All data stored on a DVD is encoded in digital 0s and 1s, and a signal intended
for display on a computer will work anywhere the device is used. However, if
the signal is to be output to a television set, it is encoded for one or the other
of the two incompatible major television systems in use around the world.
NTSCis the 525-line standard used in the United States, Canada, Japan,
Mexico, Taiwan, and a few other countries. PALis the 625-line standard
common in most of Europe and Africa, Australia, China, and elsewhere. Very
few DVD players intended for use in NTSC countries will play a PAL-encoded
disc. On the other hand, most DVD players sold for PAL countries are multi-
standard and work with televisions of either design.Pick a standard, almost any standard .............................................
When it comes to buying and using media for a DVD recorder, you’ve got to
be compatible. That’s because manufacturers have not. (Been compatible,
that is.) Over the years several competing specifications existed for record-
able DVDs. Not all types work with each other. Here is a tour of the various
standards.DVD-R
The original specification for DVD-Recordable, developed by the DVD Forum
with the first machine offered to the industry in 1997 at a bargain basementChapter 9: Going Round and Around: CD and DVD Drives 155
DVDs and world affairs
In their great wisdom, manufacturers of prere-
corded DVDs decided to attempt to cut down, if
not prevent, piracy of copyrighted video and other
material by assigning geographic “regions” that
limit unofficial traffic from place to place. The first
time you try to play a regionalized DVD on your
computer, you will likely be asked to set your DVD
to play discs from your region; you can choose a
geographic area from a list presented as part of
the properties of the drive. North America is
Region 1, while Asia and Europe are in different
regions.
You can change the region a limited number of
times, usually no more than five. After the remain-
ing number of available changes reaches zero,
you cannot change the region even if you reinstall
Windows or move your DVD player to a different
computer. That is the official word. Unofficially,
you may be able to find software that unlocks a
DVD from a region other than your own. And you
may be able to find utilities that will reset the
region chosen for your computer as necessary.
Spend a little time searching on the Internet for
either fix.