DVD: A Success with Electronic Consumers

The Digital Video Disc or DVD is a preferred medium for viewing, recording, and distribution of movies. DVD has been one of the most successful consumer electronics products ever since its introduction as an optical storage disc. It can store and play video, excellent quality audio, still photos, and computer data. Due to its varied set of utilities beside video, it is also called the Digital Versatile Disc.

Design and Release of the DVD

The DVD was first created as a high-density CD in the year 1993 by a group of software companies. Two different sets of companies formulated their specific formats for the DVD. The MMCD format was supported by Philips, Sony, and some other companies, while the SD format was supported by Matsushita, Time Warner, Toshiba, and several others. A few companies led by IBM proposed the combining of two existing competing formats into a single standard format. Thus, the DVD standard format combination was formally declared in September 1995.

The DVD is not owned by any single company, as its official specifications were designed by an alliance of ten companies: JVC, Hitachi, Matsushita, Philips, Mitsubishi, Pioneer, Time Warner, Sony, Toshiba and Thomson. Time Warner had trademarked the logo for DVD at start, but thereafter, it was assigned as "DVD Format/Logo Licensing Corporation" or DVD FLLC. The term "DVD" was considered to be so common that is could not be owned or trademarked.

Keeping New Releases "New" in Every Country

To maintain the novelty of newly released movies in Hollywood, Motion Picture Studios in the U.S. wanted to control the availability of new movies around the world. Movies are released on DVD at different times around the world, typically first in America and Canada, six months later in Australia and Japan, and a year later in Europe, after the U.S. release. In some cases, DVD movies can be purchased in America and Canada even before they are released in the European cinemas.

Due to the movie release system used by Hollywood, it was decided that the world was to be divided into six major zones or regions. Each region was assigned a unique code, from one to six. They introduced the marking of DVDs and DVD players with their region codes, specifying the region where they were produced. By this technique, the DVD players produced in one region were incompatible with DVDs produced in another region and would not be able to play them. Establishing this system was aimed at preventing people from watching Region 1 movies before they were released in Regions 2-6. Hence, the DVD Region Locking System is used to control which DVD movies play on which DVD Players.

Region Codes on DVDs

The region code is generally marked on the back of the individual DVD packages with a regional coding logo of a globe with the region number superimposed over it. Sometimes it is specifically spelled out naming the region in which it will play. If it states available worldwide," it would mean that the discs contain no regional coding and will play on any player in any country.

This system however was an inconvenience and a limitation for free availability and usage of the DVD movies in most countries. Recognizing a market requirement in this field, certain companies manufacturing DVD players incorporated the region-free feature in the new DVD players. Thus were born the region-free or code free DVD players that had the capability to play DVDs from any region all over the world. A provision was made in the players to switch codes using a remote control to match the disc region code. Now, players are manufactured with the modification for multiple regions, or provide simple instructions to users to reach the region change feature that's built into the DVD player.

Different Standards for Countries

Countries have different television standards that are incompatible with those of other countries. These TV standards are broadly classified into NTSC, PAL, and SECAM. The PAL and SECAM have the same scanning formats, so their discs are the same. Most of the modern television in SECAM countries can also read PAL signals, so one can use a player that only has the PAL output. U.S., Canada and Japan all use the NTSC television system, while most of Europe, except France, uses the PAL system.

The NTSC and PAL standards are incompatible with one another. For example, if one purchases a PAL European DVD movie, one should have a PAL standard television to be able to watch the movie. If ones television is NTSC, the DVD will not play. Similarly, purchasing a NTSC movie and trying to watch it on a PAL-only TV will not work.

Only if one owns a multi-system TV can he view both the NTSC and PAL-formatted DVDs. However, a region free DVD Player with a built-in PAL to NTSC and NTSC to PAL converter enables a viewer to watch different system DVDs. External converter boxes are also available in the market, which can be attached to the DVD player for the desired result.

Some codefree DVD players are able to decode NTSC and PAL with a simple flip of a switch, enabling the user to watch imported DVDs on the same DVD player. The latest software tools like Adobe After Effects and Canopus ProCoder are specially designed for the purpose of converting between PAL and NTSC at low cost, but they are applicable only for the production function, as in converting the video before it is encoded and stored on a DVD.

It is legally permitted to own a code free DVD player, but it should not be used for illegal purposes. It is always advisable to check ones state and federal copyright laws as a precaution. Hence it is legitimate to have ones DVD player modified to regionfree mode and view DVDs from any region code.

Region free DVD players are manufactured by many leading electronics companies such as Samsung, Toshiba, Yamaha, Pioneer, Polaroid, LG, Tenlab, Denon, and Cyberhome.