PAL / NTSC question Region B/A 50Hz/60Hz

[chernabog_ca]

Hi,

Sorry if this sounds like a really stupid question but here goes.

I was looking at importing some titles from Europe and was wondering if I have to worry about the whole NTSC / PAL issue. It'll be played back on my HTPC hooked up to my LCD TV. Also is the PAL speed up really noticeable?

Again I'm sorry if it's a stupid question.

Thanks

[HiDefRev]

No, PAL will not play on an NTSC machine, nor vice versa. There are a few players available that will play both, but as you can imagine, they tend to be expensive.

[OrlandoEastwood]

If you are talking DVD players, which I doubt, jWin is the way to go. I've purchased 3 DVD players and they were all listed "1" for the regional coding, but they are really "0". They convert NTSC and PAL signals to which one you need. My HDTV cannot support PAL so I have my DVD player set to NTSC to play it back properly.

[chernabog_ca]

Sorry I guess I should have clarified, I'm talking about Blu-Ray titles. I use PowerDVD 9 for playback.

[Deciazulado]

If the region B titles have 50Hz content, you'll have to determine if your display synchronizes to 50Hz. If it doesn't you won't be able to see content that's in 50Hz. Most region B titles have movies encoded in 24p or video in 60Hz, but there are exceptions, and a few more have the supplements in 50Hz. Unless PowerDVD/your HTPC could send the signal as refreshed 60Hz.

[Jeff Kleist]

If you're sensetive to pitch and/or pacing, PAL speedup will drive you crazy. The "beats" of a film are all too fast, and your favorite actors will sound like muppets

I can tell when something I've never seen before with actors I'm unfamiliar with is in PAL from a 24/29.97fps source almost immediately simply by how it moves and sounds.

WinDVD has something called "PAL TrueSpeed" which I've never tried, your mileage may vary on how it affects quality

[SeppukoPanda]

Hi sorry, I wanted to start a new topic about this, but it won't let me. This seems to be the closest topic I can find that relates to my issue.

Currently I'm having problems with the search function. Its default is only to search in your own region, in my case American.

I changed it to search for various other countries in addition to this. And I was having no issues, until today. Now suddenly it will only search for American releases. I checked the settings and it still claims it should be searching for the various international versions I told it to.

So, is this some kind of glitch or am I just over looking something simple? Any thoughts?

[JBL4645]

Plus you have the speed up of 25fps on PAL that sounds awful as that is not how it was heard in the cinema!

The speed-up bumps the frequency up a few Hz so for those that like lower lows Bluray or even a few region 1 or NTSC laserdisc will have lower lows. PAL is not my PAL no more Bluary 24fps is the way to listen to films!

I believe it was Disney that stumbled across it back around of the time, of Fantasia. The slow the speed, the lower the lows will go down.

As for the frequency of the image if you placed your hand in front and spaced your fingers apart while viewing an NTSC signal on PAL TV you can in fact slow the (roll-bars) down. It’s only an optical illusion or kinder of strobe effect.

Same thing happens when looking at helicopter rotor blades you can slow the speed down, by waving you hand with fingers spaced apart.