FYI Playing PAL DVD on US MBP

I am not sure if this has been brought up before, but my MBP (late 2007), and I am sure many other similar boxes play PAL DVDs perfectly. No conversion necessary.
I normally use VLC, but I checked with the Leopard DVD player and both work normally.
I thought I would just pass this along for anyone who was not sure.
Enjoy.

If your movie is encoded in the right format (such as MP4) and to specs that the Apple TV is happy with, it doesn't matter if the original movie was PAL or NTSC.
The difference between the two is the refresh rate. NTSC is approx 60Hz and PAL is 50Hz. The Apple TV will happily convert 50Hz to 60Hz and vice versa. It will output to whatever refresh rate is set in the Audio/Video settings on your Apple TV - which if you are in the US will most likely already be 60Hz. There should be no need to change these settings.
However, you may notice that motion (such as scrolling titles and slow pans) will not be as smooth due to the conversion.
But, in practice this is not a problem.
In short, the answer is YES.
Message was edited by: Easybourne

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DVD Player has started playing PAL DVD's on external PAL display very badly

I have my Early 2006 iMac connected to an external HDTV (Mini-DVI->HDMI)
Using display options I can switch the external display easily between NTSC and PAL refresh rates.
It used to be that apple's DVD player could play a PAL dvd just fine on the display but now the frame rate drifts in and out of sync as though it no longer understands that the TV is set to 50hz.
Although I used to use DVD player all the time I haven't done so for quite some months so I don't know when this started happening although I have a feeling that it was with a recent OS X update.
I say this because a few months ago all of a sudden the same thing happened with Elgato's EyeTV, but they issued a patch sometime later and it fixed the v-sync issue for their app.
I'm also wondering if it may be a de-interlacing issue rather than a v-sync issue but I'm not sure, I've tried various DVD's.
I have tried deleting ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.DVDPlayer but this hasn't helped.
If it's relevant, my iMac has an ATI Radeon X1600
Any ideas why DVD player has started having trouble with 50hz displays and how I might fix it?
Failing that, is there a good (hopefully free) dvd player alternative which is better at handing external displays of varying display modes?
p.s this was the most appropriate forum I could find.

I suggest that you create 15-second silent audio slug that you can use to move the audio the same amount you have moved the video.
John Link

Playing pal dvds

Would I be able to play DVDs from non-US regions on my iMac?

Yes, you could, but (and this a BIG but):
When you first insert a DVD, the DVD player is set to the region the first DVD is in (I believe region 1 for the US); if you then want to play a PAL DVD, you'll be prompted to set the region to that (could be 2 - I'm not sure which number).
The problem is that you are only allowed a total of 5 choices - period. On the 5th time, whatever choice you made will be the last....
I've heard there are external burner/players which are region free; I'd suggest you look into one of those which will avoid the problem altogether.

Can my iBook play PAL DVDs?

I've read the threads about how to convert, but what about just sticking the PAL DVD in and hitting play on the built in DVD player? Will it work? I want to get Irish sports (hurling, rugby, etc) DVD videos, but they are all PAL format!

You might try VLC for DVD playback. It ignores region codes and just plays the movie.
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/14738
The 5 region changes is a DVD industry rule, separate from Apple.
The ATI Displays utility might be helpful in switching between NTSC and PAL DVDs. The latest version is here.
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/21573

IMac don't play PAL DVDs only NTSC.

The PAL DVD gets ejected after a short time. Why? When I insert a DVD with NTSC it works fine. DVD-player starts automatically and plays the disc.
My iMac model is late 2009 with OS X Yosemite 10.10.3

But if I insert a DVD with region 0 (all regions) it plays just fine.
So why bother w/another region then?

Playing Pal DVD App Question

After reading Apple's DVD Player instructions about playing PAL discs, I'm left still with the following questions:
1. If I change Regions to play a PAL disc, does that mean I can repeatedly play PAL discs from that Region? Or am I simply limited to playing that one PAL disc from that Region?
2. If it is just the one disc from that PAL Region, can I repeated play that disc from the Region? Or can I only play it once?
3. Once I eject the one PAL disc from that Region, can I reinsert it at a later date and play it again?
Thanks

Thanks for your prompt reply.
OK, so if I understand you correctly, setting the Region is 'drive based' and not 'disc based'. Meaning that setting the Region allows all disc from that Region to be played for as long as the user likes, provided they don't change the region again. If they do they lose one of their multiple opportunities to change Regions.
Is this correct?

