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Can I Play an NTSC DVD on an Australian
television and Region 4 DVD player?
Well it all depends on your personal audio visual
system at home.
However, there is one really easy way to work out if you can or can't play NTSC DVD's. Have you ever bought an official Australian made Region 4 WWE DVD? Like at Big W or Target? If you have, there is no need to go on, you can play NTSC DVD's, as all Australian made WWE DVD's are actually manufactured in Region 4/NTSC format. The main reason Shock/Kaleidoscope do this is that by not converting the video material, you are getting the best possible quality. If they converted from NTSC to PAL format, they would simply be upscaling the material and not enhancing it at all.
We will try to explain below, the differences between
PAL and NTSC video formats, why they exist and also how you can view NTSC
DVD's on your system.
| What
are the basics/history of the PAL video format? |
What
are the basics/history of the NTSC video format? |
| PAL stands
for Phase Alternating Line , it is a colour video encoding
/ recording system used in broadcast television systems in Europe,
United Kingdom and Australia as well as approximately 120
other countries and territories.
It was developed
in the 50's due to the fact that the NTSC format (developed for USA video)
would not work correctly with the 50 Hz AC frequency of Europe.
For this reason
a number of countries decided to adopt the PAL format.
PAL Resolution
is 720 x 576 active pixels
PAL uses 625
horizontal lines of picture information in each frame.
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NTSC stands
for National Television System Committee, it is a colour
video encoding / recording system used in broadcast television systems
in the USA, Canada, Japan as well as approximately 55 other countries and
territories, primarily through out Central and South America and some south
east Asian countries.
It was developed
in 1950 and became standardised in 1953.
The United States,
Mexico and Canada are planning on abolishing the NTSC broadcast system
over the next few years.
NTSC Resolution
is 720 x 480 active pixels
NTSC uses 525
horizontal lines of picture information in each frame. |
OK, so enough of the history,
can I?....or can't I?
Your Television:
| TV Build Year: |
Answer: |
| Late 1990's onwards |
There is a strong possibility that
your television set is equipped to handle the NTSC format. Most Australian
TV manufacturers began developing TV's that could handle both PAL and NTSC
signals as the format became more and more widely accepted and used by
people viewing imported DVD's and companies developing some NTSC titles.
Whilst some TV's may not be capable
of this, it is best to check your television manual for further clarification
on your specific television set. Most sets will automatically detect
the NTSC system and switch, some will require manual adjustment, your user
manual can help with any further information required. |
| Mid 1990's and before |
There is a strong possibility that
your television set is not equipped to handle the NTSC format. Most
Australian TV manufacturers before the late 1990's did not feel the need
for NTSC compatibility was very strong, therefore a lot of television sets
were built without being compatible for the NTSC system.
If this accurately describes your
TV set, don't worry, there are ways around it.....quite simple things that
you can do with your DVD player. Read below the section titled 'How
to convert the output of your DVD player to PAL' |
Your DVD
Player:
Most DVD players
sold within Australia (especially the cheap brands...strange!) can have
the video output converted to output PAL or NTSC, which in turn means you
can view NTSC material on your PAL Television set, because it does an onboard
(inside the player) conversion of the signal.
How to convert the output of
your DVD player to PAL:
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Access the menu of your DVD player (generally
there is a menu or system button on your DVD remote control)
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On the menu, look for an option like
"system", "output" or "TV settings"
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Select the menu and once you have found
the PAL/NTSC output, select PAL as your output (this will output the DVD
as a PAL signal)
Please note: the advice given above
is simply to help you view NTSC DVD's on most DVD players and Televisions
in Australia. If you can't work out how to achieve NTSC playback,
please contact your DVD player manufacturer or Television manufacturer
for further information.
For further information, please visit
these sites below for more indepth explanations of PAL, NTSC and video
formats:
PAL vs NTSC at michaeldvd.com.au -
http://www.michaeldvd.com.au/Articles/PALvsNTSC/PALvsNTSC.asp
Wikipedia.org (NTSC) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTSC
Wikipedia.org (PAL) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAL
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