peter07

I've read a bunch of stuff regarding region-free players, and I'm thinking of just getting a TV that can handle PAL and NTSC. Has anyone done this and had no problems than someone who bought a mult-region, mult-standard player?

pwong5

Even if you get a TV that can handle PAL and NTSC, I think you'll still need a DVD player capable of playing PAL and a DVD player capable of playing NTSC.

Deke Rivers

its the dvd player that has the region locks not the tv..converting PAL to NTSC has nothing to do with region locks..its 2 separate issues. I would go with a region free dvd player that also converts PAL to NTSC..CYBERHOME 500 is 69 bucks plus a 10 or 20 buck rebate..you cant get a tv for that price plus the tv will not do anything about region locks

peter07

Yes, I understand that you still need an all-region player but it seems the PAL/NTSC conversion is a problem even for players. I used to own a Pioneer 535k model that could play PAL on a PAL TV and NTSC on an NTSC TV.

My point is that many of the players with built-in converters do a less-than-perfect job with the conversion, and that having a multi-region TV is the answer.

But thanks for your input.

Deke Rivers

I havent had any problems with conversion on my Cyberhome

peter07

I'm glad you haven't but I've read many who have, esp. when getting their deluxe PAL versions and trying to watch them on an NTSC screen.

Deke Rivers

Dont know what to tell ya then..just stating my experiences with mine...hope you find what you need

renaldow

Peter07, you can buy a multi-standard TV, or you can just buy a region free player that actually can do proper anamorphic PAL conversion. The choice is yours. There are quiet a few region free players (Malata, JVC, Cyberhome) that do flawless PAL>NTSC conversion even with anamorphic titles. There are many more that don't. I would suggest researching players first before spending the extra money on a multistandard monitor.

I'm not sure what you mean by a 'deluxe PAL' version.

Josh Z

I would also note that if you live in the United States, your options for PAL-capable televisions are practically non-existant unless you go the front projection route.

LarryB

I have both the JVC 502SL and Cyberhome CH-DVD-500 DVD codefree players that convert PAL to NTSC. I have a Toshiba 42H82 projection (NTSC) TV. My PAL DVD's play fine from these two dvd players on the Toshiba.

peter07

Actually, I've found several online suppliers who sell multiregion TVs at a good price, and they carry famous brands.

It just seems that a TV would probably convert better than a player.

Anyway, thanks for your input everyone.

mdm67

Hi peter07!
OK you buy your multistandard TV set, but tell me, how do you solve the region code problem?
As Deke Rivers correctly pointed out TV standards and codefree DVD players are two different issues.
What's the meaning of a thread titled Multiregion Tvs vs Region-free Players? if you have an answer to this you are a genius.

mdm67

Deke Rivers

imthink he was more intersted in the Pal to NTSC conversion but even so..in order to play pal you still have to have a region free player just to play the PAL dvd even if the TV is doing the conversion..very confusing what he was really looking for but it sounds like he found an answer

Andras

The following solution works for me:

I have a JVC NTSC 32" TV. It does anamorphic squeeze from the service menu. I have a Daewoo 5700 player that plays all regions. I tell the player I have a 16x9 TV (which is not true). This way the DVD player sends 33% more picture to the TV. Then when playing anamorphic PAL or NTSC I squeeze it down to the correct size using the TV's remote.

My understanding is that some manufacturers find it cheaper to build TVs that are both PAL and NTSC capable, rather than making separate models for different markets. There is an option on the Daewoo 5700 player to send signals in native format without conversion to the TV. This means either PAL or NTSC depending on the disk played will be sent to the TV.

Josh Z

Andras, your two paragraphs don't seem to have much to do with one another. The anamorphic squeeze is one thing. PAL-to-NTSC conversion is something different. There is more to PAL than just having more lines of resolution. It has a completely different scan rate.

Manufacters do make separate models for different markets. They have to. In addition to the PAL/NTSC issues, there are other problems such as different electrical current.

In the US, there are very few televisions sold that will accept a PAL signal. Most of them are limited to front projection models, or imported units. A TV you purchase off the Best Buy showroom floor is not going to be compatible with PAL.

