird!

[Noahtuck]

No, you are playing PAL dvd's on an NTSC system, that obviously can not convert between PAL & NTSC, which is why they are in B&W.
PC's have no such restrictions between PAL & NTSC.
And just because you say they are "original" disc's does not mean they are.
The fact that they "seem" to NOT be region encoded might be an indicator.

Even pirated or "unofficial" dvd's can be "pressed", but anyways......

What format is on the disc ?
If you browse the disc what is actually on it ?
Folders, files, etc. ?

[guinevere67]

I'm not sure how they would not be originals as they were received in the official packaging and shrink wrapped. It's exactly like what's pictured on the sites I've seen them advertised. When I did a more thorough search, it says that it's all regions, so I was assuming it was a Region 2 as I was having trouble with it. It's difficult to make out some of the info on the packaging as it's all in Danish, but I can confirm that this is an original set. And now I'm even more confused that my dvd player is having trouble with it if it's all regions.

[guinevere67]

I forgot to note that when I browse the discs, there are 2 folders one is names AUDIO_TS and the other is VIDEO_TS. The files are either .ifo or .vob format.

[Noahtuck]

"Region" and format, PAL or NTSC, are two TOTALLY different things!!!
And just because a disc is pressed, in official looking packaging and shrink wrapped does not mean it is "official".
It's like people, even here, stating that dvd sets are official just because they are on Amazon.....
LOL!!

Anyways, again, REGION and FORMAT are two totally different things!!!
The fact they are playing in B&W on your system in the U.S. (NTSC LAND) is a sure indicator they are PAL format!!

[netmask56]

You might be able to buy a NTSC/PAL compatible DVD player and TV. Region free refers to so called Geo-coding ie a market ploy to sell the same item at different prices according to the old principle of "what the market will bear". Then you have different TV systems NTSC and PAL.

In PAL land we can play virtually anything from anywhere as modern flat screen TV's and DVD players are multi system but I think NTSC is more limited so you may need special equipment or rip the disc and convert it to NTSC - a painful process.... Region coding by country http://www.laserrot.com/info/lrinfo/dvdmap.html

TV system by country http://countrycode.org/tv-standards

Digital TV systems by country https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_digital_television_deployments_by_country

[guinevere67]

Obviously, I will need to talk to someone who can help me "on site". I'm not technologically illiterate. I know what format and region coding are, and that they are not the same thing.

I've asked a seemingly basic question and now feel that I'm being talked down to like a child. I also know the person who sent the dvd set to me, and they would not send me pirated merchandise. I didn't randomly purchase this set off the web.

I'll look elsewhere for help. Obviously, I've inadvertently stepped into some techno-snobbery here.

[hech54]

Obviously, I will need to talk to someone who can help me "on site". I'm not technologically illiterate. I know what format and region coding are, and that they are not the same thing.

I've asked a seemingly basic question and now feel that I'm being talked down to like a child. I also know the person who sent the dvd set to me, and they would not send me pirated merchandise. I didn't randomly purchase this set off the web.

I'll look elsewhere for help. Obviously, I've inadvertently stepped into some techno-snobbery here.

The DVDs are PAL format......that's why they are showing up on B&W on your American NTSC format television.
Period.
Fact.
The PAL video format is not .pal(versus .vob, .ifo). The file structure inside the VIDEO_TS folder between NTSC and PAL video format DVD is identical.

[manono]

When you play the PAL version on your computer and then on DVD player to your TV set, is there a lot of picture missing from the bottom on the TV set? If so then the subs are too far down to be seen. Just guessing.

[jman98]

What manono said. I've seen this happen before on players that just chop off the bottom and top of the video to make PAL into 480 output rather than properly downscale from PAL to NTSC. You're lucky the PAL DVDs play at all.

Check your Panasonic's setup menu and see if you can set the video output to NTSC. It may currently by on "ANY" or "MULTI", either of which will cause what you are seeing. Some DVD players do not let you set the video output, so if yours doesn't, you'll have to buy a proper converting DVD player that also is region free.

[DB83]

Unless you are using additional software, I would guess that these disks are not Region 2 else you would not even be able to play them on your computer.

Chances are they are Region 0 or 'All Region'. That info should be shown somewhere on the back of the case, or box.

And, as already said, if they are PAL and you only see Black and White on your tv, your player is not converting the signal to NTSC.

[Noahtuck]

I know what format and region coding are, and that they are not the same thing.

Evidently not.
After stating TWO times it was a format issue and not a region issue you again stated,

And now I'm even more confused that my dvd player is having trouble with it if it's all regions.

Region, format, Oy Vey!

I've asked a seemingly basic question and now feel that I'm being talked down to like a child.

No, just being given an answer, take it how ever you want.


As for the rest, it does not matter as you are obviously sheltered.

[Krispy Kritter]

Based on the player specs and User Manual, it does support PAL format. So I'd suspect the player is able to play the discs, and the output is likely PAL format which your TV cannot handle. There are settings to adjust the output type for NTSC format discs, but I don't see any settings for PAL format discs.

In any event, as noted, the B&W picture is a typical indication of a non supported format.