I just received word from NPU. They have contacted the DVD publisher and have confirmed that these are multi-regional DVDs (i.e. DVD Region 0), so this is not an issue of NTSC versus PAL. NPU concludes that I have bum discs and has already shipped me new ones, plus given me a credit to cover my expenses to send the old ones back to them.
You can’t get any better service than that. Way to go, NPU! 
djm
Very good.
Here’s the latest on the future DVD format. Will it be Blu-ray, or HD DVD…
Sony, Toshiba presidents to meet on new DVD format
Mon May 16, 2005
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=8509742
The negotiations have been leaning toward unifying the formats based on the Blu-ray disc structure, but Toshiba continues to maintain that adopting the HD DVD structure would be more cost efficient because it is closer to the current DVD.
Toshiba has also been under pressure from parts makers and film studios in the HD DVD camp not to give in.
Just last week Toshiba announced that it had developed a triple-layer HD DVD disc with data capacity of 45 gigabytes, 50 percent more than a previously unveiled version and enough to hold 12 hours of high-definition movies.
Warner Home Video and Universal Studios Home Entertainment both issued press releases endorsing Toshiba’s new disc.
The announcements were seen as a move to help steer talks more in favor of the HD DVD side.
In addition to Sony and Matsushita, Blu-ray members also include computer giant Dell Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Philips Electronics NV
HD DVD technology is also backed by NEC Corp., Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. and several other firms.
In Blu-ray, a layer to hold data is put on the surface of a substrate and covered by thin protective layers, while in HD-DVD discs, a memory layer is sandwiched between two substrates.
At the core of both formats are blue lasers, which have a shorter wavelength than the red lasers used in current DVD equipment, allowing discs to store data at the higher densities needed for high-definition movies and television.
Slow progress on unification could hinder the launch of new products.
Toshiba has unveiled plans to launch HD DVD players in the last quarter of 2005 while Sony announced plans this week to introduce its new PlayStation video game console in the spring of 2006 equipped with a Blu-ray disc drive.
This is another format war between the big boys, and like all the previous ones, it will probably be the maker who comes out with the most titles that will win the day. I remember reading about blue lasers when they were discovered at UC several years ago, but it has taken a very long time to bring them to market.
I would suggest holding off investing in equipment until the market has chosen a clear winner. These discs wll require all new recording and playback machines, plus, of course, a HDTV. Prices are dropping on these, but its still too expensive to go running out and re-equipping yourself every few months.
djm
Hi Lorenzo,
Check your pm’s
Joseph (the UK one) 