Dance Video/DVD for USA

[Minnie M]

I want to send a Video/DVD to a friend in America showing our style of dancing (must be mainly modern jive) - however, it must a US compatible format - what should I send Vid or DVD ??

And which one ???

(Obviously Jive Masters was first choice, but will they be able to play it over there ?)

[Paul F]

Hi Minnie,

Hmmmm, ive only got a limited knowledge of these things but here goes (im sure someone will correct me if im wrong :grin: )

Firstly, I wouldnt bother sending a video. They have , by and large, a different format over there (one is PAL , one is NTSC)
As a result unless they have a dual format video player (which most people dont) then it would be useless.

A lot (well lets not beat around the bush - ALL) of my hip-hop videos that i have bought from the states had this problem which led me to buy a dual format player.

So the only answer is DVD's.

The first thing to be very very careful of is copyright. Unless you are sending the original as a 'gift' you are not permitted (i dont think) to copy it and send a copy over.

(if its not against our laws its more than likely against us law :D )

IF you are copying it then chances are you will copy it 'region free'. The world is partitioned up into 'regions'. Every dvd made, or nearly every one, is allocated a region. Its to stop piracy etc etc.
If you are sending the original dvd then its more than likely to be Region 2 (europe) if you have been watching it here.
In the states they are Region 1 so wouldnt be able to watch ours.

Thats the theory but some naughty unscrupulous people came up with 'Region Free' DVD players. These were originally used in PC's but then made their way into the market place.

IF the person in the states had a region free player then thats fine.

If the person in the states doesn't have a region free player then chances are they can 'convert' their dvd player into a region free player. To do this most manufacturers build in a secret key combination which unlocks the players.
If you need more info on this let me know.


Bottom line:
It all depends if the dvd you are sending is region free or region 2.

[Minnie M]

Originally posted by Paul F
So the only answer is DVD's.

The first thing to be very very careful of is copyright. Unless you are sending the original as a 'gift' ..../snip/....

Bottom line:
It all depends if the dvd you are sending is region free or region 2.

Thank Paul, that's great - definitely a gift, so no problem about the copy thingy - not sure if the standard 'weekender' dance DVDs will cope and if so which one would be the best to send ??? :confused:

[Paul F]

This might be a problem unless someone knows of an easy way to tell which region a dvd is.

Thats the only thing you need to know though - which region it is.

I probably shouldnt say this as it would be an infringement on copyright if you were to copy it but if its a dvd produced by a dance event then its probable that the producers went to a wholesalers and bought tons of blank dvds and wrote them.

Its doubtful they would have added a region-restriction onto them.

As a result your friend should have no problem playing any of the dance dvd's you have.

Please please dont just copy it though. I might get into trouble then :blush:

[Dreadful Scathe]

Originally posted by Paul F

Firstly, I wouldnt bother sending a video. They have , by and large, a different format over there (one is PAL , one is NTSC)
As a result unless they have a dual format video player (which most people dont) then it would be useless.

US video format is NTSC which handles video at 29.97 frames per second - PAL format over here is 25 fps... theres other differences but it means some sort of conversion is required. Its not a big deal here , NTSC capable videos are quite common , Im not sure how common it is in the US. So, yes stay away from videos.



Originally posted by Paul F

The first thing to be very very careful of is copyright. Unless you are sending the original as a 'gift' you are not permitted (i dont think) to copy it and send a copy over.


Thats certainly true :)


Originally posted by Paul F

IF you are copying it then chances are you will copy it 'region free'. The world is partitioned up into 'regions'. Every dvd made, or nearly every one, is allocated a region. Its to stop piracy etc etc.


piracy has nothing to do with it - copy protection is standard on all DVDs regardless of the region. Region encoding is there so distributors can control the selling of DVDs - and in a global marketplace this is more likely to increase piracy as people know a DVD is available and want to get it....so they try to import it or get a pirate copy. Demonstrably true.


Originally posted by Paul F

In the states they are Region 1 so wouldnt be able to watch ours.
Thats the theory but some naughty unscrupulous people came up with 'Region Free' DVD players. These were originally used in PC's but then made their way into the market place.

DVD players are sold worldwide and almost ALL of them will be capable of playing DVDs from ANY region - the way to change which region your DVD player plays is usually hidden in some way, if you search for your player here (http://www.dvdrhelp.com/dvdplayers.php), you'll find instructions on how to make it region free, regardless of what country you are in. I hardly think people who want to buy DVDs and play them on any equipment they like are unscrupulous, and they didnt 'come up' with any sort of 'hack' as you seem to be insinuating.

