Why do DVD's have "Regions"?

DVD region codes mean that individual DVD players can only accept DVDs that are meant to be played within one of six designated world regions. For example, your Region 1 DVD cannot be played in a Region 3 DVD player. This technique was developed to enable Hollywood companies to release movies at different times in different regions.

DVD regions are defined as:
Region 1 - 1: U.S., Canada, U.S. Territories
Region 2 - Japan, Europe, South Africa, and Middle East (including Egypt)
Region 3 - Southeast Asia and East Asia (including Hong Kong)
Region 4 - Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean
Region 5 - 5: Eastern Europe (Former Soviet Union), Indian subcontinent, Africa, North Korea, and Mongolia
Region 6 - Peoples Republic of China
Region 7 - Reserved
Region 8 - Special international venues (airplanes, cruise ships, etc.)
      

There are 3 main video standards in use around the world.

N T S C  /  P A L  /  S E C A M

It is important to remember that each one is 
incompatible with the other.

The system used in the U.S. & Canada is called "NTSC".  The U.K., Western Europe and Australia use a system called "PAL", and Eastern Europe and France use "SECAM". 

This means that a tape recorded in United States cannot be played in England.  If you want to view other formats, they must be converted to a compatible standard.  For example, if a friend from France sent you a Cary Grant tape, it would be in the SECAM format.  You would have to have it converted to NTSC format in order to view it in your VCR at home in Texas.

Since I get requests only for NTSC & PAL format videos, and since these are the only two formats that I've found online stores for, I have yet to add SECAM sources to my website.  However, if you have a reliable source for SECAM format videos, I would be more than willing to add them to my site.

Also, if you wish to have videos converted, please contact me privately and I will try and direct you to a company that can help you.

For more information on video formats, try this informative site.