I'd say most of the player will play PAL.
The problem will be that it's alomost impossible to buy a dual standard TV in the US. Aren't we lucky living in Oz?

But no real drama, I've used Vegas to make many NTSC DVDs from PAL footage with no problems.

One alternative but a somewhat trickier one is to make a 24p DVD. This will play on both NTSC and PAL land thanks to the smarts in the DVD player. I haven't tried this as yet and it is a bit more work.

I don't think many of the players in the US will play PAL. Mine won't (Pioneer DV-525).

The odd thing is that I send NTSC DVD's over to familiy in the UK and they play just fine (they do not have NTSC TV's).

So... I wonder if these DVD players auto convert the signal so that it plays on whatever TV standard it (the DVD Player) is set for.

Most DVD players here won't play PAL DVDs. Some of the newer ones like Apex might, but I certainly wouldn't count on it. If your target is a professional client or a person who doesn't know about video standards, I'd suggest you to plan on transcoding to PAL from NTSC. While you're at it (and this is extremely important), if you want to ensure maximum compatibility, make sure the audio is also transcoded to Dolby Digital or PCM. Unlike PAL players, which are most compatible with MPEG-1 Layer 2, Dolby Digital or PCM are the only game in town here. Most players here in North America do actually play MPEG-1 Layer 2 but not all.

Interestingly enough, many European DVD players and TVs actually deal with NTSC relatively well. Product managers for consumer electronics over here are obviously not as "cosmopolitan" as we'd like them to be.

I would venture to say that "most" DVD players in NTSC land will not read a pal disc. Someone mentioned Apex or probably Norcent. Those type of players seem to be exception and not the rule. All Sony, Pioneer, panasonic, etc.. stick to their regional markets.

The odd thing is that I send NTSC DVD's over to familiy in the UK and they play just fine (they do not have NTSC TV's).

Not surprising. Most European DVD players play both NTSC and PAL DVDs (I don't know what happens in SECAM France). But, here in the USA, since we don't have PAL, Canada doesn't have PAL, and we are part of the European Union, there has been no mandate to play PAL DVDs.

The strange thing is, I still remember attending a Pinnacle seminar about three years ago, and they were touting that one of the big advantages of DVD was that you could create a single disk and distribute it anywhere in the world. Maybe you could find something at their site that would give a clue as to what they were talking about.

John,
read me previous posts, 24p DVDs will play in both NTSC and PAL only systems.

Are you entirely certain that they will not play the disk?
I realise that the TV will not cope with the signal coming out of the player but that isn't the same thing as the DVD player not playing the disk.

I'd tend to think anything coming out of one of the Chinese plants would play anything, it's cheaper to built a unit that'll do everything than build one for one market and another for a different market. I know this is only academic, if the TV will not display the signal then it matters nought what the player does I guess.

P.S. You could buy a unit from here, cheap as chips, about USD70 and it'll play everything.

I realise that the TV will not cope with the signal coming out of the player but that isn't the same thing as the DVD player not playing the disk.

No, both things are true. The disk is not recognized, and the circuitry won't pass the signals correctly.

cheaper to built a unit that'll do everything than build one for one market and another for a different market.

Actually not true. What we in the electronics industry (well, I used to be in that industry) do is that we create one design, just like you say, but then during manufacturing, we make a trivial assembly change for the products destined for one market or another. This is why you can often modify (if you are good with a soldering iron) consumer equipment to enable all sorts of features, not just those for other markets, but also features that appear on high-end models. This is because the models used to "hit" different price points are actually the same design, with certain features taken out via a jumper setting, a resistor change, or in some cases a different ROM. The ROM change is tougher to deal with -- you have to find one on the black market and solder it in yourself. The resistor and jumper changes are trivial, and it usually takes 5-10 minutes.

My 2 cents. I have been looking for DVD players that can read French Movies because of my nationality here in the US. I found several that can convert PAL (the french format for DVD) to NTSC. The big brand (Sony, panasonic, JVC...) do not reconize PAL but smaller and cheaper brand like Deawoo, Apex, Norcent, Sanio, Lansonic or Electrohome (I probably forgot some) will convert the PAL signal to your NTSC TV here in the US. Regarding the French format SECAM as far as I know TV in the French market are compatible with PAL so it does not matter for the DVD player. Of course it might be to complicate for somebody here to figure out what format and what DVD player and TV are compatible with PAL or NTSC DVD disc. Vegas can create NTSC disc so you may want to stick with that when you send your creation to the US.
Hope this help.
Thierry

PS: I'm not an Electronic Expert/Pro I'm just talking about my own experience. Try this web site for advices on multi format players:

http://www.nerd-out.com/forum/index.php

Marquat,
Bonjour ou Bonsoir. Sorry, never capture in SECAM. I have a Sony Camcorder in the US and always work from an NTSC source. I burned a VCD in PAL and sent it to my family back in France and they had no problem watching it. So far no experience in SECAM what so ever, sorry.
Thierry

PS: tell me what you are trying to do I (or one of our fellow user) may have an idea you did not think about yet.
PSS: also check this web site about Vegas in French (I look at it couple time but I don't know if it will provide any help):

http://www.repaire.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=082007ecd0094535c24127d3276bcdbd&forumid=96

and:

http://www.vegasvideofrance.com/

Thierry

I think you guys should check out

www.dvdrhelp.com

for info on what player will play what, and also sometime for instructions on how to make your u.s. player region free. This is a great site and tremendous resource. Bookmark it..

JBOY,

I knew this site from Nerd-out.com forum but forgot to mention it. One of the best site on the subject and other for that matter. I was afraid to mention "region free" players but yes you are right most PAL/NTSC "cheap" DVD players can be made "region free". Very nice specially when you can not buy foreign films in the US market.

My Apex will play both PAL and NTSC DVD's on both PAL and NTSC TV's. Region codes and macrovision can be hacked. Mains voltage can be changed from 110V to 220V by replacing a single internal resistor. All this for US$50!

Most post-2002 Apex models will do this and are common as dirt.

YMMV