Begging your pardon of course, its just that the film industry is particularly heavy handed about that sort of thing at the moment and what they are trying to protect is just a way to maximise their profits. Lately they (the M.P.A.A anyway) have also been trying to force US laws in Norway after a 16 year old used the code for DVD copy protection so he could play legally bought DVDs on his Linux Computer. Hes now 20, the case has gone on so long. Its not illegal in Norway to try and make use of somethng you've legally bought, but they kept trying to appeal.....

read the story here (http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/34637.html)

er..back on topic :) yes , use DVDs, check they can view it and send it over - ill certainly help compile a jive DVD if anyone needs one.

[Paul F]

Thanks DS. Like i say i only know bits and bobs about it.

:cheers:

[DavidB]

Unfortunately it is not that simple.

There are only a handful of very expensive Video players that can do a proper conversion from PAL to NTSC, or visa versa. I don't know of any DVD players that can do it.

What many video and DVD players sold in Europe can do is convert NTSC into a hybrid format (called PAL 60). This then relies on having a TV that can use this signal. Most modern TVs in europe can do this.

Unfortunately it is not as straight forward in the US. There isn't a similar hybrid format for converting PAL to NTSC, and most American TVs cannot pick up anything but pure NTSC.

The only thing that usually works is playing DVDs on a computer. DVD-ROM drives in computers don't care about PAL or NTSC - they leave it to the software. And the software can display either format on a computer display.

You may have a problem with DVD Regions. You may be lucky and have a DVD with a Region Code of zero - this can be played anywhere. Alternatively on a PC you can use a program called DVD Region Free (http://www.dvdidle.com/dvd-region-free.htm) that allows you to play DVDs from any region.

You can get a video professionally converted to NTSC. Typically this costs about £15 per tape.

David

[Chris]

I'm wondering about geting one or two classic movies from America that aren't available over here. I've got a DVD player (and a separate one on my PC that isn't so comfy to use as it's in the office); and one of those (cheap) combined tv+video units that claims to play American as well as UK. I think I tested it once on some work stuff and it was ok - so will it play all American videos? Is the DVD player (non-computer one) a no-goer?

[DavidB]

Originally posted by Chris
combined tv+video units that claims to play American as well as UK... so will it play all American videos? Probably. The only one I ever tried worked fine with US videos.



Is the DVD player (non-computer one) a no-goer? It can probably play US DVDs, but unless you get it 'chipped', it won't like the region coding.

'Chipping' a DVD player used to involve inserting a special computer chip inside the player itself (hence the name). But now many DVD players can be unlocked by entering a hidden code onto the handset. You usually just have to search the Internet to find the code for your DVD player.

If you want to buy a Multi-region DVD player, I'd suggest Techtronics (http://www.techtronics.com) as a good place to start.

David

[Minnie M]

Well that's blown it :sad:

Can I assume that my friend Abel in Seattle has a computer that he can play an English DVD on so he can see us Brits dancing modern jive :cheers: OR do I think again for an alternative pressie

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP :hug:

[tricky]

dvd players can be re chiped for any format at a coast of £40.ap here or in the usa but you have to find someone to do it:wink:

[DangerousCurves]

I have absolutely zero technical knowledge, but I am in America now on holiday, and brought with me a dvd which Mikey created for me on the pc at home with some family pics as a gift for my sister. The dvd plays like a short film - merging images, and plays music too. If we had had any video clips we could have included that as well.

It plays perfectly on my sisters dvd. So if Minnie's dvd started off life as a standard disc like those you can purchase in drums of 100 from a pc/video store, she will be ok. :grin:

[tricky]

could not shure....you are up late

[Minnie M]

Originally posted by DangerousCurves
IIt plays perfectly on my sisters dvd. So if Minnie's dvd started off life as a standard disc like those you can purchase in drums of 100 from a pc/video store, she will be ok. :grin:

Well that answers the PM I just sent you - big hug
:hug:

Have fun and come back soon - miss you already :kiss:

[Dreadful Scathe]

Originally posted by DavidB
You usually just have to search the Internet to find the code for your DVD player.


Or just go to the link in my previous post :).


Originally posted by DavidB

If you want to buy a Multi-region DVD player, I'd suggest Techtronics (http://www.techtronics.com) as a good place to start.


Multi-region players shouldnt be hard to get here, but i understand it is harder in the US but only because they dont sell them as such (you can problem still 'unlock' them). As David points out though, you've got the TV problem to contend with - I never realised US TVs were that fussy. Still, DVD rom drives are only about $25 now and you'll probaly get player software with them too.