Andras

Both of my paragraph deal with the subject we are discussing.
Many players do a good job converting PAL to NTSC, and do a poor job with anamorphic squeeze. My solution leaves the squeeze job for the TV. The root of the problem is the number of lines and thus the amount of squeeze required for the two systems.

I think many TVs even at Best Buy may have a power supply capable of accepting 110V to 240V. Many may also be capable of accepting PAL signal, but I don't think most people even have the means of testing it. I think if it is more cost effective for a manufacturer to develop a single model TV for all markets they will not disable PAL capability just because they are shipping it to the US. Some Panasonic projectors for example are like that, and I'm pretty sure there are TVs that can accept all voltages and signals also.

pro-bassoonist

Can you specify what titles exactly are you talking about? I have played the Deluxe edition of Dobermann on a Cyberhome 500 without a problem.

Same thing is true for Papillon (DTS doube FRENCH disc as well).....I wold love to hear what are you pointing out to...

Josh Z

No, I'm sorry but you're wrong. The majority of American televisions cannot accept PAL and are not cross-compatible with multiple voltages. If you bought an American television and brought it with you to Europe, you would have to plug it into a voltage converter and it would be useless for displaying PAL broadcasts, which run at a different scan rate (50hz instead of 60hz) and have more resolution than the US TV would be capable of resolving. You wouldn't get a picture at all.

Many televisions in Europe and other parts of the world that are designed for PAL also include compatibility with NTSC, or a format called PAL-60 that imitates the scan rate of NTSC (you would still need a voltage convertor if you brought it into the US). The same is not true of American televisions. They are fixed at a single scan rate and will not accept a PAL signal.

This is a deliberate decision by the manufacturers designed to reduce foreign competition in the US market.

There are specialty products available from a few manufacturers that are compatible with PAL and perhaps with multiple voltages, but these are a small niche product and are not commonly available to most American consumers.

Projectors also are a different story. Digital projectors work differently than CRT televisions and can display mulitple resolutions and scan rates. I have one myself and watch PAL content on it regularly, without converting to NTSC. Again, these are a niche product and are not representative of the vast majority of American televisions.

hardtack

God I am glad that I live in a country that allows us to have freedom of choice (in the realm of multi-media at least)

Here it is fairly standard for a television set to handle both PAL and NTSC, it is possible to purchase ANY brand of DVD player with multi-region capability quite legitimately over the counter at most stores, and most (if not all) DVD players are multi-system capable in that they handle the output of both PAL and NTSC media. No need for confusing research here... just buy what you need and plug it in

regards, Tim...

Kumar J

From My experince, the dvd's I bought from Europe which are PAL cannot be played in my Japanese TV necause the TV can only accept NTSC reception.Even though my dvd player is capable of 110v/240v and also multiregion, I cannot view the movie.
The only way I am watching the dvd's are through my laptop

Sinister Ash

As a matter of fact, Best Buy does carry TVs capable of displaying pal signals and ntsc signals as well.

I know one of the 16x9 Sony models have this capability. The pal option can be selected in one of the menus.

I'm not 100% sure about the plasma screens, but those more than likely have an option to display pal signals.

mdm67

Hi there!
at this point would be interesting to understand why Europeans are the only one in the world to be allowed to own TV sets capable to play both PAL and NTSC!?

mdm67

Hendrik

...why 'the only one in the world'...?... afaik the TV sets of Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans, Israelis, Malaysians, and people from Hong Kong and such also are capable of showing both PAL and NTSC....

. . . . . .

Josh Z

Yes, and your government has even come out in favor of abolishing the region coding standard altogether.

Not so much here, unfortunately.

As I said, it's a deliberate move to reduce foreign competition in the US market. Other countries, those that actually believe in the concept of free trade, are not as restrictive.

peter07

Actually, coding is also intended to guard against piracy. In China and Russia, over 90% of the DVDs and CDs are cheap fakes and it costs companies billions in lost revenue.

And I also don't know why the US doesn't use the superior PAL standard.

Anyway, I found a nice dealer in the LA area that carries PAL/NTSC TVs. There are also sites that specialize in this niche market.