Below you'll find the answers to the technical questions we see the most. If you you have more questions feel free to contact us or check out our forum. And of course - we always encourage you to visit us in person.

Technical Questions :

1. What's a Region Coded DVD / What is Region Coding?
2. What is PAL and NTSC?
3. Will a region coded or PAL DVD play on my USA / North American DVD Player?
4. Any advice on how to get a DVD to work in my player or computer?
5. What's RCE or regional code enhancement?
6. Is my PS2 or Xbox region free? Will it play a PAL DVD or VCDs?
7. Are extreme temperatures bad for videos and DVDs?
8. Oops, I broke something that I rented from you - should I repair it for you?
9. I'm not getting any sound out of my DVD player or sometimes the sound is really quiet.
10. What do I need to properly view Scarecrow.com?
11. The picture of my DVD or VHS tape is fading in and out on my TV - what should I do?

1. What's a Region Coded DVD / What is Region Coding?
   A: The DVD 'world' is broken up into regions (see the map below). Most DVDs are hard coded with the region they are manufactured in (Ex: USA is region code 1). This coding can stop a disc from one area of the world from playing in a DVD player in another part of the world. Region coding is not mandatory or written law - media companies have adopted region codes as a way to market their releases in idividual territories and control where their DVDs are distributed to. There are many DVD releases that are 'region free' or region 0 - they will play anywhere in the world. There are also 'region free' DVD players that can play DVDs from any region of the world. Click here for our policies regarding the sales of region coded and PAL DVDs.
   
   
   
2. What is PAL and NTSC?
   A: If region coding wasn't confusing enough - many countries have a different video standard (the way the actual video signal gets to your TV). The two main power frequencies widely used arround the World, 50Hz and 60Hz divide the World's TV systems into two distinct systems: the 25 frames per second system (50Hz) and the 30 frames per second system (60Hz). PAL will NOT play in an NTSC VCR / DVD player (and vice versa) without a video signal converter or internal converting hardware inside the VCR / DVD player (not a common feature on consumer players). We carry multi-standard DVD players and VCRs for rent that convert all of the different signals digitally. There is no difference in quality from the orginal video signal during these conversions.
   
   
3. Will a region coded or PAL DVD play on my USA / North American DVD Player?
   A: Chances are - no. Most region 1 DVD players are locked to ONLY play region 1 discs (check your manual to be sure). Computers equipped with a DVD drive should have no problem playing PAL or NTSC and many of these drives are region free. Sorry, we don't know how to make your DVD player or computer region free - It's probably harder than flipping a switch and we're guessing it voids your warranty.
   
   
4. Any advice on how to get a DVD to work in my player or computer?
   A: Because of how different each hardware DVD player and computer is - there's no easy answer to this question. Most computers and DVD players have hardware changes each time they're manufactured - hardware manufactured in one month might be different than the same model manufactured a few months later. Feel free to rent a title to test if region coded / PAL discs will work in your machine - if you rented a title that doesn't work, we'll give you a credit for another rental. Searching the web for info on your player or computer and checking your manual is always a great place to start. We recommend purchasing a good software DVD player to watch movies on a PC or MAC - Windows Media Player and Quicktime tend to have problems playing DVDs. There's a constant discussion of this issue in our forum - check it out for more info.
   
   
5. What's RCE or regional code enhancement?
   A: Regional Coding enhancement (RCE) is an additional layer of protection which some studios have placed on certain DVDs to prevent them from playing on region-free or multi-region players. RCE is something completely different than region coding - It's an additional piece of programming on the DVD that checks to see if your DVD player is set to 'no region' ... if it is, it stops playing the DVD. A lot of region free players will set automatically to the region of the disc that's being played - RCE discs will work fine on these players. If you do experience a problem, try 'hard setting' your player to the region of the disc you are player. Typically these options can be found in the setup menu of your DVD player. There have not been many RCE DVD releases.
   
