A Guide To DVD Region Codes & TV Picture Formats
This is intended as a guide onlyThere are two issues to consider with DVD playback
REGION ENCODING determines which countries (or Region) the DVD is authorised for. See the list below of which countries are included in each Region. This system was originally conceived to prevent unauthorised international release of movies, or to limit release to the studios' own schedule. However many music DVDs are flagged as REGION 0 or ALL REGION.
PICTURE FORMAT is the playback system used in different countries. This is set independently of Region Encoding (for example a PAL 'All Region' DVD will not play back on most US systems. Although the disc is theoretically authorised for playback in that Region, US machines use a different picture format). There are various picture formats and variations of those formats worldwide but we'll limit ourselves here to the two main formats, PAL & NTSC. The list below shows which countries operate each format.
NOTE:
1/ Some customers may own multi-region/multi-format equipment - you know who you are!
2/ Most European market DVD players will in fact read NTSC format discs and many will have a menu option to allow output of NTSC as 'pseudo PAL'. With those players the limiting factor is then the TV itself as some older sets may not display NTSC pictures at all or will only render in black and white.
Please also check the documentation for your own playback system. If you're in any doubt then contact us before ordering (enquiries@camino.co.uk)
TV Picture Formats
PAL
United Kingdom, France, Germany, Algeria, Argentina (PAL-N), Austria, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil (PAL-M), China, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Liberia, Malaysia, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, New Guinea, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, South W. Africa, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Yugoslavia, Zambia
NTSC
U.S.A., Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Taiwan
DVD Region Codes
Region 0
Compatible with DVD players from any region
Region 1
US, US territories & Canada
Region 2
UK, Europe, Japan, South Africa & the Middle East
Region 3
Southeast & East Asia
Region 4
Australia, New Zealand, Central & South America
Region 5
Former Soviet Union, Indian sub-continent, Africa, North Korea & Mongolia
Region 6
China
All Region
Formatted for all regions (0 to 6)
What do those initial stand for? We don't know about PAL but the rumour among TV techs is that NTSC stands for 'Never The Same Color'! The French also have a system called SECAM which, apparently, stands for System Essentially Contrary to the American Method.!! I don't believe a word of it ...