PAL dvd

[komorli]

Hi,

I use a Macbook Pro which I bought from the States. I live in France now and I would like to buy a dvd (coded region 0). However, I know that Macs bought in the states do not support PAL formatted dvds. Can handbrake be used to "extract" the dvd (main movie and special features) to a format such as .avi or .mpg, which I can then watch on my laptop?

[rhester]

This has nothing to do with HandBrake - you will need to change the region code on your optical drive to match the discs you wish to play. If you have multiple regions, you may be out of luck, as I am unaware of a software-based Mac solution to make discs from different regions play without changing the hardware region code embedded in the drive (which can generally only be changed five times or so before it is permanently locked).

Rodney

[komorli]

Thanks for the reply. I understand that the region coding on the Mac can only be changed 5 times before it locks up. But is region coding the same as the PAL vs. NTSC problem I have? As far as I understand, they are different. So, even if a PAL dvd is coded region 0, I still can't play it on my Mac, can I?

[rhester]

Computers in general really don't care about the distinction between PAL and NTSC - only some (generally major brand) dedicated hardware players/televisions do.

Rodney

[TedJ]

PAL or NTSC makes no difference to a software DVD player, only region coding will cause issues.

[hawthorn]

If the region of the purchased DVD is 0, there are no issues for playing or encoding.

If the region is nonzero and does not match your Macbook Pro's drive region, there is a problem playing it (using DVD player) but in my experience, there is no problem encoding with Handbrake. Under current Leopard on both a Macbook Pro and a Mac Mini, using both the internal Superdrive and an external LaCie DVD drive, I have absolutely no problem encoding DVD's from other regions with Handbrake 0.9.2. I can't play them with DVD player - but I can encode them and they look great. I don't know why it works - but I'm not complaining.

Just for your information, what a lot of expats do is buy an external DVD drive and set its region code to the other region. That way you can watch home stuff or local stuff without using up your region changes.

[TedJ]

If the region is nonzero and does not match your Macbook Pro's drive region, there is a problem playing it (using DVD player) but in my experience, there is no problem encoding with Handbrake.

Which model MBP do you have? I have the 2.4 Santa Rosa (June 07) model which ships with the HL-DT-ST GSA-S10N superdrive. This drive blocks access to the encrypted sectors if disc and drive regions don't match. My solution was to buy an external enclosure and a Pioneer drive.

[komorli]

If the region is nonzero and does not match your Macbook Pro's drive region, there is a problem playing it (using DVD player) but in my experience, there is no problem encoding with Handbrake.

Which model MBP do you have? I have the 2.4 Santa Rosa (June 07) model which ships with the HL-DT-ST GSA-S10N superdrive. This drive blocks access to the encrypted sectors if disc and drive regions don't match. My solution was to buy an external enclosure and a Pioneer drive.

I bought my MBP in July or August of 2007.

[hawthorn]

Which model MBP do you have? I have the 2.4 Santa Rosa (June 07) model which ships with the HL-DT-ST GSA-S10N superdrive. This drive blocks access to the encrypted sectors if disc and drive regions don't match. My solution was to buy an external enclosure and a Pioneer drive.

Actually let me take that back. The internal Superdrive (MATSH*TA DVD-R UJ-867 Firmware HA13) in my 2.6 Penryn Macbook Pro does give errors on an off-Region disc under Handbrake. The internal drive on my Mac Mini (PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-K06 Firmware Q617) does not, nor do the Toshiba Samsung (TSSTcorp) drives in my LaCie externals. I highly recommend those drives.