ive noticed a blur on some british region 1 dvds? (the office mainly). is that because they are pal masters? and also, is the pitch change that obvious? i have noticed it on some music videos (the darkness for example) and becomes very annoying.

The Office is shot on PAL video, run through a "Film Look" program to soften the picture and contrast levels, and then converted to NTSC for the Region 1 DVD.

I thought it looked pretty good considering the circumstances.

The only time I've ever noticed PAL speed-up is on the R2 Buffy sets - and that's only on the male leads (Giles, Xander, Spike), and you totally get used to it. I haven't really noticed it anywhere else - not even on PAL music dvds, which I should totally notice, but don't.

If you can't stand PAL speedup - use a PC to watch the disc with WinDVD - it can slow it down by 4% to get the original pitch and a PC will produce higher picture quality than any similarly priced standalone DVD player.

I don't notice the PAL speedup as well. Well, sometimes the actiosn seem a bit too fast. The voices are a little higher for me, but not by much, so it doesn't really matter.

Oh yeah, digitalfreaknyc, do you have any PAL DVDs? I used to think like you, but I finally broke down and bought some, and am kicking myself now for being so stubborn before.

I have all the Will and Grace discs but i'm slowly replacing them as they come out over here. Otherwise, none of my movies have "better" releases on PAL except for "Frantic" which is only available in widescreen in PAL. My lone PAL movie.

again...not to get into it but I've studied music for years. I've been told by music instructors I have perfect pitch. I remember the very first time I encountered PAL speedup. The laserdisc of Evita (Criterion) had a special produced for the UK. I sat there and said "why the hell does madonna sound like she's a chipmunk in this documentary??" I did a little investigating and found out why.

The only reasons I go region-free is for DTS, 16:9 or extras that we don't have over here. I don't watch foreign films. It's just a preference. Thus, I have no use for PAL discs. There are very few titles that I can't find anamorphic in other regions.

But again...whatever pleases others, go right ahead! I know others enjoy the increased picture and whatknot. But in my head I would always know that I'm not hearing the actors how they were recorded, regardless of whether *I* could hear it or not.

And FYI, I had my grandmother say to me one time "why do they sound so 'fast'" while showing her an episode of W&G.

Of course, that probably has more to do with the fact that everyone on that show yap-yap-yaps their dialogue at a rapid-fire clip like a Pomeranian on amphetamines. Try making her sit for an episode of Gilmore Girls!

Sorry...I should have mentioned...she's a huge fan of the show and watches it every week. She was watching the blooper reel from season 3.

Your theory and attempt to insult my favorite TV show have been squashed.

Update on Kill Bill Reg 3:

We have a good and a bad new.

First the bad new : Mangpong, the official distributor for the Thailand release
have change plan for Kill Bill to 16th April for a Worldwide release.

Now, the good new, this title will be available in "Uncut Version" too. All the
customer who made a preorder before the 29th February will received the "Uncut
Version" for the price of the "Normal Version" and normally the "Uncut Version"
will have the DTS sound (but not confirmed yet)

We apologize for the disagreement occasioned, but unfortunately we don’t decide
the release date from any product... and of course, if you don't need wait, or
just "not happy", just ask us and we refund your Paypal payement

The Webmaster