Will a multi-region (Region 0) PAL DVD play on my MBP?

I have a 2009 unibody MBP (15", 2.66GHz model). Purchased in the USA, located in the USA.
The MBP has a Matsushita DVD-R drive, model UJ-868, rev KB19. System Profiler does not show any region code for the drive, and I do not recall ever having to enter a preferred region code. It plays NTSC DVDs just fine.
Will it play a PAL DVD, coded as multi-region (Region 0)?
Any tips on how I could verify this (that is, without purchasing a PAL DVD just to find out)?

There is no real 'Region 0' - Region 0 is not an official setting; discs that bear the region 0 symbol either have no flag set or have region 1–6 flags set.
So, yes, it should play (either NTCS or PAL).

Will my Superdrive play a PAL DVD ?

I have the opportunity to purchase a DVD that I haven't been able to find anywhere for quite some time. The problem is that, according to the description, it is only available in this form: "Region Encoding: ALL, TV system: PAL" .
Since my TV is NTSC (and so is my LG DVD player), I figured I was out of luck. I then thought of my iMac G5 - Will this DVD play on my iMac ?
Walt
20" iMacG5 Mac OS X (10.4.8) 160gbHD, 1.25gbRAM

As Niel mentions, your iMac will play that PAL DVD, but keep in mind that it will be listed as a different region code. Your DVD drive can be switched up to 5 times before it gets locked into that last region. That could be a bad thing.
I bought a PAL concert DVD for a friend and took a different route. I used Handbrake to extract the image, then used iMovie to edit it with transitions and such, then used iDVD to create a disk with menus and everything. It looked very nice if I do not say so myself.

Will PAL dvd player play my NTSC DVD-r?

I'm trying to figure out if I need to convert several NTSC dvd's into PAL format to send to a friend's mom in Israel (she's very sick and would like to see these soon).
Since I've never converted between these formats, I've been doing lots of research and keep getting more confused. I downloaded JES Deinterlacer (i think thats what its called) but I'm not sure I need it since I read the following on an imovie FAQ website:
"I have an NTSC project and want a PAL DVD.
The good news is: You can just send an NTSC disc. Any PAL set top DVD player capable of playing DVD-R discs can also play NTSC discs. All that is needed is a fairly new TV, built in the last 8-10 years or so."
Could this be true? Can I really just send the NTSC dvd's to her? I hate to waste time here...please help...
Thanks so much in advance.
Jenny

That´s right; NTSC DVDs will always work on PAL players when the player is compliant to the DVD specs. Those players do give out the regular NTSC signal and/or convert to PAL60. Some players can even convert to PAL50. The problem is the TV set.
My German TV is 14 years old and cannot handle PAL60 or NTSC; I would need one of those rare players that convert to PAL50 (usually with poor results).
But NTSC DVDs will always work on a PC (when it is an all-region DVD).

PAL DVD cannot play on NTSC player?

A friend of mine told me that if my project is in PAL I can compress it as PAL & author a PAL DVD but all the player in the world including NTSC in US can play this PAL dvd too.
Is this right?
to my knowledge, you need a PAL capable DVD player to play PAL disc right?
thankx
JP

For NTSC:
Most people in the USA have NTSC ONLY DVD Players. This will NOT play a PAL DVD. Most people in the USA have NTSC TV's and a if they did have a PAL DVD player, it would play the DVD, but would not show up right on the TV.
Many NTSC monitors like my Sony can switch between NTSC and PAL, etc.
I have a PAL DVD player here at work, but it is 220V and i had to buy a converter to down convert it back to 110V.
Then there is the rest of the world which has it together. Sort of. Most PAL countries will have a DVD Player which will do multi system playback for both NTSC and PAL. And their TV's will switch between NTSC and PAL. For example South Africa and Australia.
But you are pretty much barred for the most part in the USA for playing a PAL DVD. We just don't do PAL, only NTSC.
Then there is the whole region code thing to add in to this as well.

Will a region free PAL DVD play on NTSC player

Question?
Will a region free PAL DVD created from DVD Studio Pro play on NTSC player

Sorry, but there are almost no NTSC DVD players that will play PAL.

