220 to 110 converter

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Various Formats

Newer players are being developed with different configurations, and present day DVD players are compatible with more than one format, like regular CDs, MP3, CDRW, and so on.

High-definition units, DVD/VCR combos, DVD recorders, portable players, you name it and the big players have a model ideally suited to meet your needs and purse. The only problem you will face while in the market is to make a choice! It is a really daunting task with such a huge variety being offered.

Most of the leading brands operate globally with their presence spanning countries like the U.S., Canada, Italy, Spain, France, UK, Greece, you name it. Big brands like Sony, Philips, Panasonic, Samsung or even some lesser known brands like Cyber Home and Apex have a significant global presence. This being the scenario, you can easily shop for the latest code free DVD player with your neighborhood electronic store.

Code Free DVD Players are Priced According to Location and Features

Basic region free DVD players would set you back by around $60 or so. Prices may vary even within states and various countries, depending on the tax structure and market availability. A player may for example cost you less in New York when compared to some other region such as California. A basic player will give you good picture quality and comes with a remote control and on-screen control. Having said this, features could vary from one manufacturer to another. For prices less than $80 they make for great buys, unless you are a technical guru, looking for something straight out of the sci-fi movie, which you watched in your basic DVD player!

A basic player with a high quality S-video cable may be priced at around $100 . The S-video cable enables better picture quality. One good thing with the latest basic model is that most of the players now come with the most up-to-date features, which could be found only in higher end models just a couple of years ago.

If you are willing to shell out more than about $100 you can get models that can handle DVD-R discs, or players than can also handle hi-fi DVD-audio format. They can double up as your music center along with your home theater system. Such players could cost you around $130. The Toshiba SD – 3950 is a good example of a model in this price range.

Scan Type for a Code Free DVD Player

One thing to watch for in a codefree dvd player is the scan type. Check out whether it is offering progressive scan or interlace scan. A player with progressive scan would offer you a much sharper picture. It also reduces flickers. Basic players in the price range of $50 – $100 often come with interlace scan option only. Once you go $100 and upwards, you will see players offering progressive scan. Picture quality is great, enabling you to watch the latest Hollywood flicks – without flickering! Also, a code free DVD player with the progressive scan option will work only if your TV supports progressive scan. You need not worry though, since most of the modern day TVs support progressive scan technology unless you have one of those antique TVs with cathode ray technology.

If you have a high-definition TV, then it will make for a great combo along with a codefree DVD player offering progressive scan. A hi fi TV will ensure truer picture quality. You can also get even better picture quality with a digital video interface connection. Pricing for a high-end DVD player with digital video interface can be around $300. Good examples are the Samsung DVD – HD931, or even the latest Toshiba SD-3950, which both offer great picture quality. Such models can also offer advanced music playback since they can also handle DVD audio discs.

Code Free DVD/VHS Combos

If you are looking for a regionfree DVD/VHS combo you will have to shell out around $200 – $250. The price may seem steep, but remember, they offer you the best of both worlds. You can now enjoy both region free DVDs and VHS tapes. The VHS tapes translate into better pictures than in the case of a regular VCR. These players also allow you to record your TV shows for example, into VHS format.

Most of the basic regionfree DVD players are not able to record shows from TV, whereas the higher models can. These players will be priced anywhere from $350 – $800. Sony’s RDR-GX7 is a good example. Lesser-known brands may cost you less while offering you the same technology. The good news though is that prices are expected to drop, even if it is only gradually.

Convenient for Travel

If you are one who is usually mobile and would like to watch your latest favorite flicks wherever you are, you can get a portable region free DVD player, which would weigh in at around three pounds, with a battery back up and come with a 7-9 inch screen.. These sleek models would cost you around $800 and act as your audio player too. Panasonic DVD-LA95 portable is one of the latest models to hit the market. Be on the lookout for other brands with portable models soon.

Most Affordable Brands

Perhaps the cheapest regionfree DVD players are from the Chinese manufacturers, which have flooded the markets, recently. Whichever part of the world you are in, region free DVD players, are available by the dozen. The prices may vary slightly, but that’s it.

Whether you are in any of the European countries like UK, France, Greece, Spain or Italy or from any other Asian or Asian-Pacific nation, you can rest assured that you will be able to get a region free DVD player within your budget. All you need to do is search, either in person or on the Internet.

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While you are on the run, moments will come when you will feel real lonely and you will like to play your memorable moments on your DVD. In that case your true solution would be a region free DVD player.

These devices are required for all who travel frequently

It is not only a sportsman that continues to be on the run over the days. There are many professionals around the world who are involved in professions that require constant travel and a nomadic life. Such professions may be that of businessman having a global customer base, an adventurer on constant search of exciting avenues, a travel guide, or a representative of a big organisation, a political leader, and even a Government Officer. What is pertinent in case of a sportsman on the run is also pertinent for these people. Every one of them require to communicate with his own people sometime or other and every one needs some relaxation in peaceful solitude going down the memory lane.

Communication and entertainment for groups

There may be occasions when in traveling you are not alone but a part of a group with heterogeneous background, with homogeneous object. It may be a team of sportsman, a group of businessmen, a caravan of pilgrims, or a party of tourists on the move. In such case though you might be in constant touch with your mates, the requirements of a cell phone, SIM card or Satellite phone will be even greater because each member will have his or her own circles to communicate or keep in touch with. And a region free DVD player can just cater to the exact requirement of divergent members liking to view divergent CDs and DVDs procured from different zones with different standards of PAL, NSTC, or SECAM, because every member to the team or group will be able to make use of it, such that any DVD procured from anywhere in the world, and using any standard can be playable on a region free DVD player.

