Category: Video

 
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DVD – Region Codes

What are region codes?Region encoding is the mechanism that enables motion picture studios to control the worldwide release of their movies. It is required by the DVD Forum (https://www.dvdforum.org/forum.shtml) in all commercial hardware DVD players. Every DVD-Video disc contains one byte of data representing a region code, which limits where the disc can be played. Region codes correspond to the following areas of the globe:

  1. Canada, United States, and U.S. territories
  2. Japan, Middle East, South Africa, Western Europe
  3. East Asia, Southeast Asia
  4. Australia, Caribbean islands, Central America, Mexico, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, South America
  5. Africa, Eastern Europe, India, Mongolia, North Korea
  6. China
  7. Reserved
  8. Special international venues (airplanes, cruise ships, and so forth)

How is the region code set?

The first time you insert a DVD disc in Mac OS X v10.3 or later:

  • If the disc only supports one region, the DVD drive is set to that region. No dialog box appears if you are logged in as an admin user. This will automatically count against the number of times you can change the region setting (see below).
  • If the disc supports more than one region, or is region-free, the below dialog appears asking you to choose a region for your DVD drive.

If you later insert a DVD that uses a different region, the above dialog will appear.

You can change the region setting up to 5 times, as indicated in the dialog box. On the fifth time, the drive is permanently set to use that region, and you cannot make any more changes. For example, imagine you have both a Region 1 and Region 2 DVD-Video disc. You insert the Region 1 disc and DVD Player is now set to play only Region 1 discs. You insert the Region 2 disc, and set the drive to play only Region 2 discs. If you continue to switch between the discs, on the fifth time the DVD drive is permanently set to use the region of that disc.

Learn more

Discs with the region byte set to all zeros (sometimes called Region 0) can be played in any part of the world. Region 0 DVD-Video discs, such as those created by iDVD, do not have a geographical boundary. However, your DVD player and television must be compatible with the video standard used to record the movie on the disc. You should be able to play any Region 0 DVD disc with the DVD Player application since it is compatible with these video standards.

DVD players are generally limited to playing discs of only one region—usually the region where the DVD player was purchased. For example, DVD players purchased in Canada usually only play Region 1 DVD-Video discs.

This blog is inspired by Amy Maria https://www.facebook.com/amy.maria.965

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WHAT IS NTSC AND PAL STANDARD?

Although VHS video format is the same throughout the World, the video standard or electronic signal that is recorded on the cassette varies from country to country. The two most common video standards used are NTSC and PAL.

NTSC is the video system or standard used in North America and most of South America. In NTSC, 30 frames are transmitted each second. Each frame is made up of 525 individual scan lines.

PAL is the predominant video system or standard mostly used overseas. In PAL, 25 frames are transmitted each second. Each frame is made up of 625 individual scan lines.

 

There are other format as follows:

NTSC: National Television System Committee. Developed in the USA, also used by other countries. Utilizing the USA power net 60Hz as refreshing frequency

PAL: Phase Alternation Line. Developed in Germany, also used by other countries. Utilizing the European power net 50Hz as refreshing frequency.

SECAM: Sequential Couleur Avec Memoire. Developed in France also used by other countries. Utilizing the European power net 50Hz as refreshing frequency.

MESECAM: Mediterranean SECAM, a SECAM sub-standard developed for use in the Middle East and still used by a few countries. TV reception and playback may be viewed with both PAL and SECAM TV sets.

PAL-60: A substandard of PAL used by some countries, utilizing 60Hz instead of 50Hz refreshing frequency.

NTSC 4.43: An NTSC substandard. Most modern playback machines are dual mode and will switch automatically between versions 3.XX and 4.XX. Older machines may require manual switching or an additional external converter.

 

 

Here is a list of the countries and there popular formats:

 

