Foreign Transfers
Copy Cat Digital can transfer to just about any video format and standard.
We also do region and PAL to NTSC / NTSC to PAL transfers for DVD.
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Click here to see a list of countries and their video formats and DVD regions. Click here to see a DVD Regions map.
What is NTSC?The original colour television system. Developed in the United States and introduced in 1953 from a specification laid down by the National Television Standards Committee.
NTSC pictures are made up of 30* frames scanning at 525 horizontal lines per second.
Another interpretation is Never Twice the Same Colour, due to the signal's susceptibility to differential phase errors.
* The true frame rate for NTSC is in fact 29.97 frames per second (FPS). Working at 30 FPS results in an error of 3.6 seconds (108 frames) per hour between tape counters and real time. More sophisticated cameras, VCRs and editing equipment can compensate for this by having a "drop frame" (DF) mode. It doesn't actually drop a frame of video, but what happens is that the counter drops 2 frames every minute EXCEPT every 10th minute. Each time it drops frames you will see the frame time code go 28, 29, 02, 03. This brings the tape counter into line with real time.
What is PAL?The system used in UK. Developed in Germany in the late 1960s. Used in the UK and much of Europe. Similar to the NTSC system that had been developed more than a decade earlier, the PAL signal has the phase reversed on alternate lines to improve colour stability. .
Phase Alternate Line is the acronym's expansion.
PAL has a line/frame rate of 625/25, which means that pictures are made up of 625 horizontal lines scanning at 25 frames per second
There are also two other PAL systems that are used in some South American countries PAL-N is only used in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. It is basically the same as normal PAL but with the sub-carrier is set at 3.58 MHz so that narrower channels can be used PAL-M bears a greater similarity to NTSC than PAL. It is only used in Brazil. It is similar to PAL-N but has a 525/30* line/frame rate, the same as NTSC.
What is SECAM?Started in France in the late 1960s, and used by other countries with a political affiliation. Also adopted by the former Soviet Union and many Eastern Block countries to be intentionally incompatible with Western TV broadcasts. Since the fall of the "Iron Curtain", some of the Eastern European countries have now changed over to PAL. SECAM stands for Systeme En Coleur Avec Memoire. It has the same 625/25 line/frame rate as PAL. Pictures are made up of 625 horizontal lines scanning at 25 frames per second Also said to stand for System Essentially Contrary to the American Method.
DVD Regions
The discs have built in lock-out coding that only allows units from that region to be played. DVD players are limited in the number of times they can cross zones and will actually lock you out from your own legally bought machine if that number is exceeded. Copy Cat Digital can transfer your DVD to any Region.
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Click here to see a list of countries and their video formats and DVD regions.
Region 0:
Universal for cartoons, older films and educational titles.
Region 1:
Canada, United States and its territories.
Region 2:
Albania, Andorra, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, European Union, Faeroe Islands, Finland, France, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Iran (Islamic Republic of) Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia (the Former Yugoslav Republic), Malta, Moldova, Principality of Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia,South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Kingdom (Channel Islands) Vatican City State, Yemen, Yugoslavia.
Region 3:
Southeast Asia, East Asia (including Hong Kong).
Region 4:
Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Central America, Mexico, South America, Caribbean.
Region 5:
Former Soviet Union, Indian Subcontinent, Africa (also North Korea, Mongolia).
Region 6:
China
Region 7:
Reserved
Region 8:
Special international venues (airplanes, cruise ships, etc.)