Cell phones, satellite phones, SIM cards, and a region free DVD player for other uses

It is not that you require a cell phone, SIM card, satellite phone or a region free DVD player only to keep in touch with your own people or relive your memories of fond moments. There are several other reasons for which you will like to have these gadgets. Cell phone for example has reduced the global distance by bringing the world to your fingertips. You can access anyone anywhere in the world from a cell phone provided, that the region where the contact lives has a network or even dial-up ordinary phone system. Such requirements may be communication of commercial messages, interaction, and deliberation, intimating important issues or even a courtesy call. A SIM card, as already pointed out is the accessory to activate a cell phone. However, every SIM card may not be usable everywhere and even when usable, may cost too much in terms of roaming cell phones. It is therefore better to have a cell phone which is factory unlocked GSM mobile phone. It allows you the facilities of changing your SIM card at will and using them.

Utility of the devices in emergencies

Satellite phones may come up handy in emergent situations like when you are stranded during a travel for some reasons and want to send important SOS messages to your contacts, and where mobile networks are not available. It is also very useful where direct satellite phone communication is available, and though a little bit costlier compared to normal phone systems, the clarity of communication and the speed of access far out weigh the little disadvantage in terms of the cost factor.

Play any DVD from any part of the world with a region free DVD player

A region free DVD player is immune of the affects of standard syndrome. Normally all DVDs cannot be played on all players. Different regions in the world use different standards for a DVD like PAL, NSTC, and SECAM, used in Europe, North America and France respectively. A region free DVD player will play all types of DVD irrespective of whatever standard they might follow and the standard specification problem gets affectively addressed with a region free DVD player.

Get a real provider

So cell phone, SIM card, satellite phone, and a region free DVD player, all can come handy in different situations and on different occasions. It may be required for communication, for messaging, for business pursuits, for enlivening memorable moments, for emergencies and for virtually anything. With these devices you will not feel that you are out of touch with your near and dear ones and you are still a part of your known environment. But the million dollar question remains as to where you get the devices. Who is going to provide you all these devices and ensure quality of the products? The simple answer is that you need a good and reliable provider who can give you all your choicest gadgets at a competitive price and also provides real after sales service. Once you select a real reliable provider, 80% of your problem is solved. The remaining 20% will also be solved as soon as you get acquainted with the handling of the devices.

Beware of unscrupulous traders

Urge for procuring all the devices that makes an otherwise secluded life on constant move really enjoyable, has driven many decent citizens in the past to grab such articles wherever available. In doing so, many of these innocent and unsuspecting citizens have walked into the booby trap laid by unscrupulous merchants who are prowling in the wings. These dishonest merchants make the innocent and unsuspecting customer believe that they are providing them with a real factory unlocked cell phone, or a real low-charge SIM card, or a real region free DVD player, and the customer gladly parts with a lot of his hard earned money to have these devices. But at real time, to their dismay, such customers find that all these devices are not what they claim to be. Instead, they find that these are really career endorsed mobile and support only the network of the provider and not others. SIMilarly, the SIM card provided may not support other areas and even if the SIM card can be used, it may be used as a roaming cell phone only charging the poor customer almost five times of what they would have paid towards call charges under ordinary circumstances. The region free DVD player provided by such fraudulent traders may turn out to be one which provides only limited region free services like playing PAL standard DVD on an NSTC TV but not the vice versa and when it comes to playing SECAM Standards, the DVD player does not support it at all. There are millions of such incidents that have happened with decent people all around. Visit us at http://www.planetomni.com

The reasons why you may like to choose to have products from us

We welcome all who are on the search for a region free DVD player, a factory unlocked cell phone, a real time satellite phone or a SIM card that will provide real economic services to avail our services. We, at http://www.planetomni.com are experts in the market and provide real items that a customer will find to his choice and liking. Our region free DVD player is a real one where you can play DVDs and CDs from any part of the world whether it supports PAL, SECAM, or NSTC standards. Our cell phone is real factory unlocked cell phone that will allow you change of SIM cards at will and it will support any network available at any place in the world. As a result you will be able to use a local SIM card and your calling expenses will be considerably less. We also provide SIM cards supporting a number of networks all over and you can have it. The conditions that are mentioned there really apply and there is no hidden administrative expenses putting you to a loss. And for emergency calls on an expedition just try our satellite phone and you will be real happy to taste its range, clarity and ease of use.

And reasons why you will like to choose us as your provider

We have in the business long and have been able to satisfy our customers not only with the wide variety of products that we deal with, but with our dedicated services too. When you choose to obtain our services online or in any of our brick and mortar show room in your city, you will have a wide variety of articles in top brands to choose from. Our people online and in the stores, make available all information for you relating to the prices, specifications and every thing you need to use these devices. We provide all user manuals, guide books and in addition we have a team of experts constantly on their toes to provide any support to the customers. We value our customers and consider their satisfaction our prime objective. You can get your doubts cleared and questions answered online without having to take the trouble of running to an engineer or expert to sort out the problems you face in using our devices since our services are available 24/7 for you.

What you can get:

Before you set up your mind about a provider, kindly look into what we have as offer for you -

A wide range of models catering to the need of different types required by our customers, to choose from.

On line services 24/7 and in store services where available.

Special offers, discounts and bonus offers for customers on specified articles.

No low grade or below standard articles.

All top brands in the market to choose from.

After sales services and the best warranty periods.

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Do you like foreign languages, learning new dialects or foreign phrases, terms or idiomatic expressions? Do you like to travel overseas and eat up the culture, landscape, history, art and wine?

