Hello! another question just before we leave:
Does anyone know a store in madrid that sells BOTH the PAL and the NSTC system DVDs??? I was thinking of picking up some DVD movies while there.
Any ideas??
thanks

Electracity, DVDs do not use PAL or NTSC. Movies are coded using the MPEG-2 standard. It is the DVD player that uses the PAL or NTSC color system when playing the movie on a TV.

The only problem you may have is the zone. DVDs in Spain have the zone 2 (Europe) and American ones have the zone 1. If your DVD player is not multizone, you may not be able to see it.

Does anyone know if there are 'zone 1' and 'zone 2' DVD players available for purchase in the US?

Thanks!
-GG

Hi GranadaGirl, here's a link for a multi-region DVD player. Pricey! If you're in NYC, Mondo Kim's video store (on St. Mark's Place) sells them pretty cheap (around $250 I think). Hope this helps.

Oops! Here's the link:
http://www.codefreedvd.com/

Thanks for the replys!! Here is what I have found out and I thinks if fairly accurate (Correct me otherwise):

First, YES you can buy a DVD player in North America that can play BOTH PAL and NTSC DVDs. It should say so on somewhere on the box. Most new players can play both. Actually they are quite inexpensive these days (Less then $100). If you plug this to your "Newer" TV, it should work. "Older" TVs may NOT work even if you have a PAL/NTSC player (it will not be able to read the signal from the player).
All DVDs have information on the box/cover. What you need to look for are 2 things the PAL or NTSC designation AND the zone, 1, 2 etc. "Some" films are "ZONE 0" or "ALL" (like most adult features) But you still need to resolve the PAL or NTSC problem.
BTW, North America is Zone 1, Europe is Zone 2. Check out the following for further zones:
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/6586/fac_f_07.html

DVDs are encoded as either PAL or NTSC. A lot of people in Europe don't know this because almost all PAL DVD players can also play NTSC discs. The reverse is not true. However, as several people have pointed out, multi-zone multi-standard players are increasingly affordable.

Back to the original question: I have seen DVDs at FNAC labeled as "imports from the US," meaning they are Region 1 and NTSC. They seem to be programs like music videos/concerts that haven't made it to Spain yet, or films, TV series that may not necessarily appeal to the Spanish mass market. And of course, it's also a service for the expat who may have unwittingly brought his non-compatible DVD player to Spain. Like anything else imported, you will pay a premium over a locally-produced or locally-marketed DVD.

El viajero, I found a Spanish website explaining that DVD discs are encoded using MPEG-2 but formated for one the color systems. You're right.
See the explanation in Spanish here .

However it seems that almost all DVD players are able to read both formats. Anyway, better check it before buying anything.