I am trying to play a DVD on my MacBook Pro and transmit it to my TV (use my TV as the monitor) utilizing a VGA cable and adapter for the Mac but the only image that shows up on the TV is the MacBook wall paper, any ideas on how I can transmit to my TV?

I am trying to play a DVD on my MacBook Pro and transmit it to my TV (using my TV as the monitor) utilizing a VGA cable and adapter for the Mac but the only image that shows up on the TV is the MacBook wall paper, any ideas on how I can transmit the movie from my MacBook to the TV? I also tried an HDMI cable and had the same issue.

you are probably seeing the extended display.. to see ur main display go to pefrences then display steeings and turn mirroring on.
this will display ur mbp main screen. good luck.

How to produce a progressively encoded PAL DVD?

I've been tearing my hair out trying to get a conclusive answer to this. I'm trying to learn how to produce a PAL DVD that is encoded "progressively" and is not interlaced.
First I posted about it here in the Compressor forum, and then over at Ken Stone's forum.
To summarise , here's what I've been doing:
1. Export from FCP using Compressor
2. Apply the DVD preset
3. In the Inspector window, click the Frame Controls tab
4. Set the Resize Filter to Better or Best
5. Set Output fields to Progressive
6. Set Deinterlace to Better or Best
7. Uncheck Adaptive Details
8. Hit Submit and give your job a name
9. Import .m2v and .ac3 to DVD Studio Pro
10. Author and burn DVD
However, this is not producing a proper progressive encode - inspecting the .m2v asset (using VidoSpec) tells me that it is "lower field first."
Can anybody please advise? This is driving me crazy, and each time we issue a DVD reviewers pick up on the fact that it is not "flagged for progressive". Is this something that needs setting up as an option in DVDSP?

I need to read up about this topic also. I release Retail DVDs and have always shot in interlaced mode and released that way up until now
Now I am doing my first proper feature. I am advised to shoot progressive scan.
I am assuming from this thread that to produce commercial DVD that will play on all TVs and with all DVD players I will need to encode the final film to DVDStudio pro in Interlaced mode. (in other words in order to be played on all TVs the DVD needs to be interlaced not progressive scan. But to achieve a "Film Look" I need to shoot progressive. (I have not yet considered whether 24 fps or 25)
The film is aimed at a wide film fest, probably using a digital print, but I doubt we will get as far as transferring from High Def video to film (because of the expense) But I imaging the major market for the film internationally will be on DVD.
I am hoping to use a DOP, so hopefully will get more technical help there.
Best
Ian
Corolo Film & Video

I live in the UK but visit the US regularly. The price of a new MacBook Pro is much less in the US, and is where I plan to buy one. However, I have read that a US machine will not play UK DVD's. Is this true and if so is it possible to change the codes?

I live in the UK but visit the US regularly. I plan to buy a MacBookPro in the US but have read that it will not play UK DVD's. Is this so? If so, is it possible to change the codes?

All modern & new Macs can play both PAL and NTSC DVDs. I do it all the time and it works perfectly.
The DVD drive is set to its first region code when you first play a DVD in it. So when you buy a Mac, whatever type of DVD you play first will determine the initial region code that is set. If it's a PAL/Region 2 DVD it will set the DVD drive to region 2.
The only thing you have to watch out for is if you have a collection of DVDs that have different region codes. In those cases you may be faced with changing the region code in the DVD drive in order to play one or more of the DVDs; and as others have noted there is a limit to the number of times you can change the region code (most modern DVD drives allow up to 5 changes; the 5th change becomes the permanent change). This is due to industry licensing practices.
If you have DVDs that are Region 0 or All Regions you don't have to worry about region codes.

NTSC footage for a Pal DVD

Hello everyone
i have to make a DVD for Europe- PAL
but the footage was shot on NTSC-DV
If the settings of my DVD Studio Pro project -video standard is on PAL
but the quicktime i import to my video track is NTSC
will the client be able to play this dvd in europe?
i would appreciate any help
thanks
Danny

Hi::
If the settings of my DVD Studio Pro project -video standard is on PAL
but the quicktime i import to my video track is NTSC
will the client be able to play this dvd in europe?
You cannot import NTSC assets into a PAL DVDSP project. You must first re-encode your movie to the right standard.
You can find some info about how to do so in this thread in Compressor forum:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1015451&tstart=15
Hope that helps !
Alberto

FYI Playing PAL DVD on US MBP

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