DVD from US not recognized.

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Moahunter

159 posts

Master Geek

#317425 14-Oct-2024 15:19

Never had problem playing US DVDs because my player is multi-region.

But recently bought Time Bandits (the original) and player sats "Cannot read disc".

Noticed that the ebay listing says "Time Bandits - Criterion Collection DVD 1981 Region 1 US Import NTSC" I know that NTSC is the US tv standard but does this carry over to DVD?

Behodar

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#3297260 14-Oct-2024 15:36

All players sold in NZ should be able to play both PAL and NTSC. If it's the player generating the message then it could simply be a case of the disc being old/defective. If you have a PC with a DVD drive, put it in there and see whether you can see files on it.

nitro

656 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3297272 14-Oct-2024 16:14

DVD region coding? what's your player? not an old one that has not been unlocked?

although if this was the case, I would have expected it to be more explicit in the error message than 'cannot read disc'.

wellygary

8312 posts

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#3297273 14-Oct-2024 16:19

Cannot read disc, sounds like a pretty low level error... rather than an DVD/PAL issue... but older DVD players were often cryptic with error msgs

As others have said, try a different player or a DVD drive and see what the result is...

richms

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#3297402 14-Oct-2024 18:49

Are you sure its a dvd? I have bought used ones and people have actually sold me a loose bluray.

Richard rich.ms

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#3297403 14-Oct-2024 18:50

richms:

Are you sure its a dvd? I have bought used ones and people have actually sold me a loose bluray.

Or a dodgy Chinese rip off copy...

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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SirHumphreyAppleby

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#3297405 14-Oct-2024 18:55

If the OP wants to find another copy, Time Bandits is available on 4k Blu-ray (also comes with a standard Blu-ray).

Behodar

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#3297408 14-Oct-2024 19:09

A photo of the disc might be helpful.

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Moahunter

159 posts

Master Geek

#3299491 21-Oct-2024 14:52

DVD played on Panasonic Recorder/DVD purchased NZ in 2011.

My main DVD player, Cyrus Discmaster8.0 was purchased here in NZ 2007, replacing Discmaster7.0 I brought from the UK in 2003. I can't remember if the 8.0 was truly multi-region but it plays both region 2 and 4. Is there any way I can check that?

Behodar

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#3299492 21-Oct-2024 14:55

I'm not sure whether there's any way to check other than trying discs. A lot of discs labelled 2 or 4 are actually encoded with both, so your "casual" testing may not prove anything. You'll need to put the discs in a computer and use an appropriate program to see which regions they're actually encoded with.

Moahunter

159 posts

Master Geek

#3299496 21-Oct-2024 15:07

Sorry, I should have been more explicit. Can I check the region setting of the dvd player?

SirHumphreyAppleby

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#3299498 21-Oct-2024 15:09

Moahunter:

Can I check the region setting of the dvd player?

It's device specific.

The error suggests the player is not able to read the disk, not a region coding issue.

sen8or

1787 posts

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#3299518 21-Oct-2024 15:57

Weren't there some discs released with a higher level of protection than the normal region coding, it looked for multi-zone players and rejected them?

If a disc error, try cleaning the disc with meths or similar, if your DVD player plays other discs, its unlikey the laser, but a cleaning disc may not hurt if you have one?

If the disc is scratched, it may be difficult to get repaired now without video shops and their disc repair machines (a local library might have one or try https://www.respectretrogaming.co.nz/disc-resurfacing/)

Behodar

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#3299519 21-Oct-2024 15:58

sen8or:

Weren't there some discs released with a higher level of protection than the normal region coding, it looked for multi-zone players and rejected them?

Yes, but those will display a disc-generated message on the screen.