The Great PlayUSA.com DVD FAQ!

Everything you ever wanted to know about DVD but were afraid to ask!

With ever more people tuning in to the possibilities of DVD, we?re often asked the same questions about this new format. We have compiled some answers here to the most frequently asked questions, which we hope are useful.
If you have a DVD technical question which is not answered here, you can email our resident expert.

• Region Coding
• Visual
• Audio
• Subtitles
• NTSC and PAL
• Superbit
• HD DVD FAQ
• Blu-ray FAQ

Why are there codes for different regions?

Imposed by the film studios due to the staggered theatrical release of movies worldwide and to protect exclusive markets, region coding was designed as a method of ensuring discs would be playable only in certain geographical locations.

What Is Region 1?

Region 1 (R1) is code assigned for the geographical locale of the U.S., Canada and U.S. territories.

R1 discs use the NTSC viewing standard.

In order to view R1 discs in Europe, you?ll require a multi-region DVD player and a NTSC compatible TV. If you are unsure as to the compatibility of your equipment, please consult your technical documentation or the supplier/manufacturer of your TV.

What Is Region 0?

Otherwise known as ?Region All? or ?Region Free?, R0 discs are compatible with any DVD player as they are specifically enabled for all geographical locales.

What is RCE and why are only some R1 titles RCE?

Region Coding Enhancement (abbreviated as RCE on our site) is the practice of additional region protection software applied to R1 DVDs to prevent them from being viewed by non-R1 machines. Currently only the Columbia and Warner studios actively pursue this policy.

Not all so-called ?multi-region? players are compliant with this software so we strongly advise that you check with your machine?s specifications before ordering these titles. As we are unable to refund discs if returned on the basis of non-RCE compliant machines, for the benefit of our valued customers we endeavour to label all such titles on our site as ?(RCE)? coupled with the following disclaimer on relevant product pages:

Please Note: Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE)has recently been added by Warner and Columbia to certain Region 1 DVD?s. RCE will prevent the DVD from playing on some ?Multi-Region? DVD players. If you are in any doubt that your player may not be able to play RCE DVD?s, we recommend that you do not order this title, as we are unable to accept returned RCE DVD?s

As a general rule, when using a multi-region player, if you are able to manually select ?1? as the region to be viewed (known as ?manual switching?), your machine should be able to play RCE discs.

How do I search for RCE DVDs?

All such discs available from our site contain (RCE) in the title string. Simply select R1 DVD Title as the search criteria in the search box, enter (RCE) in the text box just below and click the Go button. You should now be presented with a list of all the available RCE DVDs.

Why are R1 runtimes longer than their R2 equivalent?

In simple terms, due to the nature of PAL/NTSC decoding standards, PAL titles run 4% quicker than their NTSC counterparts (see NTSC and PAL for further information).

The longer a film the greater the difference in duration between the two formats, even though the content of the movie may be exactly the same. See the table below:

How do I make my player multi-region?

Many DVD players can be made multi-region by the inputting of a code via the machine?s remote control. Please be aware that such an operation may invalidate your player?s warranty.

However, players manufactured by Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer and Toshiba all require hardware modification, known as ?chipping?, in order to become multi-region. Some older hardware modifications are not RCE compliant so please contact the
supplier of your machine if in doubt.

PC DVD-Rom as a DVD player

Since December 31, 1999, all DVD-Rom drives are manufactured with region restrictions, known as Region Protection Control (RPC1). Like DVD players purchased within the EU, U.S. and Canadian law dictates that DVD-Rom drives available are set to their native region as default: in this case, Region 1.

It is possible to change the region code of your DVD-Rom drive up to five times, depending on the particular drive (you can see how many changes you have left in your PC?s operating system settings). Once these changes have all been used, the drive will be locked in one region. Getting around these limited region changes is achievable through altering the drive?s own region checking software (known as firmware) although permanent damage may be caused to the drive if performed incorrectly so make sure you know what you?re doing first!

Most PC monitors are easily able to display an NTSC or PAL output but if you utilise a TV-Out graphics card to port the signal through a TV set, you?ll require a NTSC compatible TV for stable colour playback of NTSC discs.

What is NTSC/PAL?

There are two different methods for picture decoding standards: Europe (R2) uses the PAL system; North America (R1) uses the NTSC system.

What will I need to view NTSC discs?

In order for stable colour reproduction during playback, you?ll require a NTSC compatible TV, often referred to as a ?multi-standard? or ?world? specification.

What is aspect ratio?

