Video Format Regions
Explained in Plain English

Different countries have adopted different video formats. These formats dictate such things as how many frames-per-second will be displayed, etc. In the old days, this wasn't a big problem because all of the TV's, VCR's, movies, camcorders, etc. that were available in your country would all use the same format. But now the internet is shrinking the world. If you live in the USA and like to watch British TV shows, you can't just order a DVD from a company in the UK and play it on your American DVD player and TV because your gear uses the NTSC standard and the Brits use the PAL standard. So when buying something or downloading files, make sure to know the format in advance. Your computer will play just about anything, but if you want to play something in your living room, you need to be aware of the format.