Many USA customers will successfully play a PAL disc just fine, but a significant minority will not. For example, USA customers with a Sony TV set or a Panasonic DVD player are unlikely to be successful.

Check your manuals for both your TV set and DVD player to confirm they mention PAL. If you don't have manual, check onscreen menus.

If your player or TV set are locked to NTSC only, they cannot be changed to PAL.

There is a school of thought that suggests all DVD players should be able to read both PAL and NTSC media, simply because data as written on disc comprises "1"'s and "0"'s, that is, digital data. The theory goes that a DVD player is basically a computer , therefore it can read both PAL and NTSC datasets. While this is true up to a point, a DVD player also needs to convert digital input into analog output to ensure compatibility with most television sets. The problem arises when factory has not included capability (eg a modulator) to generate and send an NTSC signal from a PAL disc to a non-digital TV set. The DVD player may be smart enough to know it does not have capability to generate a signal, therefore does not attempt to play disc.

WHAT KIND OF MACHINE WILL PLAY FOREIGN DISCS ?

Ironically, cheaper DVD player, more likely it is to be both dual PAL-NTSC compatible AND multi-region out of box. This is because lesser-known and smaller manufacturers from countries like China do not have "political" or financial allegiances to major American movie studios which "encourage" region restrictions.

This results in bizarre situation where you can buy a Chinese- made $40 DVD player which will not only play all foreign DVD's, but has just as many functions and capabilities as a $300 big brand machine. Of course, big-brand machines have better warranty support and superior build-quality and components, so I'm certainly not saying their price is unreasonable, just be aware that paying out top dollar for a machine does not necessarily mean it can play foreign discs.

OTHER DEVICES

A quick word on other DVD playing devices - Playstations and X-Boxes generally will not play foreign discs and have limited capabilities. Some earlier models won't play dual layer discs, also known as DVD-9, even from correct region.

Interestingly it is not commonly known that PAL-NTSC issue does not apply at all to computers. This is because your monitor is not a television set and your video card sends digital signals, not PAL or NTSC signals.

However be aware that your computer's DVD player is probably locked to your local region. Many models will allow you to play 5 discs of varying regions without complaint, but will then LOCK PERMANENTLY to region of last disc ! There is software available to bypass or even hack DVD-player's internal software, though Hollywood (via MPAA) has made legal challenges against certain DVD manipulation programs .

So next time you find a DVD on internet that isn't available in your own country, be sure to check specifications of your DVD player and TV set before sending away those hard-earned dollars.

********************************************** Written by Darren Robinson, webmaster of moviesearch.com.au

We sell some excellent DVD's that you probably can't buy in your own country.

This article may be freely distributed with this resource box included. **********************************************

********************************************** Written by Darren Robinson, webmaster of moviesearch.com.au

We sell some excellent DVD's that you probably can't buy in your own country.

You as player can do anything you like, standing or hitting as it suits you. If you get a BlackJack (an Ace and a ten right off) you win 1 and a half times your bet. You can only double down on 2 card hands totalling 9, 10, or 11 (a very few casinos allow doubling on any 2 card hand). If your cards were dealt face down and you want to double, turn them over and put them on dealer's side of betting square. Otherwise point to them and say 'double' when it's your turn. You will have to put an equal amount of chips next to those already in betting box (NEVER put new chips on top of old chips - it looks like cheating!). You will get one new card.

Splitting is kind of similar - cards dealt face down need to be turned over and placed them a little apart. Otherwise point at them and say 'split' when it's your turn. Place an equal amount of chips in betting box near other card (remember, NEVER on top). You are now playing 2 hands exactly as normal (unless you just split two aces in which case you only get one card - a 10 would be good!. If it is a 10 hand isn't a BlackJack, meaning you only get standard odds of 1/1 and not 1/1.5 as you would for a 'natural' BlackJack. Be careful how you split - it is possible to end up with 4 or 5 hands simultaneously! Likewise, it's probably not good to split two 5s - you will be replacing a hand that is great for drawing on or doubling down on with (probably) 2 poor hands. Insurance only happens when dealer's face up card is an Ace, when dealer will ask players if they want insurance (he won't know what his face down card or 'hole' card is at this point, so you won't be able to read his expression for clues). Insurance means that half player's bet is placed on 'insurance' semicircle printed on felt. If dealer gets a BlackJack player wins the insurance bet but loses original bet meaning a zero hand because insurance pays 2 to 1. If dea

ler does not get BlackJack, insurance bet is lost and hand is played normally with remaining half bet. Don't bother with insurance unless you are trying to card count (take it when number of non '10' cards to 10s drops below 2 to 1 margin). You may also come across 'Surrender' - it's not widely used, but there are 2 versions you may find, 'early surrender' and 'late surrender'.

Early surrender means quitting on 2 card hands if you don't like dealer's up card (e.g. a ten or court card). Surrendering in this way will give you a small extra advantage whcih is why casinos don't like it. Late surrender means waiting until dealer checks for BlackJack, at which point if he doesn't, you may decide to surrender. As we say, not very common, so ask before joining table whether you can or not. And that's it! Stay cool, and don't panic, and nobody will guess you are a casino newbie!