Introduction to Imported Chinese and Asian Videos: Compatibility Issues

There are a few things to be aware of when buying imported videos.

Make sure that the video you want has English subtitles. Unless, of course, you can understand Chinese, in which case make sure that video is either in the dialect you want or that Chinese subtitles are available (as is usually the case). In general, most movie production will come with at least English subtitles but most TV serials do not.

Understand the difference between VCDs and DVDs. VCDs or Video CDs were popular in Asia before the widespread availability of DVD and continue to be popular today because of their lower prices. The picture and sound quality of a VCD is not as good as that of a DVD but is usually comparable or better than the quality of a VHS tape.

• Although VCDs as a commercial media format never caught on in the US, you should be able to play VCDs in most DVD players produced in the last few years but verify the capabilities of your DVD players to make sure.
• VCD discs can also be played on your computer CD drive.

Understand DVD region coding. DVDs are usually encoded so that they only work in a DVD player from a compatible region. This was done so that movie studios could stagger their film releases around the world without fear of DVDs released for one region being widely available in a region where they haven't released the movie yet. Region code 1 includes the US and Canada. Region code 3 includes Hong Kong and Taiwan. China is the only country in region code 6.

• Hence if you bought a DVD in the US, it was designed for region code 1 and you should only buy DVDs for region code 1 OR one that has been encoded for all regions.
• Conversely, you can buy any DVD if you own a region-free DVD player. Region-free players are also know as multi-region, all-region, or code-free players. The prices of these players are comparable to regular DVD players. Such players will not be found at your local electronics store but they are available at the following URLs:
  • YesAsia Region-Free DVD Players
  • Amazon.com Region Free DVD Players.

Understand the difference between NTSC and PAL picture formats. These are the two major TV picture formats in the world. The US and Taiwan use NTSC. Europe, China, and Hong Kong use the PAL format. Generally, a PAL DVD will not play correctly in an NTSC player.

• Hence you should buy only NTSC DVDs if you have a standard player bought in the US.
• You can play either format on your computer's DVD player.
• Many region-free DVD players were designed to play both PAL and NTSC discs.