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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
Hi folks. I recently purchased an eMac with SuperDrive. I would like to burn a DVD and send it to a friend in Eastern Europe.

My questions:

Given that North America is in DVD region #1 and Eastern Europe is in region #2...will my friend be able to watch the DVD I want to send to him???

Am I given a choice of what region code I would like to have burned onto the DVD?

Please advise!!!
 

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Normally, iDVD will burn either NTSC or PAL formats, the latter being the standard for Europe.

According to Apple:

"You cannot convert an iDVD project from one format to another. For example, if you want to make a copy of a disc you created in the United States (using NTSC video) and send it to relatives in Europe, you must export all of the movies from iMovie or Final Cut Pro in PAL format. Then you must set iDVD to PAL and create a new project.
"

As for the region codes, when iDVD burns discs, it encodes them with "region 0", and therefore is playable anywhere.

Of course, this is all dependent on burning home movie (iMovie) DVDs. If you're asking how to crack commercial region 1 DVDs, I have no idea.

-SJ.
 

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From the TIL....er....KBase:
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>
Question 12: Can I set the region code?

Answer: DVD-Videos discs created with iDVD will have set the region code such that the discs will be playable in all regions. If you are interested in setting region codes to specific regions, DVD Studio Pro offers that funtionality.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You may run into trouble with NTSC/PAL video though, i am not sure and it is not covered in the Kbase document that I found (Document 60788).

UPDATE: Here is info for iDVD regarding NTSC and PAL. (Document 50156) So you will have to burn one for your eastern European friend, and another one for yourself, each with the right encoding.

--PB
 

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Be careful about the broadcast format (unrelated to DVD itself, it's over-the-air stuff that affects DVDs, VCRs, etc).
There are actually 3 broadcast formats (listed here by the area that devoped the format):
NTSC (Canada, USA)
PAL (Europe & Australia)
SECAM (USSR and France).

All nations use one of these 3 formats; when I read "Eastern Europe" that raised a flag. Check out this site and see if your target nation uses SECAM
SECAM Nations List
 

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Discussion Starter · #5 ·
I am sending my movie to Bosnia and Herzegovina. When I lived there, all the DVDs I rented or purchased were for region 2.

So, I just wanted to know if there is a way to choose which region iDVD burns for. That's it. It is for personal use and not for broadcast.
 

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I think it depends on the software you use. Chances are you'll be using iMovie and iDVD, but if you happen to have Apple DVD Studio Pro, you can determine what region you want to specify.

I don't have it open in front of me so I can't say if it supports international video formats other than NTSC (PAL, SECAM, etc.)

Cheers,
Manny
 

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"... So, I just wanted to know if there is a way to choose which region iDVD burns for. That's it. It is for personal use and not for broadcast. ..."

I realise it's not for broadcast, as in you're not giving it to a TV station. However, the television, VCR, TV tuners, DVD players, etc. all accept a certain type of signal only. These signal formats were defined with over-the-air broadcast in mind, thus the term "broadcast format". Today we have new broadcast formats defined, such as HDTV. For the record, PAL at 625 lines/25 frames is a higher quality format than NTSC (540 lines at 30 fps*).

Because MPEG-2 is a digital data format, the translation to each nation's format is relatively easy (videotape would require a hardware converter).

However, be careful of image stretching horizontally or vertically. NTSC DV is 720x480 pixels while PAL is 720x576 and SECAM [Sequential couleur avec mmoire] is 833x?. Also, your audio tracks will speed up or slow down, due to the audio sync to video at different frame rates/second. Not critical for voice embedded on the camcorder but don't add music effects (soundtracks) until after your convert.

You must use the broadcast format to play the DVD on a given DVD player. If it will be used only on a computer, you might be OK. I would try to contact them if you are unsure how they want to view the DVD (computer or TV screen), to avoid what comes next:

Apple recommends PAL for SECAM nations, because SECAM is a transmission standard but not a production standard. It's common for retailers to offer PAL/SECAM multiformat recorders/players in these countries.** You can export either NTSC or PAL via iMovie. To do so, you must export your NTSC DV from iMovie as a DV stream (many hours and giagabytes later) you can import the DV stream in PAL format (new project), save and burn.

iMovie exports Region 0 (anywhere) while iDVD allows the option of embedding a specific region if desired.

The different formats are a result of power generation formats adopted early in the last century; a nation with 50 Hz AC will typically be PAL (2 pulses of AC power per frame) while in Canada we have always had 60Hz current, hence the 30 fps standard. A math formula (how much signal can fly over an airwave per second) results in the different pixel counts at different frame rates, apply the formula and they both result in the same amount of data/second. As for SECAM, well they're French. It differs in that it stores color information briefly before combining it with the other signals. Eastern Europe propably adopted it due to the nature of Soviet policies at the time, whereby the USSR would purchase "turn-key" factories from western companies. Ever notice how a Lada resembles a 1974 Fiat 124?

* Its technically 29.97, or 1 frame per thousand less than 30fps.

** In other words, I was wrong when I assumed a SECAM format for DVD existed.
 
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