Region 1 (NTSC) vs Region 2


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Hi i know REGION 1 dvd's are better because you get them uncut and more minutes per film then you would with REGION 2 which sucks. So just wanted to know if theres a website which compares REGION 1 and REGION 2 dvd's like if i searched the film Predator it tell me what's been cut or added etc :shifty:

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FYI: When a film is passed for ratings in the US only main feature is rated. They can slap on as many extras as they wish.

In the UK, each feature is rated (extras), and so to make the process easier, fewer extras are often offered.

Also yes, the framerate is different, I believe we are 25fps and US are 24. As such, the Region2 PAL version of a movie may be a few minutes shorter - it plays slightly faster (which you will NOT notice).

The reason for the region 1 films being longer is to do with the FPS ratio. Region 2 has more frames per second, so the same film will appear shorter..

which means the voices are equally sped up and everyone sounds like they are on helium. :yes:

so yes PAL sucks.

FYI: When a film is passed for ratings in the US only main feature is rated. They can slap on as many extras as they wish.

In the UK, each feature is rated (extras), and so to make the process easier, fewer extras are often offered.

Also yes, the framerate is different, I believe we are 25fps and US are 24. As such, the Region2 PAL version of a movie may be a few minutes shorter - it plays slightly faster (which you will NOT notice).

I always go with extras. :woot:

Pal 720x576 at 25fps

NTSC 720x480 at 29.97fps

Pal is slightly better quality then the NTSC conuterpart wether people notice it or not is depent on the person. Pal movies are speeded up by 4% to make 25 fps from 24fps. i am know there is a process used for NTSC to make 30fps out of 24 but i am not sure what it called

Region 1 = NTSC - 720x480 @ 29.970fps

Region 2 = PAL - 720x576 @ 25fps

First off you can see PAL has a higher resolution (96 lines extra) but pays for it with a lower frame rate.

Film is "recorded" at 24fps. When a film is converted to NTSC duplicate frames are added to the film to create the higher frame rate. You don't get any "extra" frames compaired to PAL. This process is called 3:2 pulldown. This process is typically quite good, however, some methods of performing the pulldown can affect the quality of the film (funky interlacing methods to reduce stutter) and can produce an awful picture.

When converting to PAL adding an extra frame every second would create a visible pause in the picture once a second on a PAL TV (I've seen it, it truly breaks the flow of a movie). Therefore, to convert to PAL the film is increased in speed by 4%. This takes the 24fps of film to the needed 25fps for PAL. The movie is then 4% shorter and the sound is almost a semitone higher. Most people don't notice the difference and would happily put up with it to get the slightly better picture PAL provides. Some DVD players can slow the video back down to get the original 24fps, but you get the dreaded pause I mentioned before if you are using a PAL CRT. Also, because the film is only increased in speed, the original film quality is unaffected and it is very rare to find a poorly mastered PAL DVD of a Hollywood production (2005 War of the Worlds was disappointing, but decent. Dead Like Me Series 1 looked almost like 720p on my TV!).

For more information look up "Telecine" on Wikipedia. :) It's a HUGE subject area, but it covers the main points.

But I have to say, I've never heard of a Region 2 version of a movie having less material than a Region 1 unless you are talking about directors cut versions etc.

Hope that clears up some confusion. ;)

which means the voices are equally sped up and everyone sounds like they are on helium. yes.gif

so yes PAL sucks.

Apparently you've never watched a PAL DVD so why bother commenting?

As for the extras, I don't know about other people but I buy a DVD for the movie... I rarely even bother watching the extras so I don't care :).

Region 1 = NTSC - 720x480 @ 29.970fps

Region 2 = PAL - 720x576 @ 25fps

First off you can see PAL has a higher resolution (96 lines extra) but pays for it with a lower frame rate.

Film is "recorded" at 24fps. When a film is converted to NTSC duplicate frames are added to the film to create the higher frame rate. You don't get any "extra" frames compaired to PAL. This process is called 3:2 pulldown. This process is typically quite good, however, some methods of performing the pulldown can affect the quality of the film (funky interlacing methods to reduce stutter) and can produce an awful picture.

When converting to PAL adding an extra frame every second would create a visible pause in the picture once a second on a PAL TV (I've seen it, it truly breaks the flow of a movie). Therefore, to convert to PAL the film is increased in speed by 4%. This takes the 24fps of film to the needed 25fps for PAL. The movie is then 4% shorter and the sound is almost a semitone higher. Most people don't notice the difference and would happily put up with it to get the slightly better picture PAL provides. Some DVD players can slow the video back down to get the original 24fps, but you get the dreaded pause I mentioned before if you are using a PAL CRT. Also, because the film is only increased in speed, the original film quality is unaffected and it is very rare to find a poorly mastered PAL DVD of a Hollywood production (2005 War of the Worlds was disappointing, but decent. Dead Like Me Series 1 looked almost like 720p on my TV!).

For more information look up "Telecine" on Wikipedia. :) It's a HUGE subject area, but it covers the main points.

But I have to say, I've never heard of a Region 2 version of a movie having less material than a Region 1 unless you are talking about directors cut versions etc.

Hope that clears up some confusion. ;)

Thanks for the clear up. :)

My hd tv says it is compatible with both PAL and NTSC sources. But it was the dvd player that made me notice some differences. When I set it (the dvd) to pal, some xvid/divx files would have that pause which was annoying. Setting it to NTSC solves the problem. Since I haven't noticed any difference playing region 2 DVD's using the NTSC preference, I always leave it that way. Using HDMI btw

But it's true; the sounds are pitched higher. That's gotta suck for realism.

I have never noticed higher pitched sounds. Anyway when I travel I'll bring back a region 4 DVD (which I suppuse is recorded using the NTSC standards) and compare it with the region 2 PAL counterpart. I think my DVD player plays those things.

I have never noticed higher pitched sounds. Anyway when I travel I'll bring back a region 4 DVD (which I suppuse is recorded using the NTSC standards) and compare it with the region 2 PAL counterpart. I think my DVD player plays those things.

I'm not saying it would be noticeable, just annoying that your purchase isn't "real".

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