   
6. Is my PS2 or Xbox region free? Will it play a PAL DVD or VCDs?
   A: Your PS2 or Xbox is not region free (and we've never heard of one that is), it most likely will not play VCDs and we're pretty sure it won't play any PAL DVDs (sometimes they even have trouble playing DVDs they're supposed to play). We always recommend that you should get a standalone hardware DVD player to watch your movies. We agree, it's pretty nice to watch movies and play games on the same system - but, ultimately that console is made to do one thing ... play games. Consoles are being manufactured with constant hardware changes, bios changes and programming changes - each batch of new consoles may play a DVD differently. If you're into tweaking your console - you can update the OS and modify settings on it that may make it more compatible with DVDs (we haven't done this though, good luck!).
   
   
7. Are extreme temperatures bad for videos and DVDs?
   A: Yes! The number one killer of DVDs and video tapes is nature. You name it and we've seen it done: left in cars, by the window, rain, direct sunlight, the BBQ. By leaving a tape or DVD in the open elements for even just a short time, you can easily melt or warp it. Just imagine that these are Scarecrow Video's little children - please don't leave our children in the hot, hot car with the windows rolled up ... they'll melt. Try to keep any form of media in a steady, medium tempeture and enviroment.
   
   
8. Oops, I broke something that I rented from you - should I repair it for you?
   A: Please no! Have no fear, our experts here can probably have that small problem fixed in no time. By attempting to fix something (a case, a crack, etc) - you may actually damage it more. Even if the tape is stuck in the VCR - we can get it out safely.
   
   
9. I'm not getting any sound out of my DVD player or sometimes the sound is really quiet.
   A: Sometimes DVD players have multiple sound outputs in the back - 5.1, stereo, SPDIF. Make sure that you have plugged into the correct outputs on your player. Usually it will have a note next to each plug: 'audio left', 'audio output', etc. If you don't have a 5.1 system - check to make sure your DVD player is set to 2.0 or stereo and not 5.1 (this is usually in the menu system, check your manual for more info). Use the color coded wires - they always help out making sure you plug the right things in the right places.
   
   
10. What do I need to properly view Scarecrow.com?
    A: Computer settings recommended to view this website: The newest version internet browser you prefer, a monitor display setting of 800x600 or higher and the newest version of the Macromedia Flash plugin.

    We prefer: A monitor display setting of 1024x768, the newest version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer. We also recommend: Updating your operating system (Windows, Linux or Mac), the Real audio plugin, Apple Quicktime plugin, audio speakers installed and more than 128 megs of system memory. We do not recommend Netscape Navigator (any version) or AOL (or other similar online services) to view this website - these browsers tend to display the web and it's content incorrectly. Even if you don't think you need all of these upgrades - it will probably make the internet work better for you ...
    
    

11. The picture of the DVD or VHS tape i'm watching is fading in and out on my TV - what should I do?
    Chances are you're running your DVD player or VCR through a VCR before it get's to your TV - right? If this is the case, that flickering or fading is a result of MACROVISION - a copy protection encoded into the video that is enabled if it detects that the player is being run through any additional hardware or VCRs. Connecting your player directly to your TV is the only way to view Macrovision encoded titles without the 'flicker'. If you are having this problem after connecting your player directly to your TV - we recommend switching cables or hooking the same player to another TV. From the Macrovision bio: 'Macrovision's copy protection technologies are designed to allow content owners to protect their videocassettes, digital Pay-Per-View (PPV) programs and Digital Video Discs (DVD) from unauthorized recording on VCRs. Major Hollywood studios, independent home video companies, and special interest, corporate, and educational program providers use the company's videocassette copy protection technology to protect against unauthorized home copying of rental and sell-through videos.'
    
    
12. Searching tips.
    When searching - less is more!
    * Try to keep symbols out of your search (? / " ; etc.)
    * Search for your title with a different spelling.
    * Shorten the title (ex: if you're looking for 'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?' just type 'What Ever' or 'What' - even 'Wha' would work).
    * You can only remember one word? If you know the movie has 'Killer' in the name - just type 'Killer'.
    * You can list entire sections if you are using the advanced search. List all items in a specific section or category by leaving the search box empty. Keep in mind that a combination of say, Manga and Stephen King would probably not bring find anything (though, you never know around here).
    * Some of the titles have a year or runtime of '0'. This is pretty much just older titles - newer titles have all the up to date info included. As time goes on, we add as much info back into the system as we can. So, if you know a movie came out in 1981 and you can't find it - this may be the reason why.