You need SIM CARDS and CELL PHONES, or satellite phones. You sure can think about a region free DVD player too.

More info. is available.

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Any custom home theatre system requires different equipment, like a high end video projector, high end DVD player, separate amplifiers for each channel controlled by a master preamp or controller, in-wall speakers, and a couple of subwoofers. These custom installations of home theatres are not too expensive and are quite affordable. A very simple home theatre system can be something as simple as a 27-inch TV, a basic DVD player and Hi-If VCR, cheap stereo or AV receiver, and of course speakers.

But the concept of a home theatre has changed. It has become essential to watch the latest world DVD releases. There where the region fee home theatre comes in, which allows you to play DVD discs on the DVD players from any country, whether they are of PAL or NTSC standard. The Region fee home theatres are exceptional in the sense that they can play any video format on your screen. In case you are interested in far more features, then you have the choice to go for some of the latest models which can play any format on any kind of television. Like for instance, you can play your American Region 2 PAL discs on your European NTSC TV and that too without a video converter!

The man difference between a simple home theatre and a region fee home theatre is just that, the latter consists of a region free DVD player which allows you to watch movies in all formats.

Movies are released on DVD at different times around the world, typically America and Europe first, Australia and Japan 6 months later, and Asia about 12 months after the first release. In some cases, DVD movies are available for purchase in Asia or Europe before they are released in American picture halls. Therefore, the film fraternity, in order to save their profit, devised this encoding technique. This regional coding is a type of digital flag made on the disc that tells the DVD player where a particular DVD comes from. This is supposed to prevent the disc from being used by an incompatible player in another country. Like for example, a region where NTSC format is being used as standard, you will not be able to watch movies on your basic home theatre, which uses PAL standard. It’s another matter, if you possess a region fee home theatre. You can enjoy all the overseas movies in any formats on your region fee home theatres.

As regards media, the world is divided into six regions. These Region fee home theatres successfully play the movies from al these six regions without any hassle. The six different regions are USA, Europe, Asia Pacific, Australia and Latin America, Africa and Russia and the last is China Region.

A region fee home theatre has a multi format television that does not need an exterior PAL or NTSC converter along with it. A full surround sound system also accompanies a region fee home theatre system. Such a system consists of 4 Hi-Fi speakers for left & right surround, which include one rear wireless speaker, and a powerful subwoofer. A total of 500 watts power is sent to the to the system’s speakers which is composed of two large frontals, a center channel, and two surround speakers. It also features Dolby Digital and DTS surround decoding.

Since a region fee home theatre is more advanced, with the customer spending quite a good bit of amount, it is better to find out what is the best available in the market. For this, the equipment specifications have to be looked into and understood for a final choice. While picture clarity is one of the main factors, there are advantages in investing in a robust sound system for its ability to play loud as it maintains the dexterity of music and aggressive movie sound tracks. The overdriving of the circuitry by an ordinary sound system, damages the onboard electronics, which is minimised with a robust system.

With regards to the picture quality, a region fee home theatre surpasses all others. The goal of any playback device would be the reproduction of the original content with clarity. A region fee home theatre utilises advanced progressive scan1 playback techniques and a high grade MPEG video decoders that faithfully represent the image you see at your favorite movie theatre.

The fact is that the purpose of region fee home theatre is expected to provide you with a comfortable entertainment alternative to that of the movie hall, watching that favourite movie in your own time. A home theatre system is far better than just watching a plain-old TV by itself. By having access to a far a better image quality and sound technology of the movie theatre, which allows any region movies to be played, watching a movie in your own entertainment room comfort, you get to enjoy the theatre experience much more.

A region fee home theatre is something that can be customised to your personal needs very easily. There is not one type of a home theatre system. The equipment is available with all different options, which may be the choices for different buyers. It may be possible that you are ready to save on your sound system but cannot compromise on getting the advantage of region free systems! After all, it is your home theatre.

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The more advanced DVD players are capable of playing back a wide range of drives, besides just DVDs. The DVD players can play back DVD RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, CD audio, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3, WMA, JPEG, MPEG 4, VCR, picture CD, SVCD, DVCD, and DivX. These DVD players are available with various features and a wide price range. The DVD players’ manufacturers decide upon the types of features to incorporate and the type of discs that are supported, taking into account consumer demands and affordability.

Region free DVD players are generally designed to read all the various discs and are therefore higher priced in the market. They are widely available in all the Region 2 countries including UK, France, Italy, Greece, and Spain. In these countries, it is legal to own and use region free DVD players if used for non-commercial purpose.

CD-R

There are two types of CDs, the CD-R and the CD-RW. CD-R (Compact Disc-Recordable) is a variation of the digital audio disc and was invented by Philips and Sony, in 1988. The CD-Rs were first produced by the companies Taiyo Yuden, Kodak, Maxell, and TDK. They are capable of storing music or data. The CD-R is burned using laser. The standard CD-R is a polycarbonate disc of 120mm or 80 mm diameter and a 1.2 mm thickness. These standard CD-Rs have a storage capacity of 74 minutes of audio or 650 MB (Mega Byte) of data.

