>School me. What is PAL and NTSC? What's the difference?
>(and what do the acronyms stand for?)

2 primary standards for television design -

N(ational) T(elevision) S(ystems) C(ommittee) - the color video standard used in the U.S., America, Canada, Mexico, and Japan - any DVD that is ALL REGION NTSC will play in players designated for these countries...

P(hase) A(lternating) L(ine) - the standard used for Europe, Hong Kong, and the Middle East - so if you reside in an NTSC country, you will need a player that has PAL -> NTSC conversion (the reverse situation holds true for those in PAL nations)...

So even if you have an NTSC player and are able to make it all-region, you will require a converter for the television, enabling PAL movies to play... That's why it's easier to get an all-region player w/ an internal converter...