Aspect ratio refers to the dimensions of the film image (width to height ratio) as represented on your TV screen. There are two basic formats of aspect ratio; fullscreen and widescreen.

What is fullscreen?

This is the typical ?square? image favoured (until very recently) by television presentations. This aspect ratio is expressed as FS 4:3 or (1.33:1 in decimal terms) denoting that the frame is 1.33 times as wide as it is tall.

Fullscreen presentations will fill the entire screen area of standard ?square? fullscreen televisions. When viewed on a widescreen set, black bars will be visible on each side (right and left) of the screen.

What is widescreen?

Widescreen is the characteristic ?rectangular? image favoured by film presentations since the 1950?s. There are several aspect ratios but the most common are expressed as, in order of width, WS 1.66:1, WS 1.78:1 (also referred to as 16:9), WS 1.85:1 and WS 2.35:1.

Each of these denote the width to height ratio of the particular widescreen presentation; i.e. 1.85:1 illustrates the frame is 1.85 times wider than it is tall.

On a standard television, a widescreen image will be characterised by the black bars visible at the top and bottom of the screen. How thick these bars are will depend on the aspect ratio of the widescreen presentation; the wider the image frame, the thicker the black bars.

What is letterbox widescreen?

Letterbox widescreen (sometimes referred to as LBX) is a method of preserving the rectangular image of a widescreen presentation.

Unfortunately, letterboxed presentations (depending on the aspect ratio) do not always reach the sides (left and right) of viewable screen on a widescreen TV set, prompting the need for viewers to use the 16:9 or ?Zoom? feature of their DVD player or TV to expand the image causing a loss of resolution. This issue relates only to widescreen TVs.

What is anamorphic widescreen?

Anamorphic enhancement is a process for widescreen TVs where the original image is compressed by 33% in the vertical axis during encoding. When the player decodes the image, the vertical axis is decompressed giving a higher resolution and greater clarity.

Anamorphically enhanced DVDs can be viewed just as easily on fullscreen TVs as widescreen ones although the process is usually not discernible. PC monitors, despite almost universally being 4:3, have a higher resolution than TV sets and so can display the widescreen image in a window (854x480 pixels or higher for NTSC, 1024x576 or higher for PAL).

Despite a common misunderstanding, the term ?anamorphic? does not ensure that the image will entirely fill the screen of a widescreen TV set.

How can I tell if a widescreen DVD is letterbox or anamorphic?

In the ?Technical Details? section of the page for each listing is a field highlighted as ?Screen?. In this field you should find the aspect ratio listed for the DVD in question. Only titles with confirmed anamorphic transfers will display ?Anamorphic? in this field. If it does not, the widescreen presentation will be letterbox.

Why can I still see black bars on my widescreen TV?

Widescreen TVs have an aspect ratio of 1.77:1; the same ratio can be expressed as 16:9. Widescreen presentations with aspect ratios higher than this (i.e. 1.85:1 or 2.35:1, for example) will still exhibit black bars at the top and bottom despite these being much less than those on a standard 4:3 ?square? TV set.

What is Dolby Digital as a sound format?

Dolby Digital is a system capable of multi channel digital audio, coded using technology previously known as AC-3, often abbreviated as DD.

What is Dolby Digital (1.0) Mono?

A single channel of digital audio. On a surround sound system, the audio stream will be directed through the front centre speaker.

What is Dolby Digital (2.0) Mono?

Somewhat confusingly, this is actually also a single channel of digital audio. The same audio stream is directed to the front left and front right speakers. Very few discs use this format.

What is Dolby Digital (2.0) Stereo?

Two channels of digital audio. One stream will be directed to the front left speaker, the other to the front right speaker.

What is Dolby Digital Surround?

Initially known as simply Dolby Surround, this is an audio mixing technique that bolts on a rear channel and a centre channel onto a standard two-channel signal. With a two speaker sound system, these extra channels will be automatically mixed into the audio streams for the left and right speaker

What is Dolby Digital (4.0)?

Four channels of digital audio. On a surround sound system the audio streams will be directed to the front left, front right, rear left and rear right speakers.

What is Dolby Digital (4.1)?

Four channels of digital audio incorporating an additional low frequency effects channel (denoted by the ?.1?, this channel is otherwise known as LFE). On a surround sound system the audio streams will be directed to the front left, front right, rear left and rear right speakers with the LFE channel directed to the subwoofer.

What is Dolby Digital 5.1?

Five channels of digital audio incorporating a LFE channel. On a surround sound system the audio streams will be directed to the front left, front right, rear left and rear right speakers, the low frequency channel directed to the subwoofer with dialogue generally confined to the front centre speaker.