The non-standard CD-Rs can store 702 MB data and 79 minutes and 59 seconds of audio. The writable surface of the CD-R has a spiral groove, which guides the laser beam for writing and reading information. The spiral groove side is coated with a thin layer of organic dye, followed by a thin layer of silver, a silver alloy, or gold. Then a final protective layer of lacquer, which is photo-polymerizable, is coated as a thin layer, and is cured using UV light in the end. This is how a blank disc is prepared. The data is inscribed on the spiral groove. For writing data on a CD-R, the laser physically burns the organic dye by heating to a certain level. This area on the disc that has been written upon turns opaque to the laser and reflects less light than the other areas. When a CD-R is written upon, its organic dye undergoes an irreversible decomposition. Hence once a CD-R is written upon, it is permanent and cannot be erased or re-used.

Three Methods for Writing on a CD-R using a CD Recorder

There are three methods used for writing on a CD-R using a CD recorder. In the “Disc At Once” technique, the CD is written completely in one go, and thereafter “Closed,” such that no more data can be added to it subsequently. This type of recording is commonly utilized in “Live” audio recordings. This CD-R becomes a read-only CD.

The “Track At Once” technique is used for recording one track at a time, leaving the CD-R open for further additions subsequently. These CDs are capable of storing both data and audio. The third technique is the “Packet Writing” system in which the data is recorded as appendages, allowing for new data to be added later. These CD-Rs are very similar in functioning to CD-RWs. However, due to this technique, certain DVD players are unable to read these CD-Rs.

CD-RW

A CD-RW or “Compact Disc Re Writable,” as the name suggests, is a CD disc on which data can be written, erased, and rewritten. A CD-RW is capable of re-writing as many as 1,000 to 100,000 times, depending on the type of disc. A CD-RW is also capable of erasing single files at a time.

The CD-RW is similar to the CD-R in most of the recording and usage aspects. These are compatible for “Disc At Once” and “Packet Writing” just like the CD-R. The CD-RW discs are written using the technology of “Phase-Change”. When written upon, the laser alters the physical state of the writable layer from crystalline phase to the amorphous phase. The refractive index of the crystalline form differs from that of the amorphous form and makes the disc optically readable.

Multi Read and Multi Play

The CD-R and CD-RW can be played back conveniently on the CD players. There are a number of DVD players that can play only DVD discs and are incapable of reading the CDs. This is due to certain technological disparities between the two formats. The CD-R, CD-RW, and DVDs are read using different laser specifications. The CD-R is read using infrared 780nm laser, while the DVD is read by a visible red 635nm or 650nm laser. The CD-RW can be read by the 650nm laser, since its recording layer is not very dependant on the laser wavelength for being read.

Also, the optical device used for reading DVDs has a numerical aperture of 0.60 as opposed to 0.45 used for CD-R. So, certain DVD players cannot read CD-R discs and need to be fitted with a dual laser to be able to read CD-Rs also. Most DVD players are capable of reading CD-RW, but in some cases, the optical system of the DVD is not sensitive enough to read the signal change and lower reflectivity of a CD-RW.

The consumers usually demand DVD systems that are capable of handling all types of discs. The DVD players were modified to be able to read and play other discs by incorporating the MultiRead and MultiPlay features. This is possible by the addition of an extra laser optical pickup that generates both types of wavelengths. The MultiRead format was created in 1997 by OSTA. This was devised to link together the CD and DVD technologies, and enable the DVD players to read CD-R and CD-RW discs.

The OSTA formulated MultiPlay in 2000, to enable the CD and DVD electronic devices to be compatible with CD-R and CD-RW devices. Thereafter, the MultiRead and MultiPlay compliant DVD players and recorders are able to play both CD-R and CD-RW discs. Most of the compliant DVD devices provide a MultiRead and MultiPlay logo sticker on the box to be recognized by the consumer.

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The difference between an ordinary and high definition DVD player

It is not only the fact that a high definition DVD player provides us with the combination of very high quality audio and video. It also provides us with the ability to play the latest DVDs from any region of the world. A costly and good quality DVD player that is not region free or high definition can also provide quality audio and video. But the performance of such equipment is restricted in the sense that it can only play DVDs from that particular region, with that region standard built-in. The standard video resolution can be at best 480 visible lines of details. On the other hand a high definition DVD player enables you to view 1080 visible lines providing a greater detail of a picture or image. When it is a region free DVD player, it can play any DVD from any part of the world, with precision, on your TV, that might not be originally compatible with the standard of the DVD. Therefore, the differences are, that an ordinary DVD player will allow you visualise up-to 480 lines while a high definition, with its 1080 lines, provides a better picture clarity. The High definition DVD player also comes in two categories; one is of 720 pixels while the other is of 1080 pixels. Thus resolution and quality wise, there is quite a big difference between an ordinary DVD player and a high definition DVD player.

The High definition region free DVD player

Now we come to the object of our study, the high definition region free DVD player. After having a brief overview of the ordinary and high definition DVD player and their basic differences, we now move on to the term ‘region free’. A region free DVD player is one that can play DVD of any standard to be viewed on your TV without going for the compatibility equipments. DVDs cannot be played on all players. Different regions in the world use different standards for a DVD, like PAL, NSTC, and SECAM, as used in Asia, Europe and North America, except that France with few of its neighbouring countries, use SECAM. A region free DVD player will play all types of DVD irrespective of whatever standard they might follow, which solves your problem of not being able to play a DVD of a different standard.

Generally, three standards are followed all over the world in case of DVDs. These are PAL standard, that are used in most part of Asia, Europe and Africa; the NSTC standard used in North America and major part of United States; and SECAM standard, followed in France and few other European countries and Middle East. The problem with these standards is that they are not compatible to each other. As a result, a DVD procured from Europe or Asia, is not compatible with your NSTC compatible TVs used in America. Similarly, the NSTC compatible DVDs from the United States cannot be played in most part of Europe and Asia since they use PAL compatible TVs. The same principle is applied to playing SECAM, the oldest of the standards, on non-compatible TVs elsewhere. A region free DVD player solves these problems by allowing you to view DVD with any standard on any type of TV with its inbuilt system of conversion to compatible standards.