COUNTRY VHF UHF DVD REGIONS
AFGHANISTAN PAL/SECAM B 5
ALBANIA PAL B PAL G 2
ALGERIA PAL B PAL G 5
ANGOLA PAL I 5
ARGENTINA PAL N PAL N 4
AUSTRALIA PAL B PAL G 4
AUSTRIA PAL B PAL G 2
AZORES PAL B
BAHAMAS NTSC M 4
BAHRAIN PAL B PAL G 2
BANGLADESH PAL B 5
BARBADOS NTSC M 4
BELGIUM PAL B PAL H 2
BERMUDA NTSC M
BOLIVIA NTSC M NTSC M 4
BOTSWANA PAL I 5
BRAZIL PAL M PAL M 4
BRUNEI PAL B PAL B
BULGARIA SECAM D SECAM K 2
BURKINA FASO SECAM K1 5
BURMA NTSC M
BURUNDI SECAM K1 5
CAMBODIA NTSC M 3
CAMEROON PAL B PAL G 5
CANADA NTSC M NTSC M < 1
CANARY ISLANDS PAL B 2
CHAD SECAM K1 5
CHILE NTSC M NTSC M 4
CHINA PAL D 6
COLOMBIA NTSC M NTSC M 4
COSTA RICA NTSC M NTSC M 4
CROATIA PAL B PAL G 2
CUBA NTSC M NTSC M 4
CYPRUS PAL B< PAL G
CZECH REPUBLIC PAL D PAL K 2
DAHOMEY SECAM K1
DENMARK PAL B PAL G 2
DJIBOUTI SECAM B SECAM G 5
DOMINICAN REP NTSC M NTSC M 4
ECUADOR NTSC M NTSC M 4
EGYPT SECAM B/PAL B SECAM G/PAL G 2
EL SALVADOR NTSC M NTSC M 4
EQUAT. GUINEA PAL B 5
ESTONIA PAL B (was SECAM) PAL D 5
ETHIOPIA PAL B PAL G 5
FIJI PAL B
FINLAND PAL B PAL G 2
FRANCE SECAM L SECAM L 2
FRENCH POLYNESIA SECAM K1
GABON SECAM K1 5
GAMBIA PAL I 5
GERMANY PAL B PAL G 2
GHANA PAL B PAL G 5
GIBRALTAR PAL B PAL H 2
GREECE PAL B (was SECAM) PAL G 2
GREENLAND NTSC/PAL B 2
GUADELOUPE SECAM K1
GUAM NTSC M 1
GUATEMALA NTSC M NTSC M 4
GUINEA PAL K 5
GUYANA (FRENCH) SECAM K1 4
HONDURAS NTSC M NTSC M 4
HONG KONG PAL I 3
HUNGARY SECAM D/PAL SECAM K/PAL 2
ICELAND PAL B PAL G 2
INDIA PAL B 5
INDONESIA PAL B PAL G 3
IRAN SECAM B SECAM G 2
IRAQ SECAM B 2
IRELAND PAL I PAL I 2
ISRAEL PAL B PAL G 2
ITALY PAL B PAL G 2
IVORY COAST SECAM K1 5
JAMAICA NTSC M 4
JAPAN NTSC M NTSC M 2
JORDAN PAL B PAL G 2
KENYA PAL B PAL G 5
KOREA NORTH PAL 5
KOREA SOUTH NTSC M NTSC M 3
KUWAIT PAL B 2
LATVIA PAL D (was SECAM) PAL K 5
LEBANON SECAM B SECAM G 2
LIBERIA PAL B PAL H 5
LIBYA SECAM B SECAM G 5
LITHUANIA PAL D (was SECAM) PAL K 5
LUXEMBOURG PAL B/SECAM L PAL G/SEC L 2
MADAGASCAR SECAM K1 5
MADEIRA PAL B
MALAGASY SECAM K1
MALAWI PAL B PAL G 5
MALAYSIA PAL B 3
MALI SECAM K1 5
MALTA PAL B PAL H 2
MARTINIQUE SECAM K1
MAURITANIA SECAM B 5
MAURITIUS SECAM B 5
MEXICO NTSC M NTSC M 4
MONACO SECAM L 2
MONGOLIA SECAM D 5
MOROCCO SECAM B 5
MOZAMBIQUE PAL B 5
NAMIBIA PAL I 5
NEPAL PAL B
NETHERLANDS PAL B PAL G 2
NETH. ANTILLES NTSC M NTSC M
NEW CALEDONIA SECAM K1
NEW GUINEA PAL B PAL G 4
NEW ZEALAND PAL B PAL G 4
NICARAGUA NTSC M NTSC M 4
NIGER SECAM K1 5
NIGERIA PAL B PAL G 5
NORWAY PAL B PAL G 2
OMAN PAL B PAL G 2
PAKISTAN PAL B 5
PANAMA NTSC M NTSC M 4
PARAGUAY (was PAL N) NTSC M (was PAL N) NTSC M 4
PERU NTSC M NTSC M 4
PHILIPPINES NTSC M NTSC M 3
POLAND PAL D PAL K 2
PORTUGAL PAL B PAL G 2
PUERTO RICO NTSC M NTSC M 1
QATAR PAL B 2
REUNION SECAM K1
RUMANIA PAL D PAL K 2
RUSSIA SECAM D SECAM K 5
RWANDA SECAM K1 5
SABAH/SAWARA PAL B
ST. KITTS NTSC M NTSC M
SAMOA (US) NTSC M 1
SAUDI ARABIA SECAM-B/PAL-B SECAM G 2
SENEGAL PAL 5
SEYCHELLES PAL B PAL G 5
SIERRA LEONE PAL B PAL G 5
SINGAPORE PAL B PAL G
SLOVAK REPUBLIC PAL PAL 2
SOMALIA PAL B PAL G 5
SOUTH AFRICA PAL I PAL I 2
SPAIN PAL B PAL G 2
SRI LANKA PAL B 5
SUDAN PAL B PAL G 5
SURINAM NTSC M NTSC M 4
SWAZILAND PAL B PAL G
SWEDEN PAL B PAL G 2
SWITZERLAND PAL B PAL G 2
SYRIA SECAM B 2
TAHITI SECAM K1
TAIWAN NTSC M NTSC M 3
TANZANIA PAL B PAL B 5
THAILAND PAL B 3
TOGO SECAM K 5
TRINIDAD TOBAGO NTSC M NTSC M 4
TUNISIA SECAM B 5
TURKEY PAL B PAL G
UGANDA PAL B PAL G 5
UKRAINE PAL / SECAM D-K 5
UNITED ARAB EMIR. PAL B PAL G 2
UNITED KINGDOM PAL I 2
UPPER VOLTA SECAM K1
URUGUAY PAL N PAL N 4
USA NTSC M NTSC M 1
VENEZUELA NTSC M NTSC M 4
VIETNAM PAL B PAL G 3
YEMEN PAL B 2
YUGOSLAVIA PAL B PAL G 2
ZAIRE SECAM K1
ZAMBIA PAL B PAL G 5
ZIMBABWE PAL B PAL G 5