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Mod Chip Errata

Video signal standards
A DVD movie is either encoded in PAL or in NTSC. PAL and NTSC are the basic television standards. PAL has 50 half frames a second and 576 lines per frame. NTSC has 60 half frames a second and 480 lines per frame. The way how color is encoded into the video signal is different from PAL to NTSC. Although region 2 is primarly PAL (europe) and region 1 NTSC (USA), there are also region 2 NTSC DVDs from Japan. Some DVD players or modification kits can convert NTSC to PAL or PAL to NTSC although the second is almost never available.

If your picture stays black and white, you have the following options:

  • buy a multistandard TV
  • if your DVD player can output RGB, use an RGB EuroAV cable and set your TV to RGB input and your DVD player to RGB output
  • if your DVD player can output YUV (component), use a YUV (component) cable and set your TV to YUV (component) input and your DVD player to YUV (component) output
  • if you have a PAL TV and your DVD player can be configured to output PAL/60 (pseudo PAL), do this. (If your player can do this, it is written "not needed" in the "additional video mode selection column").
  • if you have a NTSC TV and your DVD player can be configured to output NTSC/50 (pseudo NTSC), do this. (I do not know any player being able to do this so this is not really an option)
  • if you have a PAL TV and the corresponding modification kit for your DVD player has a "yes" in the "additional video mode selection" column, you can enable PAL/60 over the modification

If the picture is rolling, we suggest

  • you bought a multistandard TV. This is a very very rare case we have only encountered with old, cheap and some JVC models. Please check wheter your TV can handle 50 (PAL) or 60 (NTSC) frames per second before buying your DVD player.

If you bought your DVD player in a foreign country:

  • Some of our modification Kits will allow you to play PAL DVDs if it is only a artificial barrier. But most players bought in country where NTSC is the default TV standard, will not be able to play PAL. Players bought in a PAL country can play both standards. If you want to find out wheter your DVD player can handle PAL, please try a region less PAL movie first.

Video signal standards (technical)

  PAL (used in europe) NTSC (used in the US)
Number of frames sent from the DVD player to your TV 50 frames with half resolution 60 frames with half resolution
Number of frames recorded on your DVD Video disc if the source was captured by a video camera 50 frames with half resolution 60 frames half full resolution
Number of frames recorded on your DVD Video disc if the source was captured by a film camera 25 frames with full resolution* (as the movie is recorded only with 24 frames by the film camera, the theater version is 4% longer in time) 24 frames with full resolution*. Some frames are repeated in order to get 30/60 frames per second playback.
Resolution 720 x 576 at full resolution 768 x 480 at full resolution
Brightness

The brightness is stored in the video signal by setting it's voltage at the exact time a certain point is "read".
Color The way color is stored is different for PAL and NTSC.

* One frame in full resolution are two frames in half resolution recorded at the same time. The second frame of 50 or 60 frames per second half resolution recording is captured 1/50 or 1/60 second later.

Signal conversion and side effects
 Some DVD players have the ability to convert the color carrier of an NTSC/60 signal to PAL/60. The number of frames (60 in this case) and the resolution are left intact. A few DVD players can even convert the color carrier of an PAL/50 signal to NTSC/50. Very little DVD players have the ability to completely convert the resolution, frames per second and the color carrier (PAL/50 > NTSC/60, NTSC60 > PAL/50) but this can not be done without a visible or substantial loss of picture quality.
If you are living in a NTSC country (for example USA), chances are high that your TV set can only display NTSC/60. If you are living in Europe, chances are high (75%) that your TV set can handle NTSC/60 and very high (99%) that your TV can handle PAL/60; besides of PAL/50 of course.