Real use of a high definition region free DVD player

Most people who travel frequently have great use for a high level region free DVD player. There are moments when you would like to watch a movie on a DVD on your own, and within the comfort of your room. You may also like to watch the recorded moments of that holiday that you had with your family last year. Not only sportsmen and travelers, but, people engaged in different professions and business, are always on the move, traveling the world, and a region free high definition DVD player may be their solution for a quiet personal entertainment. Whether you are an official, a businessman, a professional, or a simple traveler, you may like to have themes recorded or view things that you are acquainted with. A high definition region free DVD player, makes this all possible as your personal entertainer.

This is not only the case of an individual, but when you move in groups; such equipment can be a real asset being both an entertainer as well as a knowledge base. Moreover, the added advantage is that, while you will be able to play the local DVDs of the place you are visiting, even though they are not the standard you use back home, you can also play such DVDs that you have brought along with you. You will be able to play them even though they are not compatible to your standards.

Basic elements of a region free high definition DVD player

Now we may have a basic reference to the technicalities involved in a high definition region free DVD player. A region free DVD player is one, in which the manufacturer has not used the region based lock system. Ordinarily, the video game DVDs are always made free from region locking, because they are used universally. But other types of DVDs, especially movie DVDs, have the regional locks, which mean that DVDs of a particular zone will not be play in another zone. The high definition region free DVD players overcome these problems using a unique unlocking mechanism.

Internet and World Wide Web plays an important part here too, since a whole database of DVD unlock codes are available at the DVD code unlock website. In technical terms, a HD DVD or High Definition DVD is a optical disc fromat that can store both high definition video and audio data. In fact it is an expansion of the DVD optical disc format. Instead of the blue violet laser with 405 nm used by a standard DVD, a HD DVD uses a 650 nm wavelength red laser. Therefore, a high definition region free DVD player is an affordable alternative to the price of blue laser optical devices. One basic advantage of the high definition DVD player is its superior image display capability. The high definition region free DVD player is gradually gaining popularity and most of the leading companies in the business have come out with their respective models. Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Phillips, Sharp, Samsung, and NeuNeo are some of the leading companies producing high defintion region free DVD players.

Why buy a high definition region free DVD player

With the improvement in audio-video technology, almost all new TVs are high definition ready and compatible. If you do not have a high definition DVD player or not upgrade the existing one, it means you are not using your TV to its full potential. A high definition DVD player will provide you with 720, 768, and 1080i pixel resolutions. However, while purchasing a code free or region free high definition DVD player you must be careful of two things. First you must ensure that it provides a life time guarantee. Second, you should also opt for equipment with at least an 8 MB video converter that is good for any TV upto 27″ size to give good picture quality. For larger TVs you may use 14 MB video converter. Once these aspects are taken care of, along-with the feature future up-gradations, you have a deserving equipment.

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It gets rather complicated when trying to describe the differences between Broadcast systems and Video systems so let stick to those video systems found in VCRs, camcorders, DVD and Blu-Ray Disc players etc.

Those are the basic standards and none are compatible with each other. Sometimes the A/C Hertz are 50 MHz (220 volt countries) and sometimes 60Mhz (110 volt countries) and this changes the scanning results of an electron tube, LVD or Plasma etc. 60Mhz, used in the USA for example, renders the image smoother, virtually no discernible flicker. With line doubling and quad-doubling (100 and 220 MHz and then 200 and 440 MHz).

Line doubling actually interlaces the picture into a single scan that reveals the entire frame and doubling again increased the scan lines providing for an even finer resolution and there a better sense of reality to the human eye. Technically it takes the original two-field frame and creates a progressive scan (single non-interlaced frame) output. This produces a higher resolution picture both brighter and smoother.

Some 3rd party Line-quadruplers can upscale to resolutions: 1365×1024, 720P, 1080i 852×480, 1024×1024, 1024×768 and 1365×768 and even higher. When the newest technology in video images hits the world we will be seeing NHK images of more than 6000 lines, up from the maximum of 1080P today.

If they then begin to Line-quadruple an image like that who knows what the mind might achieve if plugged directly into the motherboard of the future. Perhaps an enlarging and enhancing of human vision will be needed in the order of 1,000 eyes, 360 degree views both laterally and longitudinally, 100,000,000 lines of resolution all far outpacing current human ability.

Back to PAL-NTSC for a moment.

These many video systems were created due to incompatible electrical standards such as the Hertz, due to economic exigencies and even political motivations (for example, a country didn’t want its TV to be seen by another countries citizens nearby lest they get “ideas”!

With the advent of DVD disc players Hollywood producers decided to take advantage of the new electronic potential inherent in this new groundbreaking technology to better market their movies.

With movies released in VHS VCR tape versions but in 5-6 different and non-competing systems the release of movies worldwide could be staggered according to best marketing practices so rake in as much profit as possible from every country. A movie released in April in the USA didn’t have to be released until the right time in South America and the idea of people in Argentina (PAL-N) wishing to buy the film from a US retailer was virtually a useless plan as the Argentine would have no VCR and no TV of the correct system to play and display the images with. PAL-N and NTSC simply do not display correctly on the wrong systems, even the speeds of recording and playback are different. This means an NTSC movie seen on a PAL or other standard would usually be in black and white, have terribly vertical scrolling problems, have a horizontal skew at the top of the picture and be in the wrong speed so even the voices were too fast or too slow. It’s a mess!

