UK DVDs will they work in the USA???

[D L and K's Mom]

My DD is a HUGE Eddie Izzard Fan. We cannot seem to find the DVDs at teh library or any local video stores. If I buy DVDs from the UK (ebay they are much cheaper even with postage than the US Ebay) will they work in out DVD player? I would like to get her the boxed set. I think it will be cheaper than buying them all individually. Is there something special I should be looking for in the description so I will know if they will work or not. I know that his "official " website says if you purchase them there they will not work.....Who knew they would be so $$$$$$. Thank you in advance for any informaion.

 

[SusanEllen]

UK videos and DVDs are Region 2 and they do not play on American DVD players (We're in Region 1 in the US). However, if you have a DVD player with your computer you can make a choice in the set up that will allow you to play Region 2 DVDs. The catch there is you can only switch back and forth between regions a limited number of times. But if you don't usually watch movies on your computer you could just dedicate it to your Region 2 DVDs. BTW, Eddie has a couple of HBO specials that are on Region 1 DVDs plus his TV series The Riches. I like Eddie, too.

 

[Tron[ADS]]

The DVD region isnt usualy the problem, as this can normaly be over-ridden with a hack. What is the problem is the video on the disc being encoded in PAL, as a lot of US DVD players do not have PAL decoding circuitry in them, whereas most (if not all) UK DVD players have NTSC and PAL decoders in them.
As stated, the PC is probably the best option. If you want to disable the region change count, see if theres anything for your drive at www.rpc1.org