What is Dolby Digital 5.1 EX?

Five channels of digital audio incorporating a LFE channel, including support for a rear centre speaker by mixing across sound from the rear left and rear right speakers.

What is Dolby Digital 6.1?

Six channels of digital audio incorporating a LFE channel. This format differs from DD5.1 EX as it provides dedicated support for a rear centre speaker. This format is fully compatible for owners of a traditional 5.1 surround sound system.

What is DTS?

An abbreviation of Digital Theatre Systems, DTS is a rival audio format to Dolby Digital 5.1 and also involves five channels of digital audio incorporating a LFE channel. It differs slightly from DD5.1 by utilising a slightly narrower dynamic range and higher bit-rate audio encoding.

What is DTS ES?

Five channels of DTS digital audio incorporating a LFE channel, including support for a rear centre speaker by mixing across sound from the rear left and rear right speakers.

Can I view a DVD with a DD5.1 audio track if I don?t have a surround sound system?

Absolutely. Dolby Digital will automatically downmix the audio streams depending on how many speaker channels are available.

Can I view a DVD with a DTS audio track without a DTS decoder?

Unfortunately not. To benefit from DTS audio you?ll require a dedicated decoder in your DVD player, your home cinema amp/receiver, or your TV.

Where can I find which subtitles are available on a DVD?

In the ?Technical Details? section of the page for each listing is a field highlighted as ?Subtitles?; here you should find listed all the available subtitles for the DVD in question.

Please note that for many pre-release products few details regarding subtitles are confirmed by the studio responsible until the release date is very close. We strive to display these on the site as soon as this information becomes available for the benefit of our valued customers.

Subtitles in the language I want are not listed. Why not?

The number and nature of subtitles vary from disc to disc and are entirely at the behest of the studio producing that particular DVD. If you can?t find the subtitles you?re looking for in the ?Subtitle? field of the ?Technical Details? section, chances are they?ve not been included on the disc!

What are subtitles for the hard of hearing/hearing impaired?

These are subtitles specifically designed for viewers who may have trouble clearly defining particular dialogue or sound when viewing a DVD.

Such subtitles streams not only reproduce dialogue in text on the screen but also give visual clues to sonic events taking place on the screen. For example, if the sound of a telephone can be heard, [phone rings] or similar text will be displayed.

What are Superbit DVDs?

These particular discs, fully compatible with existing players, are produced by the Columbia Tri-Star studio and have been specifically designed to cater for home cinema enthusiasts with high-end equipment. The product listing for each of these titles carries the following information:

The Superbit titles utilize a special high bit rate digital transfer process which optimizes video quality while offering a choice of both DTS and 5.1 Dolby Digital audio. All Superbit DVDs start with High Definition masters. The Superbit Collection will set a new benchmark in high-resolution DVD image and sound, creating the ultimate in home entertainment. By reallocating data normally used for value-added content, Superbit DVDs can be encoded at double their normal bit rate while maintaining full compatibility with the DVD-Video format. The result is picture quality that provides outstanding detail. Superbit DVDs play on all DVD players. Currently DVDs are encoded to optimize space for the feature plus added value and audio streams. The Suberbit collection reallocates and converts the physical space ordinarily devoted to added value to higher bit rate video transfer and both Dolby Digital 5.1 & DTS audio

How do I search for Superbit DVDs?

All such discs available from our site contain ?Superbit? in the title string. Simply select R1 DVD Title as the search criteria in the search box, enter Superbit in the text box just below and click the Go button. You should now be presented with a list of all Superbit DVDs available from the site.

What is Hi-Definition (HD)?

Hi-Definition, otherwise known as HD, is the next generation of visual image quality for home entertainment. HD offers an image five times the quality of traditional standard definition (SD), a quantum leap in sharpness and vivid detail.

DVD is able to support only SD and does not have the necessary storage capacity to satisfy the content rich needs of HD. So, to experience the beauty of HD in your home, you?ll need a need format of disc.

What is HD DVD?

HD DVD is one of the main formats now available for HD. Each disc, the same size as a regular DVD, can produce a progressive video image resolution of up to 1920 x 1080 (known as 1080p) for truly stunning visuals. HD DVD also offers a significantly higher data transfer rate than television HD broadcasts for an improved picture presentation.

Currently HD DVD can store 15GB of data on a single layer which means that dual layer discs can harbour 30GB of HD content. Regular dual layer DVD is only able to present 9GB of SD content.

What audio formats are available on HD DVD?

