Music Technology: A survivor’s guide

"What does PAL & NTSC mean?"

PAL & NTSC are the two main video standards used globally for televisions, DVD players etc. As a rough guide PAL is predominantly used in the UK, Europe and many parts of Asia and Africa and NTSC features mostly in the US, Canada, most of South America and Japan. If you are not sure of the video standard you use in your country then click here for more information.

 

"What region are your DVDs?"

All of our LickLibrary branded DVDs are 'Region Free' / 'Region 0' as they are educational and therefore have no geographical playback restrictions apart from the video format (read 'Can I watch a PAL DVD on a NTSC based system & vice versa' for more information).

 

"Can I watch a PAL DVD on a NTSC based system & vice versa?"

Whilst it is generally possible for PAL set top DVD players to play NTSC formatted discs (if the DVD player is ‘Multi REGION’ capable), unfortunately most NTSC set top players by default CANNOT play PAL DVDs unless the device is 'Multi FORMAT' capable (not be confused with 'multi REGION') which in this case such NTSC set top players can convert PAL format DVDs on the fly to play directly on a NTSC TV (but you will need to check with your DVD player's documentation or manufacturer to confirm this).

 

"I live in a country that uses NTSC, is there any way I can watch a PAL format DVD?"

Yes there is! Apart from getting your hands on a 'Multi FORMAT' set top DVD player (mentioned above) the other easy option you have is to use your computer's in-built DVD player, as ALL computer based DVD players (on both PC and Mac) are NOT subject to video format restrictions and will happily play BOTH PAL & NTSC DVDs irrespective of which country you live in. Please note that DVD players used in games consoles (X Box, Playstation, Wii etc) DO NOT always support both video formats so again you will have to check with the manufacturer for more information.