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  • DVD Region Zones and PAL v NTSC
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DVD Region Zones

Region

Countries

0

No Region Coding

1

United States of America, Canada

2

Europe, including France, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Arabia, Japan and South Africa

3

Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Borneo and Indonesia

4

Australia and New Zealand, Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America

5

India, Africa, Russia and former USSR countries

6

Peoples Republic of China

7

Unused

8

Airlines/Cruise Ships

9

Expansion (often used as region free)

 

PAL vs NTSC

What is the difference between PAL and NTSC formatted DVDs?
PAL (Phase Alternate Lines) Vs. NTSC (National Television Standards Committee)
DVD has brought with it a similar problem we had with video and laser disc, two main formats not being compatible with each other. Most televisions have been designed over the past few years to accept both PAL and NTSC. But say for example if you play a NTSC DVD on a PAL system television the picture on your monitor will be distorted in black and white if your player or TV does not have a converter (NTSC/PAL do not apply when playing via a computer).

Many TVs or DVD players will have an on-screen setup option. Through this you may have to set the video to either NTSC, PAL or Multi (which should accept both)

They're Not Really PAL or NTSC
The first thing I need to clarify about DVD is that PAL and NTSC are words and formats that are applied to DVD for convenience, and because of historical convention. There is nothing fundamental about a DVD which makes it either PAL or NTSC, but for simplicity and brevity, I will continue to use these terms throughout this article.

At their heart, DVDs are merely carriers of data files with compressed audio-visual information contained therein. This information can be placed on DVD in one of two resolutions; 720 x 576 pixels (PAL DVDs), or 720 x 480 pixels (NTSC DVDs), and with various frame rates (24, 25, and 30 frames per second are common). The DVD player itself takes this data file and formats it appropriately for display in either PAL or NTSC.

The Issue Of Resolution
In principle, PAL DVDs have a compelling advantage over NTSC DVDs. PAL DVDs have 576 pixels of vertical resolution versus 480 pixels of vertical resolution. That's a 20% increase in resolution for a PAL DVD as compared to an NTSC DVD. Increased resolution translates into a better looking image. However, this is an overly simplistic way of looking at the whole PAL vs NTSC issue as there are other factors that need to be taken into account.

Active Pixels & 16x9 Enhancement
Because programming can be presented on DVD in various aspect ratios, it is useful to consider the active pixels in a given image when considering the overall resolution of a DVD. For a widescreen image, not all of the pixels available on a DVD are actually used for the image. Some of them make up the black bars above and below the image. The format that provides the most overall active pixels for a given aspect ratio will in theory be the best possible format. Complicating the issue is the difference in active pixels when a DVD is 16x9 enhanced.

The following table illustrates the common aspect ratios presented on DVD along with the total active pixels presented in each possible DVD format. I have highlighted the best formats in green.

Aspect Ratio

4x3 PAL

16x9 enhanced PAL

4x3 NTSC

16x9 enhanced NTSC
1.33:1

720 x 576 = 414,720

538 x 576 = 309,888

720 x 480 = 345,600

538 x 480 = 258,240
1.66:1

720 x 461 = 331,920

671 x 576 = 386,496

720 x 384 = 276,480

671 x 480 = 322,080
1.78:1

720 x 430 = 309,600

720 x 576 = 414,720

720 x 358 = 257,760

720 x 480 = 345,600
1.85:1

720 x 414 = 298,080

720 x 554 = 398,880

720 x 345 = 248,400

720 x 461 = 331,920
2.35:1

720 x 326 = 234,720

720 x 436 = 313,920

720 x 271 = 195,120

720 x 363 = 261,360
Key

Best

Second Best

Third Best

Worst
 
Video
With video-based source material, there are two predominant worldwide formats; PAL and NTSC, which differ in both resolution and in frame rate. PAL is higher in resolution (576 horizontal lines) than NTSC (480 horizontal lines), but NTSC updates the on-screen image more frequently than PAL (30 times per second versus 25 times per second). What does this mean in practice? NTSC video is lower in resolution than PAL video, but because the screen updates more frequently, motion is rendered better in NTSC video than it is in PAL video. There is less jerkiness visible. When video source material is transferred to DVD, it is usually transferred in the format it was created in - PAL or NTSC, and the subsequent image has either higher temporal resolution (more frames per second - NTSC) or higher spatial resolution (more lines per image - PAL).

Conversions between the two video formats are possible, and  are indeed frequently carried out, as it seems to be far more acceptable to sell PAL transfers in PAL countries and NTSC transfers in NTSC countries, even if the source material did not originate in the respective format. Conversions between these formats is problematic, however, as compromises need to be made in order to accommodate the source material, and visible artefacts can be introduced by the conversion process.

