DVD/VIDEO STANDARDS AND REGIONS
Please be advised that we are by no means experts on the subject of PAL/NTSC equipment and broadcast problems, and have only looked into the problem as it pertains to our own products on DVD.
Further information on this subject can be found on the following web sites:
http://www.gracefulboot.com/men-behaving-badly/region2inamerica.html
http://www.polishfilm.ca/skok/auxiliar/dvd_syst/dvd_syst.html
Splashes From The River DVD's are region free (code 0) and can be played in any country.
What video standard does my country use?
NTSC & PAL
There are differences in discs for NTSC and PAL TV systems. The MPEG video on DVD is stored in digital format, but it's formatted for one of two mutually incompatible television systems: NTSC or PAL/SECAM. Therefore, there are two kinds of DVDs: NTSC DVDs and PAL DVDs. Some players only play NTSC discs, others play PAL and NTSC discs.
If you're in North America, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and parts of South America, you use NTSC. Most other areas of the world use PAL or SECAM. Brazil uses PAL-M. Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay use PAL-N. The rest of the world uses mainly PAL. If you're unsure what your video standard is, contact your local cable or broadcast company. Also, most video tapes and/or video tape cases will have information on them indicating what video standard the tape is. This is a good representation of what your video standard is.
There are two ways to watch both PAL and NTSC DVDs. You can either view your DVDs on a multi-system TV, or purchase a NTSC/PAL or PAL/NTSC DVD Player.
All DVD players sold in PAL countries play both kinds of discs. These multi-standard
players convert NTSC to PAL .
Most NTSC players can't play PAL discs. A very small number of NTSC players can convert PAL to NTSC. So, if you have an NTSC only DVD player you will NOT be able to play a PAL disc unless you use a standards converter box.
Are the DVD's for these courses in PAL or NTSC format?
Splashes From The River discs are produced in NTSC format.
What are Region Codes?
Most DVDs include codes that can be used to prevent playback of certain discs in certain geographical regions. Each player is given a code for the region in which it's sold. The player will refuse to play discs that are not coded for its region. This means that discs bought in one country may not play on players bought in another country.
Regional codes are entirely optional for the maker of a disc. Discs without region locks will play on any player in any country. It's not an encryption system, it's just one byte of information on the disc that the player checks. Region codes are a permanent part of the disc, they won't "unlock" after a period of time.
Splashes From The River DVD's are region free (code 0) and can be played in any country.
What Region is my country in?
| Code |
Region |
| 1 |
U.S., Canada, U.S. Territories |
| 2 |
Japan, Europe, South Africa, and Middle East (including Egypt) |
| 3 |
Southeast Asia and East Asia (including Hong Kong) |
| 4 |
Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean |
| 5 |
Eastern Europe (Former Soviet Union), Indian subcontinent, Africa, North Korea, and Mongolia |
| 6 |
China |
| 7 |
Reserved |
| 8 |
Special international venues (airplanes, cruise ships, outer space.) |
| 0 |
Region Free. Playable on any system. |
Basic
Grammar