Speaking of Regions...

[myaddow]

Quick couple of questions:

1. Do region free BD play on any Blu-Ray player?

2. Is the PS3 region free?

Sorry if I keep asking stupid questions...I recently started collecting Blu-Ray movies (even though I dont have any type of Blu-Ray player lol)

[Deciazulado]

The PS3 plays discs of the specific region it's sold in (for Blu-ray there are Regions A, B, or C, and for DVD, regions 1,2,3,4,5 etc). So for example a US PS3 plays region A Blu-rays, and region 1 DVDs. The PS3 also plays region free discs, except that almost all* Region A PS3's can't play content that's recorded in 50Hz (50i) on some region free discs made for Europe. Most film Blu-ray discs are recorded in 24 frames per second (24p) and many if not most "live" event programs are recorded in 60i (or transcoded from 50i into 60i) which play in all PS3s.
NTSC DVDs are 60i and PAL DVDs are 50i

*(Hong Kong PS3's can play 50i discs too, but they have to be region A BDs, region 3 DVDs, or free)


Region A players should play 24p and 60i content from a region free disc just like the A PS3, and there are Region A players that play any content from a region free disc, including 50i content, like the Region A Oppo player., etc.

Region B players should play 24p, 60i, and 50i from region free discs.



FYI Blu-ray 3 regions break down:

Region A: America, Japan, Corea, South East Asia
Region B: Grøenland, Europa, Africa, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand
Region C: China, India, Russia, + a few others remaining in Asia

here's a map that shows it even better:




DVD regions on the other hand are divided in numerical regions, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0




But at least regions 0, 2, 3, and 4 have DVDs released both in NTSC standards (60Hz/60i)and in PAL standards (50Hz/50i) so you could subdivide those regions into:

Region 0 NTSC
Region 0 PAL

Region 2 NTSC
Region 2 PAL

Region 3 NTSC
Region 3 PAL

Region 4 NTSC
Region 4 PAL

[quirkmanly]

Originally Posted by Deciazulado

The PS3 plays discs of the specific region

<Snip>

Region 4 NTSC
Region 4 PAL

Is this stickied anywhere? If not it should be - excellently constructed info!

[ZX_VRT]

i heard that the ps3 is region free.
maybe i heard wrong but i have a jap ps3 and i've played euro games, us games, and canadian games

[Clark Kent]

Originally Posted by ZX_VRT

i heard that the ps3 is region free.
maybe i heard wrong but i have a jap ps3 and i've played euro games, us games, and canadian games

Videogames are region-free and considered separate from movies and videos.

[ZX_VRT]

so video games are region free, what about movies,
i have a jap ps3 ( as said before ) and i bought Transformers 2 disc bd copy and it works,
i don't know if its different to blu ray players, but i think the ps3 is region free throughout.

[Kino-Chan fan]

OK, I buy a PS3 in Mexico. It is region A on BD, but would it be R4 on DVD?

[GGX]

The PS3 is NOT region free for movies. If the movie itself is region free then it will play in any PS3 regardless of where the PS3 was purchased.

[DouglasRobert]

OK, first off I've only had a Blu-Ray player since last Christmas and I can't seem to find an answer about this.

Well first off, I just have a normal USA region Blu-Ray player connected to an old-school tv (yup non HD, budget won't allow it at this time).

Anyways here are the questions.

1. Are Blu-Ray discs that are multi-region also contain both NTSC and Pal?
2. If I buy a Multi-Region Blu-Ray will it play on my USA region player? And if so how, what I mean doesn't Britain use PAL, so how can a PAL disc play on my player?

[pro-bassoonist]

Hi,

a) If you purchase a Blu-ray disc that is confirmed to be Region-Free, you will be able to access the main feature on your North American player -- unless the main feature is encoded in 1080/50i. All 1080p and 720p region-free content you can play in North America without a problem.

b)To play a region-free disc that is encoded in 1080/50i, you actually have to have a Region-Free player that converts 1080/50i to 1080/60i, as 1080/50i is not officially supported in North America. There are a couple of Region-A players that do on-board conversion, but they are not the standard. Therefore, we specifically warn our readers in the reviews to be very careful when a region-free release also happens to be encoded in 1080/50i. Most such releases happen to be documentaries, sports programs, live concerts, some independent films, etc.

c) Special features - a region-free disc does not guarantee that the special features on it, not the main feature, will also automatically be playable on Region-A players in North America. If they are encoded in NTSC, then there is no problem. However, if they are encoded in PAL, there is a problem, and you won't be able to access them. Again, we clarify in our reviews when the special features can be played on region-A players and when they cannot be played. Special features encoded in 1080/50i also cannot be played.