Converting NTSC to PAL
When converting from NTSC to PAL, two things need to be accomplished. 480 lines of resolution have to be upconverted to 576 lines of resolution, and 30 images per second have to be downconverted to 25 images per second.

The resolution upconversion does not actually add any real picture information to the image, as you cannot create real picture information where none existed before. It does, however, make the picture viewable on a PAL display, and often results in a superficially better-looking image.

The frame rate conversion actually results in a loss of temporal resolution, as PAL has a lower frame rate than NTSC.

Converting PAL to NTSC
The converse situation applies to PAL to NTSC conversions. 576 lines of resolution are downconverted to 480 lines of resolution, and frames need to be inserted to go from the 25 frames per second of PAL to the 30 frames per second of NTSC. Once again, the resultant image is of less actual resolution than the original image, as information is discarded spatially and made up temporally.
Implications for Video Programming On DVD
The best format to record and play back video programming on DVD in is the format in which the programming was originally created. If it was videotaped in the NTSC format, then the NTSC DVD will be the version of choice. If it was videotaped in the PAL format, then the PAL DVD will be the version of choice.

Conclusions

  • PAL is a higher resolution format for DVD than NTSC. All else being equal, a PAL DVD of a movie should look significantly better than the equivalent NTSC DVD.

  • If a PAL version of a movie DVD is not 16x9 enhanced and the NTSC version is 16x9 enhanced, then the NTSC version will be the preferred version, all else being equal.

  • For video-based material, it is generally better for the DVD to remain in the same format as the source material.

© Michael Demtschyna
7th July 2000

(Notes from: http://www.michaeldvd.com.au/Articles/PALvsNTSC/PALvsNTSC.asp)

:-)
 Happy Bidding!

Terms of Sale

By purchasing this item you confirm that you understand the below points:

 1. Shipping Time
 2. Region Encoding
 3. Handling Time
 4. Refunds/Returns
 5. Import Taxes


1. Shipping time:
If your item is to be sent to/from an International destination your delivery tends to take about 2-4 weeks.

If you have not received your goods at close of business approx. 6-8 weeks after shipping (see date quoted by post office after which we can lodge a complaint in delivery estimate email), please get back to me ASAP so I can chase it up for you.
 



2. DVDs and Blu-Ray discs are released with
     Regional encoding.
   (See here: DVD Region Zones and PAL v NTSC)
 
 DVDs:

          USA/Canada - Region 1 NTSC
          UK/Europe - Region 2 PAL
          Australia/NZ - Region 4 PAL

 


         

Blu-Ray:
           USA/Canada & East/South-East Asia
           - Region A NTSC

          UK/Europe, Australia/NZ/PNG
           - Region B PAL

          Central/South Asia, Mongolia, Russia, China
          - Region C NTSC

 


 If you have any concerns that your player will not play this disc, please contact me first as refunds are not available for Region incompatibility.

 



 NB: DVDs that are sold as Region 2/4 (or 1/4) are dual layered. The packaging often only lists Region 2 (or Region 1) but these DVDs should be playable on all Region 4 DVD players. But may not play on devices such as X-Box, PC's. Mac's and Playstations.
 


 

 

3. Handling time:

  1. Goods in stock are typically shipped within 2 business days after payment is received.

  2. Note that goods sent from different countries may have different holidays than Australia.

  3. Pre-order goods that have not yet been released will be shipped on the date quoted above (assuming payment received).
    (Please see email after purchase for confirmation of this date)
     

4. Refunds/Replacements:

  1. All items are shipped with insurance against loss or damage. If you have any problems with the delivery please contact me ASAP so I can arrange a replacement if appropriate or fully refund your payment.

  2. I stand by the quality of the goods shipped. Full refund or replacement goods will be sent up to 30 days from your receipt of goods for faulty products. Faulty products will need to be returned (postage to be reimbursed) - contact me for details when required.

  3. Full refund or replacement is also applicable if there is a descriptive error in the listing above. Goods will need to be returned (postage to be reimbursed).

  4. Refunds are NOT generally available for:

    1. ...region incompatibility. Please check above information to confirm these discs will play or email me prior to purchase.

    2. ...items that have been correctly described above.

      •  Please contact me if the above should occur so that I can try to assist in alternate ways.

5. Import Taxes/Duties:

  1. Deliveries to Australia, New Zealand and Asian region are all inclusive of any GST, taxes and import duties, etc. If the delivery service asks you to pay any taxes, etc please contact me immediately so that I can assist.

  2. Deliveries to European Union countries are inclusive of VAT via the handling charge but may incur local import taxes that are the responsibility of the buyer/receiver to fulfil/pay. If you decide not to pay these taxes and chose to refuse delivery, please advise so that I can fully refund you upon receipt of returned goods.
     


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