Australian UFO DVD discs are "all region"

Hi all,

I've gotten one report that the discs in the new Australian
UFO DVD set are "all region", which may make a difference
to some purchasers. This means that people outside of
Australia should have fewer problems viewing these
discs, although you will still need to have a way to
view (or convert) a PAL video signal.

Marc

Most new TV's will convert PAL/NTSC and vice-versa automatically as the
same chip is used world-wide. Older televisions will need convertor.


--- In [hidden email], "Marc Martin" <marc@...> wrote:

> Most new TV's will convert PAL/NTSC and vice-versa automatically as the
> same chip is used world-wide. Older televisions will need convertor.

maybe this is true for most parts of the world... however, in the USA,
I think most TV sets sold (even today) don't recognize PAL. I think
this is a special feature which must be sought out specifically.

Marc

Many of the LCD sets made by Sharp sold in the USA can
play the PAL format.

--- Marc Martin <[hidden email]> wrote:




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Maybe I'm admitting my old fartism tendencies here, but we never used to
have to worry about plopping down a thin vinyl disc and scratch it with
a needle to make sounds. No, I'm not a DJ.

Even during the VHS/Beta wars there wasn't that much confusion.

Now what do we have? VHS, DVD, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, regional code lockouts,
DMCA-based laws, etc. Buy into one technology today, maybe see it
evaporate tomorrow.

I'm in my mid-40s and I don't leach, I pay real money for what I want; I
can afford to. And I know about downloaders abusing, but those are
people that wouldn't have bought in the first place. Plus, many of them
are people that just want to be able to say they "own" something -
appreciating it often is the least of their pride.

I resent the fact that some media companies may cripple a bought-for
copy of a piece of work that I already paid for 20 years ago. I'm now
updating my collection slowly. I guess that's what happens when you're
an old fart.

Aaargh, offtopic rant over.

Paul



Ron DeMedeiros wrote:

Technology is more commonly used to make products cheaper rather than better, and to enhance the exclusivity of products, thus making the industry more money.

This CD and DVD mess is just one example....

Dave H.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------


----- Original Message -----
From: Paul Bowers
To: [hidden email]
Sent: Saturday, September 08, 2007 9:40 AM
Subject: Re: [SHADO] Re: Australian UFO DVD discs are "all region"


Maybe I'm admitting my old fartism tendencies here, but we never used to
have to worry about plopping down a thin vinyl disc and scratch it with
a needle to make sounds. No, I'm not a DJ.

Even during the VHS/Beta wars there wasn't that much confusion.

Now what do we have? VHS, DVD, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, regional code lockouts,
DMCA-based laws, etc. Buy into one technology today, maybe see it
evaporate tomorrow.

I'm in my mid-40s and I don't leach, I pay real money for what I want; I
can afford to. And I know about downloaders abusing, but those are
people that wouldn't have bought in the first place. Plus, many of them
are people that just want to be able to say they "own" something -
appreciating it often is the least of their pride.

I resent the fact that some media companies may cripple a bought-for
copy of a piece of work that I already paid for 20 years ago. I'm now
updating my collection slowly. I guess that's what happens when you're
an old fart.

Aaargh, offtopic rant over.

Paul

Ron DeMedeiros wrote:



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I think a little technical explanation is in order here:
NTSC format (National Television System Committee) was developed in
the USA to synchronise film projector motors with the mains frequency,
hence 30 frames per second on a 60hz mains frequency. Similarly, the
European PAL standard (Phase Alternating Line) accommodated the 50hz
mains and ran 25fps. There are many other differences but sufficient
to say it is unlikely to change for a long time.

DVD regions were brought about due to the fact that most major film
releases start in North America (zone 1) - Prints costing up to
$100,000 a set are distributed to the cinemas throughout USA and
Canada. Once they have been shown, then the Zone 1 DVD can be launched
for domestic viewing. Meanwhile, the prints are cleaned, repaired and
checked before being shipped to Europe (Zone 2). For obvious reasons,
the film companies would not wish to see US DVDs shipped to Europe
whilst the movie was still on theatrical release, and so the DVD zone
system was introduced to prevent this happening. Again, the prints are
returned, cleaned and sent on to the next region and so on, as the DVD
for that zone is then sold.

The Australian UFO set is all zones as it is a 30 year old TV show,
and there are no commercial conflicts.

I hope this helps explain some of the peculiarities of film distribution.




--- In [hidden email], "Marc Martin" <marc@...> wrote:
>
> > Most new TV's will convert PAL/NTSC and vice-versa automatically
as the
> > same chip is used world-wide. Older televisions will need convertor.
>
> maybe this is true for most parts of the world... however, in the USA,
> I think most TV sets sold (even today) don't recognize PAL. I think
> this is a special feature which must be sought out specifically.
>
> Marc
>

--- In [hidden email], "Rob Neal" <tryptych@...> wrote:

> The Australian UFO set is all zones as it is a 30 year old TV show,
> and there are no commercial conflicts.
>

Then why is the movie I brought last week, which was made in the
1950's, come it the form of a region-encoded disc?

David

> Then why is the movie I brought last week, which was made in the
> 1950's, come it the form of a region-encoded disc?

Heh, heh... it seems that some companies will region encode
anything... for UFO, I believe that the American
DVD set is region encoded, as is Japanese DVD set.

Marc

This may be a Rights issue eg one company has distribution rights in
say North America but another has European distribution rights...


--- In [hidden email], "pointy100" <david@...> wrote:

Another thought on this subject - the Rating of the film may also have
something to do with this. To release a film you would have to submit
it to a countrys Ratings board (Censor?!). In the UK I believe that you
have to submit the Video/DVD to the BBFC for it to be given a rating -
just because it was rated for cinema release does not mean it can be
released on DVD with that rating! Also every seperate feature including
the menu screens have to be rated I believe and each individual piece
has to be paid for seperately. An early Dr Who DVD release had to
rework its menu screens because they use clips playing behind the index
and because they used choice scary moments and put them all back to
back and out of context the menu screens got a higher rating than the
story itself!

So what I'm trying to say is that it is rated for domestic release only
perhaps?


--- In [hidden email], "pointy100" <david@...> wrote: