# Cannot play DVD



## AntonABC (Dec 24, 2004)

A friend of mine sent me a DVD from Europe with a so called country code PAL.

I tried to play it on my DVD recorder which I purchased together with my TV.
( a Sony DVD recorder ) When trying to play the DVD I get an error message saying
that it cannot be played.

Is it possible to transfer the PAL recording to the North American system and if yes,
how is it done ?

AntonABC


----------



## erick295 (Mar 27, 2005)

What kind of DVD is this?

PAL is not a country code, it's a video format. As you've probably already guessed, your DVD player will not play a PAL DVD, but that may not be the only problem. If this is a commercial DVD, it will have a region code, which is different for Europe than in the US. You can't play a Region 5 DVD in a Region 1 player.

If this is not a copy-protected DVD, then you can use a DVD ripper to extract the video from the DVD and then use a video editor to convert it to NTSC, then create an NTSC DVD that can be played on your player.


----------



## AntonABC (Dec 24, 2004)

erick295 said:


> What kind of DVD is this?
> 
> PAL is not a country code, it's a video format. As you've probably already guessed, your DVD player will not play a PAL DVD, but that may not be the only problem. If this is a commercial DVD, it will have a region code, which is different for Europe than in the US. You can't play a Region 5 DVD in a Region 1 player.
> 
> If this is not a copy-protected DVD, then you can use a DVD ripper to extract the video from the DVD and then use a video editor to convert it to NTSC, then create an NTSC DVD that can be played on your player.


Correction :
There is a number ( it did not notice it before ) where it says country code. The number is 2 and below it says PAL.
I assume the 2 is what you call region call. Does that tell you anything ?

What I find strange is that the DVD plays on my computer. ( not too good but I assume
it's due to my video card and my CPU not good enough ) 
My computer is equipped with a Sony DVD player as well.

And how can I determine if this DVD is copy-protected ?

The above procedure sounds quite complicated.

Thanks

Anton ABC


----------



## bonk (Sep 8, 2005)

Is the DVD a private video from a friend and not a store bought one?


----------



## AntonABC (Dec 24, 2004)

bonk said:


> Is the DVD a private video from a friend and not a store bought one?


The video was purchased from a store and shows a movie.


----------



## erick295 (Mar 27, 2005)

The 2 would be the region. The US is Region 1, so that DVD won't play on a US DVD player (besides the fact that it's PAL and not NTSC).

If it's a commercial movie, then we're not allowed to tell you how to copy it, per the rules of the site... although there is definitely a way


----------