Linear PCM (LPCM): this format offers up to 8 channels of uncompressed audio.

Dolby Digital (DD):this format (formerly known as AC3) is currently used on existing DVDs and offers up to 5.1 channel digital surround sound.

Dolby Digital Plus (DD+): an extension of DD, this format offers increased bitrates and 7.1 channel surround sound.

Dolby TrueHD: this format offers lossless audio encoding of up to 8 discrete channels.

DTS Digital Surround: this format, currently used for some existing DVDs, offers 5.1-channel surround sound at an increased bitrate to Dolby Digital (DD).

DTS-HD: an extension of DTS, this format offers increased bitrates and up to 8 discrete channels.

Please note: although HD DVD supports all the above formats, it is dependent on the content manufacturer to decide which are included on the release of a particular disc and you may require an additional hardware decoder to access some formats.

Can I play HD DVDs on my existing DVD player?

No. To ensure playback you?ll need a dedicated HD DVD player, XBox360 with add-on HD DVD drive or a HD-Rom drive in your PC.

Can I play DVDs on a HD DVD player?

Yes. HD DVD players have been designed to be backwards compatible with regular DVDs so your existing collection is not obsolete. In addition, HD DVD equipment will allow upscaling of a DVD image up to a resolution 1080i/1080p for maximum visual quality.

Can I play HD DVDs in a Blu-ray player?

No. HD DVDs are not compatible with Blu-ray machines. Playback of HD DVD material is limited to equipment bearing the HD DVD logo.

Is there region coding for HD DVD discs?

Currently, playback of Region 1 HD DVD discs is intended for players sold within Region 1 geographical areas only. Pending developments and future revisions in HD DVD technology, this information is subject to change.

What is Hi-Definition?

Hi-Definition, otherwise known as HD, is the next generation of visual image quality for home entertainment. HD offers an image five times the quality of traditional standard definition (SD), a quantum leap in sharpness and vivid detail.

DVD is able to support only SD and does not have the necessary storage capacity to satisfy the content rich needs of HD. So, to experience the beauty of HD in your home, you?ll need a need format of disc.

What is Blu-ray?

Blu-ray is the other main format now available for HD. Each disc, the same size as a regular DVD, can produce a progressive video image resolution of up to 1920 x 1080 (known as 1080p) for truly stunning visuals. Blu-ray also offers a significantly higher data transfer rate than television HD broadcasts for an improved picture presentation.

Currently Blu-ray can store 25GB of data on a single layer which means that dual layer discs can harbour a potential 50GB of HD content. Regular dual layer DVD is only able to present 9GB of SD content.

What audio formats are available on Blu-ray?

Linear PCM (LPCM): this format offers up to 8 channels of uncompressed audio.

Dolby Digital (DD): this format (formerly known as AC3) is currently used on existing DVDs and offers up to 5.1 channel digital surround sound.

Dolby Digital Plus (DD+): an extension of DD, this format offers increased bitrates and 7.1 channel surround sound.

Dolby TrueHD: this format offers lossless audio encoding of up to 8 discrete channels.

DTS Digital Surround: this format, currently used for some existing DVDs, offers 5.1-channel surround sound at an increased bitrate to Dolby Digital (DD).

DTS-HD: an extension of DTS, this format offers increased bitrates and up to 8 discrete channels.

Please note: although Blu-ray supports all the above formats, it is dependent on the content manufacturer to decide which are included on the release of a particular disc and you may require an additional hardware decoder to access some formats.

Can I play Blu-ray on my existing DVD player?

No.To ensure playback you?ll need a dedicated Blu-ray player,PS3 or a BD-Rom drive in your PC.

Can I play DVDs on a Blu-ray player?

Yes. Blu-ray players have been designed to be backwards compatible with regular DVDs so your existing collection is not obsolete. In addition, Blu-ray equipment will allow upscaling of a DVD image up to a resolution 1080i/1080p for maximum visual quality.

Can I play Blu-ray discs in a HD DVD player?

No. Blu-ray discs are not compatible with HD DVD machines. Playback of Blu-ray material is limited to equipment bearing the Blu-ray logo.

Is there Region coding for Blu-ray discs?

It is proposed that there will be three regional codes for Blu-ray discs to restrict playback to certain geographical areas.These are mooted to be:

Region 1: North America, South America and East Asia (excluding China)

Region 2: Europe and Africa

Region 3: China, Russia and everywhere else

Currently, playback of Region 1 Blu-ray discs is intended for players sold within Region 1 geographical areas only. Pending developments and future revisions in Blu-ray technology, the above information is subject to change.