Until the Japanese VCR (and at one time even Sony’s BETA) makers came out with Multisystem VCRs!

Most could only play the tapes from various standards but to display them you’d also need a TV that was multisystem as well, or 2 TVs, or even 3 each being of the appropriate system you were outputting from the VCR.

To get around the need of buying a multisystem TV Panasonic came out with the incredible AG-W1 model which had a built-in digital converter which could play, record and convert to/from all of the world five current systems. It was $4,000 but was a great device producing excellent results, albeit not for broadcasting purposes.

Many people got around having buy the AGW-1 (and its subsequent progeny AGW-2 and AGW-3) by buying a Planet Omni Tenlab Digital systems converter at a fraction of the cost of the AGW-1 and using it with a multisystem VCR. In this way the image quality was the same or better and the price when way down to the consumer.

Soon AIWA came out with the much cheaper MX-1 converting multisystem VCR which wasn’t a digital type but used analog converting methods which are much inferior, then Samsung, GoVideo and a few others. Samsung was the actual manufacturer for the Panasonic AGW-1 and 2 and under their own brand they came out with a wide variety of models such as the SV-3000W, SV-5000S, SV-7000W (with the unique French Secam-L tuner built-in).

Planet Omni still has some of the Panasonic, Aiwa and Samsungs left for sale. None have been made for 2-3 years and with the death of the VCR they never will be made again. People worldwide with old home movies should consider having them transferred to DVD discs which can also be converter from PAL to NTSC or NTSC to PAL. All countries using any system but those two will find that their tapes can be converted to PAL and will display perfectly on their TV even if the TV isn’t strictly PAL.

People in an NTSC country can utilize converting services such as Planet Omni’s and convert tapes or DVDs to PAL or visa-versa to NTSC rather than buying PAL-NTSC DVD recorders (which exist) and a TENLAB converter.

Since the Hollywood producers were rather OK with the incompatible VHS video standards worldwide it was a new problem with DVD disc movies.

As all SECAM countries are also PAL countries as far as their TVs being multisystem go and the same for PAL-M (Brazil) and PAL-N (Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) countries, this meant that DVD movies only had to be either NTSC or PAL and they could be seen worldwide.

This wasn’t very good for Hollywood filmmakers however as too many countries could then buy discs from another country and see movies straight from their first release on disc which sometimes predated even the movies official theatrical release in theaters. This meant that a citizen of a PAL country such as Italy could buy a new movie from a New Zealand (PAL) source and see the movie (with subtitles if needed) perhaps months before the film was actually released theatrically or on DVD in Italy. This infringed on the natural markets of established theater owners and retailers in Italy.

Generally when a European country gets a movie on DVD it is also available at the same time in other Euro countries, but not always. But then an English speaking person in Australia could buy the movie from a UK source and see it in English on his PAL TV.

Again, not very good for business men and bean counters.

So a new technology was embedded into each Hollywood movie shipped out to the various countries around the world. This is called REGIONAL CODES.

They divided the world, as best as they could, into 6 regions based on film release protocols.

These regional codes are built-in to both the DVD players and the DVD movie discs as well.

6 regions, 2 video standards (PAL-NTSC) making things fairly complex.

For example, Europe is PAL and REGION 2 but Japan is NTSC and yet is REGION 2!

This means that a Japanese DVD disc would play on a Japanese DVD player fine but even though it is REGION 2 it would not play on a European PAL TV even if you took the Japanese DVD player to Europe, raised the voltage from 100V to 240V and then tried to play it. The disc would spin, the player would play it but the TV could not display it…UNLESS the TV was also an NTSC multisystem TV.

So how to get around these video standards and regional codes?

The invention of a REGION FREE DVD player (aka Codefree, code free, regionfree, all zone, universal, all region etc). But is that against the law and how can it be done? What does it mean?

By licensing agreement no manufacturer of DVD players are permitted to make a region free player. Each must be set to a specific region. They can be PAL-NTSC both but the REGIONAL CODE must be specific to a certain region. The USA is Region 1… and here are all of them:

Region codes and countries

Region code Area

0 Informal term meaning “worldwide”. Region 0 is not an official setting; discs that bear the region 0 symbol either have no flag set or have region 1-6 flags set.

1 Bermuda, Canada, Cayman Islands, United States and U.S. territories

2 European Union, Albania, Andorra, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Egypt, Faroe Islands, French Guiana, Georgia, Greenland, Guernsey, Iceland, Iran, Iraq, Isle of Man, Israel, Japan, Jersey, Jordan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Norway, Oman, Qatar, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Africa, Swaziland, Switzerland, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Vatican City State, Yemen

3 Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Taiwan

4 Caribbean, Central America, Oceania, South America (except French Guiana), Mexico

5 African countries not explicitly included in other regions, Indian subcontinent, countries included in the former Soviet Union, Belarus, Mongolia, North Korea

6 People’s Republic of China (except Macau and Hong Kong)

7 Reserved for future use (found in use on protected screener copies of MPAA-related DVDs and “media copies” of pre-releases in Asia)

8 International venues such as aircraft, cruise ships, etc.[1]

ALL Region ALL discs have all 8 flags set, allowing the disc to be played in any locale on any player.

ALL Region ALL discs have all 8 flags set, allowing the disc to be played in any locale on any player.

So is it against the law to modify a DVD player and make it CODE FREE?

No, it isn’t at all. Many places such as PLANET OMNI have been selling them for years. The quality of the modification rarely varies, it is generally a perfect mod so that any and all DVD movies will play but you’ll need a PAL-NTSC TV or a video standards converter to see both PAL and NTSC DVD movies.

