Q: What is R1, R2, etc?

A:  R1, R2, etc., are "region codes."
When the medium of DVD was first being developed commercially, discs and players were intended to each have their own region-coding in order to prevent international pirating and copyright infringement since different "regions" of the world have different copyright privileges. For example, Eraserhead is owned by David Lynch in Region 1 (the United States and Canada), but by some other company in Region 2 (the UK and other parts of Europe). In theory, the region coding of players and discs would prevent, then, citizens of region 2 from purchasing a copy of the film in region 1 where it has been released because their R2 players wouldnt read the disc.

This has ceased to be as great an issue as the creators intended, however, since both players and discs are able to be coded as "region 0." A region 0 disc can be read on a player with any region coding. A region 0 player can read discs of any region coding. Region 0 players can be purchased (though in the US, the practice is treated as being somewhat shady), or a current R1, R2, or whatever player can be "chipped" by either taking it in to a service center or through a series of button "codes" preset by the manufacturer. Keep in mind that DVD players were not meant to be "chipped" by consumers, so attempting to do so should be considered at your own risk. Again, residents of the US should note that region "chipping" your player is seen as somewhat shady, and most appliance stores will not accommodate you (or even know how to do it). Your best bet is to search the web for DVD region "cracks" to see if your model number has a button code you can attempt. Again, do this at your own risk. Another thing you could try is purchasing a region 0 player from an online source like Ebay (for the brave) or other retailers that would allow international shipping. Much independent research into this sort of purchase is highly recommended before you attempt anything.

However, the pain in the neck doesn't stop there. Just because R0 discs and R0 players bend the rules of inter-regional disc reading, this doesn't necessarily mean that all discs can be watched using an R0 player, since PAL and NTSC formats come into play, as we will see by reading on.... 

Q: What the heck are "PAL" and "NTSC"? 

A: These refer to the method your television uses to project a color image.

PAL is a format developed in Germany. The acronym stands for Phase Alternate Line. This format is used for the most part in parts of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, China, the Middle East, and parts of Africa.

NTSC is a US invention, and this acronym stands for National Television Standards Committee. This format is used (again, for the most part) in the United States, Japan, Thailand, and parts of South America.

DVD encoding only uses one of these two formats. There are other formats for VHS that are less popular, such as SECAM, but the casual moviegoer in the Western world will not have to worry about these.

Basically, these formats have to do with the technical aspect of how images are translated from the light patterns created by your television. The short of it is that the image frequency is not the same across PAL and NTSC televisions (which is why the transfer of the PAL-to-NTSC converted "Korean" version of the Twin Peaks pilot episode isn't as good as it could be: the conversion is just a little bit "off"). DVDs and VHS tapes made to work on one type of television or the other will probably not be viewable with the other format, though it is possible to purchase a PAL/NTSC converter if you really want a film that is only available in the other format.

So the moral of the story is... you need to know what your region's formats require. Make sure when you're buying a DVD that it is encoded with either your region code or region 0, unless you have a R0 player. In either case, make sure that if you don't have a PAL/NTSC converter, the television format of your DVDs or VHS tapes is compatible with whatever format your home theater equipment uses.

UPDATE 3/27/07 (Provided by MIRE MARE):

Just to bring you up to speed on the PAL/NTSC thing, Just about every TV now sold in the UK will detect and switch between PAL and NTSC automatically so compatibility is no longer an issue.

You will need a region free DVD player to play them of course but just about every DVD player now has a region hack, with plenty of websites giving you all the info you need!

Kelly

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