[PHoynak]

I want to buy the new Doctor Who series on DVD but right now it is only available in PAL format from England. Amazon doesn't have it in the states yet. Is there a way I can get this to play on my Mac? Or buy a DVD player that will let me play it?

[k_munic]

Originally Posted by PHoynak

I want to buy the new Doctor Who series on DVD but right now it is only available in PAL format from England. Amazon doesn't have it in the states yet. Is there a way I can get this to play on my Mac? Or buy a DVD player that will let me play it?

buy a DVD player over here… they all play both systems

and:
you Mac is able to playback both formats, BUT BEWARE!
a DVD from europe has - besides a different video format - a different REGION CODE! that means, your internal dvd drive in your Mac is just able to switch 5 (five) times the regions codes…

example:
DocWho/Godzilla/DocWho/Godzilla/DocWho - and you're stuck! your Mac will playback European DVDs only…

there are workarounds, as flashing your dvd drive… tricky, depends very much on the model/brand…

Plan C) make a "backup" of the DVD and get rid of the regioncode…/respect local laws!

[loki74]

Originally Posted by k_munic

buy a DVD player over here… they all play both systems

and:
you Mac is able to playback both formats, BUT BEWARE!
a DVD from europe has - besides a different video format - a different REGION CODE! that means, your internal dvd drive in your Mac is just able to switch 5 (five) times the regions codes…

example:
DocWho/Godzilla/DocWho/Godzilla/DocWho - and you're stuck! your Mac will playback European DVDs only…

there are workarounds, as flashing your dvd drive… tricky, depends very much on the model/brand…

Plan C) make a "backup" of the DVD and get rid of the regioncode…/respect local laws!

5 times huh.. why does that happen anyway? exactly how do the region codes work?

[k_munic]

before I stutter in a foreign language:
http://www.afterdawn.com/glossary/terms/region_code.cfm

[Jacke]

VLC can also play DVDs from a different region than what your DVD drive is set to, but it depends a bit on the drive. I've heard new drives check the region on the disc as soon as it's inserted as opposed to when the DVD player app starts.

[tomato71]

We won't see DVDs stateside until the BBC can sell the series to an American broadcaster.

It will probably be out in Canada soon enough. Besides, I would wait for the box set coming out in November anyway.

I am enjoying the new series (currently in the UK), but it is certainly not Who as I remember it.