Remember that a DVD movie is NOT a DVD-R or DVD+R disc even though it may be a movie that has been recorded.

Most DVD Codefree players will play most DVD-R & DVD-RW, DVD+R & DVD+RW homemade discs.

99% also play CD discs for regular music playback and many play a wide variety of other formats such as MP3, WMA, DVD-Video, Video CD, DVD-Audio, SACD, CD, audio CD-R & CD-RW, WMA, & JPEG and JPEG and Kodak JPEG.

So, a REGION FREE DVD player can play all regions and both PAL and NTSC discs, IE every known type of DVD movie on earth, but what if you don’t have a PAL-NTSC TV or a video standards converter?

Besides the fact that you can buy those items there are also CONVERTING Region free DVD players.

Some can convert a PAL DVD movie to NTSC and some can do both that and converter a USA NTSC disc to PAL.

And some can do both but if you ever get a PAL-NTSC TV you can turn OFF the conversion and then see everything, all DVD movies from all countries in all standards on any the TV in the ORIGINAL PICTURE quality. Again, on-line shops such as Planet Omni carry this type as well.

These Codefree, Converting players can be even the most advanced units with all the latest bells and whistles certainly including things like DTS STEREO, Dolby Digital, HDMI and DVI output, 5.1 and higher stereo channel output, Progressive scan and so forth.

But now let’s consider what this means as regards the Blu-Ray Disc players that are Multi-region.

As HD DVD is dead as a Hi-Def format we consider that Blu-Ray Disc players and movies on Blu-Ray discs are here to stay until the next leap into the future hits us which may happen around 2012 with the entry of the latest 6,000 Line Super-Hi Definition TVs, some 6 x more realistic and 3D appearing than Blu-Ray and 1080P technology.

As with DVD region Blu-Ray discs and players also have regions, called Region A, B and C.

These are non-compatible regions which include PAL-SECAM-NTSC and all other systems.

The beauty of a Region A or B Blu-Ray disc when played in a Multi-region Blu-Ray disc player via the HDMI output (that is a single cable combining all audio and video signals) is that the TV doesn’t have to be Pal-NTSC-Secam or anything specific at all. As long as the TV has an HDMI input all Blu-Ray Disc movies from Regions A and B will play in their full glory and, depending on the maximum resolution possible of each TV, in the highest quality possible. Pal and NTSC no longer exist in the HDMI world, the problems of Hertz, government controls and so forth, Gone with the Wind!

However, there are still Regions A, B and C.

For the Hollywood production companies these 3 Regions are still important, but not as once they were.

Do know that a Blu-Ray Disc movie output thru the regular component, S-Video or composite (A/V RCA cables) still requite the proper standard to view movies with, PAL for a PAL disc and NTSC for an NTSC disc. But in TVs there are no regions so any PAL-NTSC TV can display any PAL or NTSC DVD.

In the case of the Sony BDP-S300 multi-region version available now (110 volt version) you can pop in any Blu-Ray Disc movie from the A and B countries seen below and on any TV with an HDMI input you can see the entirety of any library.

The Sony BDP-S300 multi-region player has been highlyrated by many including reviews such as: “I am delighted with my Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray Disc Player. It has excellent audio and visual definition. The crystalline clarity of 1080p Blu-ray Disc movies and DVD upscaling brings your DVDs to the highest resolution possible. Purchase this product and you will not be disappointed.”

The Blu-Ray Disc Regions are as seen here:

A/North America, Central America, South America, Japan, Taiwan, North Korea, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia.

B/Europe, Greenland, French territories, Middle East, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, plus all of Oceania.

C/India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Mainland China, Pakistan, Russia, Central, and South Asia.

The future of Blu-Ray Disc type technology?

In January 2007, Hitachi previewed a 100 GB Blu-ray Disc, which has four layers containing 25 GB each. Unlike TDK and Panasonic’s 100 GB discs, they Hitachi claims this disc is readable on a standard Blu-ray Disc drive a firmware update is the only requirement to make it readable to current players and drives.

Many other iterations and variations of the Blu-Ray milieu are popping up including such novel notions as BD9 / BD5 Blu-ray Disc, AVCREC, Blu-ray Disc recordable, HD DVD/Blu-ray Disc hybrid discs, HD VMD/Versatile Multilayer Disc (new low-profile competitor) AVCHD, Digital Multilayer Disk – the successor technology to Fluorescent Multilayer Disc, Enhanced Versatile Disc (EVD), Forward Versatile Disc (FVD) – Taiwanese backed red laser format, Fluorescent Multilayer Disc, Holographic Versatile Disc – standards with 200 and 300 GB storage are under development 3D optical data storage – a next-generation technology expected to provide TB-capacity discs, Protein-coated disc, Tapestry Media, Ultra Density Optical LS-R – a “layer selection” technology allowing the stacking of very large numbers of DVD-like data layers in a single disc, Professional Disc for DATA (PDD or ProDATA) and much more.

Will there still be Regions? Who knows but there will always be a better genius to overcome them.

Image : http://www.flickr.com

You have got with you that British TV series DVD that you have been after for ages. Now you are back home in USA. You are waiting impatiently to put it in your DVD player and watch the series. Something wrong! The only thing that you can see is the display, “Wrong Region” or words to that effect. You are quite amazed to see that. Is your DVD player not working? Or is the DVD faulty? Which one is it? The box, in which the DVD came in, says that the disc is Region Free, which would mean that it is meant for Region 0 or All Region. Doesn’t it mean that the DVD will play anywhere in the world? Well, good news is, that there is nothing wrong with your DVD player or the DVD disc. The bad news id that you are experiencing the wonderful world of DVD Region Coding or Region Locking as sometimes termed as. Are you asking me, what is DVD Region Coding and why it is needed?

