Old Hippie Posted November 5, 2001 Report Share Posted November 5, 2001 I wanted to get some Thai movies on DVD I have been told they may or may not work on a "USA DVD player." What do I need to look for? Also, there was a question as to whether my T.V. would be compatable with foreighn DvD'S as well, anyway to tell before I buy DVD'S? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALHOLK Posted November 6, 2001 Report Share Posted November 6, 2001 Hi! Lamock Chokaprret Europe is region 2 together with Japan for some mysterious reason. Just a slight correction about TV systems. Secam is a French system. It is also used by some countries in southern Europe. Japan uses NTSC just like north America. The only difference is in some intermediate frequency that should have no bearing on a DVD player but only on TV sets. Another significant difference between PAL and NTSC is the frame rate which is 25 fps for the former and 30 fps for the later. You are correct about newer TV sets being able to handle all systems. regards ALHOLK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crash999 Posted November 6, 2001 Report Share Posted November 6, 2001 I haven't actually seen any Thai movies out on DVD. I remember that when Suryothai was coming out the pirates were warned not to copy the movie or there would be serious problems with the police. Guess what? None of them copied it. This, of course, shows you that the police have much better control over intellectual property rights issues than they would like to admit. Anyway, you have to be concerned about two issues- the 'zone' which the DVD is meant to work in (indicated on the back of the DVD box) and the format (PAL or NTSC) that your DVD player is capable of playing. There are a number of zone-free DVDs out there, though you still might run into the formatting problem. Look in the back of your DVD player's instruction booklet to see what it is capable of handling. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamock Chokaprret Posted November 6, 2001 Report Share Posted November 6, 2001 There was a pretty long thread on this subject some time back but I've gotten some new info. US DVDs are encoded region 1 while Asia is region 3. Not sure about Europe but it would be a different region. Some DVDs are encoded 'all region' but I've recently hooked up my US player and I'm having problems getting all the DVDs I've bought here to play on it. The NTSC vs PAL question comes when you consider the output of the device you're playing on. Normally US DVD players output NTSC while Thai / Europe outputs PAL. Someone might correct me but I think Secam is Japan. Anyway, with a Multi-system TV they all should play fine. The Sony MS TV I just bought works fine with my US DVD player. All the DVDs I've bought at Panthip play on my PCs DVD player. The ones that work seem to be the older movies like Indiana Jones and Star Wars. It's all the newer ones that are not working. So it appears to be a situation of buyer beware. At least since I can play them on my PC I haven't been totally burned. I think I can make that play on my new TV but haven't yet tried. Also a word of warning. Some of the newer movies are also really crappy quality. Recently got "The Animal" and while, it appeared wide screen on my laptop, you could tell it had been shot on video with someone sitting in a movie theater because the picture was kind of bobbing around. To the point of distraction. Generally I've found the sound on these movies to be acceptable but haven't hooked up my HTS yet so the jury is still out. [ November 05, 2001: Message edited by: Lamock Chokaprret ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted November 6, 2001 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2001 Thanks for the info, I think you can buy a PAL decoder or what ever you call it, to play it on a t.v. I did see a guy playing a copy of SiriaThai, but when I asked about it, he got kinda defensive about it, so I guess they are really cracking down on that sort of thing (pirating). I'll make a lot of inquireies before I buy any new equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted November 6, 2001 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2001 when you say newer tv sets, how old are we talking? I have a G.E. set about 3-4 years old, no owners book, any way to tell if it is compatable? could try to contact the manufacturer I 'spose... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALHOLK Posted November 6, 2001 Report Share Posted November 6, 2001 Hi! Old hippie I have a JVC that is about 5 years old and it handles all the different systems. I'm afraid I don't know anything about G.E. I have never seen them in Sweden. regards ALHOLK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamock Chokaprret Posted November 6, 2001 Report Share Posted November 6, 2001 I wouldn't rely on 'newness' of the set to distinguish whether it will accept all systems. Look for words like 'multisystem,' 'multiformat' or a switch that indicates NTSC, PAL, SECAM or auto (many will be autoswitching). Normally the manufacturer will want to boast about this feature. If it is not multisystem, the back panel will normally have a plate engraved with serial number that includes the voltage setting and an indication of the input spectrum. Figures the French would have their own system. It is my experience that most Japanese makers have multisystem models: Sharp, Panasonic, Sony, etc. Don't bet on them all being multisystem. When in doubt, test it by plugging in if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALHOLK Posted November 7, 2001 Report Share Posted November 7, 2001 Hi! quote: I wouldn't rely on 'newness' of the set to distinguish whether it will accept all systems. You're absolutely right ofcourse. One possible way would be to fiddle with the buttons on the remote. Many TV sets have an on screen display thet will give you an idea of what the button does. Also if you can find a setting that displays a Thai channel (PAL) in grayscale it could be Secam. If the TV can manage Secam it most likely can manage NTSC which is much more wide spread. regards ALHOLK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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