DVD Copy Question

[thirsty moore]

Jimmy has an American region DVD that he wants to copy for a friend in Romania.  Would his friend in Romania be able to watch it?

[beetsnotbeats]

Only if his friend has a player that can play any region and NTSC format (assuming Romania uses PAL).

[sweetcell]

how much does jimmy weigh, and how fast is he travelling?
 
 on a computer, one can change the region of the DVD player 5 times before it locks up (and since it's software lock, chances are it can be defeated... i've never tried myself, tho).  so friend in romania could reset his computer to US, watch the DVD, then return to his former regional setting.
 
 an illegal option that you definitely should never, ever pursue would be to rip the DVD to MPEG, burn those to a data DVD, and send that.  some loss of quality, but the regional thing won't be an issue anymore.
 
 this could well be a first - an american providing pirated DVDs to romania.

[thirsty moore]

Thanks all.  I'll tell Jimmy to find out if his friend has an all region DVD player.

[beetsnotbeats]

Originally posted by econo:
  Thanks all.  I'll tell Jimmy to find out if his friend has an all region DVD player.

The NTSC vs. PAL part is more important. A straight copy of a US DVD will be in NTSC. Many players are all region but fewer are format switch-hitters.
 
  This is the all-region/dual-format player I just got. Plus it upconverts and plays DVD-Audio and SACD (great for my Can remasters   :cool:  ).

[chaz]

Originally posted by beetsnotbeats:
   

Originally posted by econo:
  Thanks all.  I'll tell Jimmy to find out if his friend has an all region DVD player.

The NTSC vs. PAL part is more important. A straight copy of a US DVD will be in NTSC. Many players are all region but fewer are format switch-hitters.
 
  This is the all-region/dual-format player I just got. Plus it upconverts and plays DVD-Audio and SACD (great for my Can remasters    :cool:   ). [/b]

For the $$ Oppo players are far and away the best SD DVD players available today.  The newest model is the first to ever get perfect scores in benchmark testing.  Great audio quality and region free to boot.  Great choice!

[Chip Chanko]

Can't you make it region free while you are copying it? DVD Decrypter? Mac the Ripper?

[beetsnotbeats]

Originally posted by Chip Chanko:
  Can't you make it region free while you are copying it? DVD Decrypter? Mac the Ripper?

Probably with some apps (I've never copied a DVD so I don't know which). Where is the region code located on the disc? Is it embedded with the video like a watermark (which would probably mean reprocessing and taking a hit on quality) or is it a separate file/title/chapter like the cue sheet (track breaks) on a CD?

[Chip Chanko]

I think both of the programs I mention strip region settings and encryption. It's not an embedded thing.
 
 Romania is indeed PAL so like beatsnotbeats said getting the unencrypted region-free video converted to PAL is the key here. At that point isn't it more worthwhile to buy a pal version?

[vansmack]

You can convert a ripped NTSC video to PAL with some programs, but there will be video degradation.