OFF: Followup DVD question

[K Henderson]

Dan points out...

>Not really, exceptions are players that have hacked firmware or loopholes.
>Easier is to play the DVD on a computer running hacked software to play all
>regions.  DVD regions are just there so they can control what you watch, Pal
>and NTSC are actually different formats.

Alright, now I'm completely confused.  :)

Not from what's appeared here, but from what I'm now reading on r.m.p. about
this same topic.

Over there, they're discussing the very same Magma DVD issue, and it does
appear that both 'European' and 'American' versions are being prepared.
(However, word from Ken Golden is that the American ones came out wrong from
the manufacturer and release will now be delayed.)

Anyway, Ken is referring to the American one as the 'NTSC' version, the
European one as the 'PAL' version.  So does that mean that NTSC/PAL format
is also still associated with DVD technology, as well as, and apart from,
the Region-encoding nonsense?  (I'm really not very interested in all this
kind of thing, and so am especially naive about it all.)  I mean, this
doesn't compute in my brain very well...like how could they make an
all-region DVD if the format didn't match either PAL or NTSC devices?  So,
is it really true that a Region 2 DVD is also "PAL," or is this bunk?

What are the Hawkwind DVD's so far?  I think there's a Chronicle and also
the Nottingham show already on DVD, right?  Are they Region 2's only,
separate Region 1 and 2, or Region 0 (all regions?)?

Many of my DVD's don't have any indication of what region they are, or at
least I can't find where it's marked.  What do you suppose these are?
(Mostly US-made sci-fi TV/movie stuff.)  Is there any other (easy) way to tell?

Grakkl (FAA), hoping that he didn't screw up and buy a bunch of things he
can never play in Europe without major difficulty.