Can I rent British DVD's?

[Martoch]

Hi guys!


I was in the car with a buddy of mine the other day...as we drove by a Blockbuster Video here in England, he pointed out the fact that I can't rent those movies because they are a different standard than in the US (PAL vs NTSC). Fine, I already knew that. However, I just checked my DVD player and under the setup options, I can choose between NTSC (US) and PAL (Euro). Do you think I would be able to watch British movies if I pick a few up from Blockbuster?

Just curious...the video renting is VERY limited on base and I've always been big into renting movies rather than hitting the clubs/pubs. I'd like something to help pass the time while moo enjoys the beach in FL. (grumble grumble)

Thanks in advance!
Mike

[RayH]

You have two issues here in the viewing loop. The first is PAL to NTSC conversion. The second is Region Coding.

The manual selection of PAL/NTSC on your DVD player is for output. This allows people to take their DVD player overseas to play their DVD collection on their DVD player on the local televisions. PAL is much higher quality than NTSC. DVD players that have this feature USUALLY have an AUTOMATIC PAL/NTSC decoder for the disk playback. That is, it won't matter if the disk is PAL or NTSC. SECAM (France/Near East) is apparently a form of PAL.

The problem you may have is whether or not your DVD player is capable of playing Region 2 disks. If you are using a DVD player you bought in the US, it is programmed to play only Region 1 disks (US/Canada). The UK is Region 2. Many DVD players have a manufacturer's control menu ("secret" menu) that can be accessed to change the Region setting for international access. You can go to www.videohelp.com and look for "DVD Hacks" on the left column.

This is not ILLEGAL. In the US, the manufacturers have to have the players set to Region 1 by licensing agreement. Customs will enforce this agreement. But once you have it, you can do what you want with it. Remember this is not for playing "pirate" DVDs. It is for playing LEGITIMATE PURCHASE DVDs.

So you have to see if you can change the region coding. Usually, it is the CHEAP brands from China that are good for this. If you have a Cyberhome 300/320, you can do it no sweat. I think if you are traveling with a DVD player, you probably have the cheap Cyberhome because it is compact.

In the UK, REGION free DVD players are readily available. In the US, they are more readily available in FOREIGN language communities. How do you think limited English speaking communities are watching "Kill Bill Vol. 2"?

[Martoch]

Thanks!


Found this. Look at the 3rd post, the JD VD-120 one. Do you think that will enable me to watch DVD's here?

EDIT: SUCCESS! Just tried the hack, I was able to change mine from Region 1 to Region 2...hope it works!