A Region Free, Region Free, Region Zero or All Region disc is supposed to play on any Region Locked player, but there is that question of compatibility between PAL and NTSC video formats. For example, suppose you got a Region Free DVD from UK and try to play it in a US NTSC player. The DVD will not play, since the disc is in PAL video format. There is a misconception that since the DVD is based on digital format, it matters less if your player plays NTSC or PAL. All digital video formats are based on either PAL or NTSC video systems.

But what are PAL and NTSC video systems? Let me briefly explain.

Countries all over the world use one of the three main TV broadcast standards. These three standards are – PAL NTSC and SECAM. But these three standards are incomplete with the other. Take for example the Region Free DVD, which you purchased in UK. It did not play correctly on a US NTSC DVD player because the DVD is in PAL video format. That misconception that I mentioned somewhere in my discussion above, does not hold good and as I said, all digital video formats, including DVD are still based on the PAL or NTSC video systems.

Let me briefly outline PAL and NTSC systems for a better understanding.

The first ever colour broadcast came to USA in 1953. This was based on NTSC – National Television System Committee standard. NTSC is being used by many countries in the American continent and as well as in Asia too, in countries including Japan. NTSC runs on 525 lines/frame.

Phase Alternating Line (PAL) system was introduced in early 1960s and was available in most European countries except France. PAL utilises a wider chanel-bandwidth than NTSC, which provides a better picture quality. This system runs on 625 lines/frame.

Sequential Couleur Avec Memoire or Sequential Colour with Memory (SECAM) standard was introduced in early 1960s and was implemented in France. SECAM transmits colour information sequentially but uses the same bandwidth as PAL. The standard runs on 625 lines/frame.

For a better understanding the following is presented:

NTSC Standard

SYSTEM NTSC M

Lines/Field 525/60

Horizontal Frequency 15.734 kHz

Vertical Frequency 60 Hz

Video Bandwidth 4.2 MHz

Sound Carrier 4.5 MHz

PAL Standard

SYSTEM PAL

B,G,H PAL

I PAL

D PAL

M PAL

N

Line/Field 625/50 625/50 625/50 625/50 525/60

Horizontal Frequency 50 Hz 50 Hz 50 Hz 50 Hz 60 Hz

Colour Sub-carrier Frequency 4.433618 MHz 4.433618 MHz 4.433618 MHz 3.582056 MHz 3.575611 MHz

Video Bandwidth 5.0 MHz 5.5 MHz 6.0 MHz 4.2 MHz 4.2 MHz

Sound Carrier 5.5 MHz 6.0 MHz 6.5 MHz 4.5 MHz 4.5 MHz

SECAM Standard

SYSTEM SECAM B,G,H SECAM D,K,K1,L

Line/Field 625/50 625/50

Horizontal Frequency 15.625 kHz 15.625 kHz

Vertical Frequency 50 Hz 50 Hz

Video Bandwidth 5.0 MHz 6.0 MHz

Sound Carrier 5.5 MHz 6.5 MHz

Similar to multi-system VCRs, DVD players will not convert video standards. A PAL standard DVD player will not accept a DVD disc formatted in SECAM.

There is a point to consider to end your despair. If you have a multi-system TV, which is able to receive both PAL and NTSC video signals, you can very well watch that DVD you got from UK. You could also use a converter, which would convert a PAL into NTSC and vice-versa. In that way you can watch that DVD from UK, played on a standard NTSC TV, with converter doing all the processing for you. You could very well purchase a Region Free DVD Player, also known as a Multi Region DVD Player or a Code Free DVD Player, with a built in video standards converter.

The so called regions, that we hear so much about when buying a DVD disc or a player, are catagorised in the following way:

1. Region 1 – The U.S., U.S. territories and Canada

2. Region 2 – Europe, Japan, the Middle East, Egypt, South Africa, Greenland

3. Region 3 – Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Hong Kong

4. Region 4 – Mexico, South America, Central America, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Caribbean

5. Region 5 – Russia (okay, former Russia), Eastern Europe, India, most of Africa, North Korea, Mongolia

6. Region 6 – China

In a conventional manner, statistics say that, people in Region 1 get to see the DVD first. Region 2 will have to wait another 6 months and Region 3 people will have a year to see their favorite movie on DVD.

The DVD has brought home entertainment to life. Players and movie DVD discs have been selling like hot cakes through-out the world as prices tumble for both the products. The concept of the Home Theater comes along, with the superior quality of audio visual presented by the DVD. Entire rooms in many homes are kept reserved just for the home theater.. However, with this success of DVD, comes that dirty little secret: Region Coding or the Region Lock.

Why this coding, you might want to know. Well, what they tell us is it is the way that they wish to protect the copyright. However, another aspect of this Region Coding is surfacing lately. It is perhaps because of price fixing of the DVDs at different regions.

According to many views, code enforcement is a violation under WTO free trade agreement, which reflects at the competition law. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has taken a serious view to this coding and warned that such coding may violate the Trade Practices Act. A similar ruling has been done by the government of New Zealand. Therefore in practice, the DVD players sold in their countries have to be of Region 0. The Region 0 DVD players are required to incorporate Region 1 to 6 simultaneously, there-by providing the capability to plat any disc, no matter what region it belongs to.