Buying DVDs in UK
 

We are leaving for our UK trip in a couple of weeks & I would like to know if I purchase DVDs in England can I play them on my machine here in the states? I know there is some "zoning" that goes on with DVDS.

Has anyone had any experience with this?

I am especially interested in purchasing BBC productions/TV series, etc.

Now what you should do is post the brand and model of your TV and DVD player here.

Apart from the fact that most DVD's seem to be more expensive in the UK, the short answer is that if you have to ask this question (and I am not being rude, this is a very complex issue) you should not buy DVD's abroad.

If you don't believe me, go to Google Groups and ask the same question. Then read the answers from a bunch of highly qualified video nuts.

Good advice from Ack.

It is complicated but a simple answer is No. Most US DVD players are programmed to play Zone 1 DVD's; UK DVD's are Zone 2. So unless you have an all zone DVD player, which are prevalent in Europe, you will not be able to play UK DVDs.

If you know what you're doing, it's rather easy. ;-)

Sorry to jump in, but what about CD's? Can UK bought CDs be played in an American laptop or CD player?

In addition to area 1/area2 problems, there is an issue over PAL and NTSC. British (and European) DVDs are encoded in PAL, to be shown on PAL TV, while US DVDs are in NTSC. While almost all UK and European DVD machines playback NTSC DVDs successfully, the reverse isn't usually the case and you may be staring at blank screen or in monochrome. There are DVD players in US with PAL playback facilities, but you have to search out for them - particularly common in ethnic markets.
In UK tourist shops, they often stock DVDs in Area 1 and NTSC format but regular music and DVD shops don't.

> There are DVD players in US with PAL playback facilities
Except for the plugs which are different, it's all the same stuff sold everywhere. Some features may be disabled in the firmware. It's like the Motorola L6 phone, I bought recently. It's quad, sold as triband in Europe, nobody knows why..., but on the internet all the info needed to fix the glitch is available.

My expert was able to adjust our player so that it can handle British DVDs. Very useful for programs, such as the fine "Tenko," that are not available in the U.S.

My quick solution is to use my laptop for Zone 2 DVD's because I don't use it to play any other DVD's.

Hi JoeTro
>Sorry to jump in, but what about CD's? Can UK bought CDs be played in an American laptop or CD player?<

Yes.

For Windows PCs there is an inexpensive software available (AnyDVD). It's illegal in most of Europe. When you install it you can use "any DVD", no further changes needed. It's a Windows device driver that was developed in Germany, when it became illegal here they moved the company to Switzerland. Today, they're based in Antigua.

You can get a multi-region player from amazon.com. That is what I had to do so I can play the DVD's I bought while living abroad.