Obviously, if the special features on a region-free disc are encoded in 1080p or 720p then there is no problem, as both are universally supported in Region-A territories.

d) Lastly, you could have a region-free disc whose main menu is encoded in 1080/50i or PAL. This automatically makes it unplayable in North America, unless you have one of those few players I mentioned earlier that could do on-board conversions - 1080/50i to 1080/60i and PAL to NTSC. Again, if such a region-free disc is reviewed, we would specifically clarify that its main menu is problematic.

e) PAL and NTSC are both substitutes for standard definition (different formats). Blu-ray is a high-definition format.

Standard definition territories are broken into Regions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, (7 and 8).
High definition territories are broken into Regions A, B, C.

Pro-B

[Deciazulado]

Originally Posted by Deciazulado

Blu-ray regions break down into this:

Region A: America, Japan, Corea, South East Asia
Region B: Grøenland, Europa, Africa, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand
Region C: China, India, Russia, + a few others remaining in Asia

Here's a map that shows it even better:




Some Blu-rays Discs can be region free or bi-region too and have the two or three region symbols (A B C) on the cover






DVD regions on the other hand are divided in numerical regions, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0




But at least regions 0, 2, 3, and 4 have DVDs released both in NTSC standards and in PAL standards usually depending on the countries so you could subdivide those regions into:

Region 0 NTSC
Region 0 PAL

Region 2 NTSC (Japan)
Region 2 PAL (Europe)

Region 3 NTSC
Region 3 PAL

Region 4 NTSC (América)
Region 4 PAL (Australia)

.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by DouglasRobert

1. Are Blu-Ray discs that are multi-region also contain both NTSC and Pal?

no they will have what they have

2. If I buy a Multi-Region Blu-Ray will it play on my USA region player? And if so how, what I mean doesn't Britain use PAL, so how can a PAL disc play on my player?

tougher question.

PAL NTSC are TV standards that where created because of the difference in electricity (the 25p/30p-50i/60i).

Usualy for the main content which is the film and 24p it is not an issue. But for the extra content which might have been recorded with a video camera it is a different story. If your player can change the output or you have a display that can do PAL then you could be OK but if not then at some point you will get a PAL warning or blank screen.

[4K2K]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

b)To play a region-free disc that is encoded in 1080/50i, you actually have to have a Region-Free player that converts 1080/50i to 1080/60i, as 1080/50i is not officially supported in North America.

If you have a region free disc (ie. Region ABC) that is encoded at 1080/50i you don't need a region free player to play it, just one that can play back 1080/50i (and convert to 60i if you TV doesn't accept 50i - such as one of the Samsung models in the link below).

See:
http://forum.blu-ray.com/blu-ray-pla...atibility.html

[Caliope XTC]

can i buy a foreign ps3 and use that for import movies?
like purchase a european ps3 or hong kong ps3 and
watch those movies? will my us tv play the european format?

[Tripod1]

What are BD regions? How do I tell what "Region" my player is? Thanks.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by Tripod1

What are BD regions? How do I tell what "Region" my player is? Thanks.

Depending on where you live, you likely have a BD player reflecting the Region Code on the map above ^^

[Greengoblin]

Hello tripod on the back of your blu ray player you should have a sticker with a letter either A,B, or C and that is the region your blu ray player is.

[Neku]

Does anyone know if there is a region free Blu-ray/DVD player? Does it detract from the experience or give technical issues?

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by Neku

Does anyone know if there is a region free Blu-ray/DVD player? Does it detract from the experience or give technical issues?

No blu-ray player is region free, per se, out of the box but some players can be modified to be region free. See this thread for some options:

http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=159919

[Greengoblin]

Originally Posted by Neku

Does anyone know if there is a region free Blu-ray/DVD player? Does it detract from the experience or give technical issues?

Hey Neku i use a Philips blu ray player the BDP 3000, to watch my blu rays from america as i live in Australia and we use region B and america uses region A, i have modded my player to region A from region B, and you can do so by following these instructions

[Show spoiler]http://www.avforums.com/forums/blu-ray-dvd-player-multiregion-hacks/1524327-philips-bdp3000-multiregion-bd.html