[MacDV] Using the Mac to Play Commercial DVDs

[Steve Robertson]

I accidentally learned something interesting yesterday. A while back, I 
heard about a music DVD produced by a German company and distributed 
only in Europe. Or, at least, not distributed in the U.S. I got in 
touch with a European friend and asked him to buy me a copy - if it 
would play on NTSC DVD players. He thought it would, so he mailed me a 
copy.

When it arrived, I noticed right away that it was clearly marked PAL, 
but I hoped that my DVD player might handle both NTSC and PAL. I've 
heard that some do. But mine doesn't. Just for the fun of it, I stuck 
the PAL DVD in my Mac, and it worked! The resolution of the video is a 
little lower than you would expect from a DVD. Looks like they obtained 
their master by taping the original show off the air! I'm wondering if 
it might be the PAL format on a U.S. Mac that's causing the low 
resolution? Or do you think that all Macs handle both NTSC and PAL 
equally well?

Steve R.