PS3 Region Block? Or Disk Scan Error?

Question

I bought a PS3 from Hong Kong. When I was over there all the games that I bought worked but when I came back to the U.S. and tried it here, the European version of Grand Theft Auto IV and U.S. version of Call of Duty 4 doesn't work. However, the Japanese games I have still work. When I put in Grand Theft Auto IV and Call of Duty 4, it doesn't say region block or anything but upon loading the colors are gone and the screen goes "wrong" which looks like watching an old film spinning too fast. (Sorry it's hard to explain what I mean by the screen goes "wrong") I tried the 2 games that don't work on my PS3 at my friend's house and it works perfectly for him, but when I tried his Call of Duty 4 (U.S. Version), I get the same problem as before. Now I'm currently thinking if there is a region block or if my PS3 disk scan has some error. If the disk scan does have an error can I have it fixed in the U.S even though I have free warranty in Hong Kong? Or do I have to bring it back to Hong Kong to get it fixed?

Additional Info: My friend has a U.S version of PS3

Answer 1

Your PS3 is not broken.  All PS3 games are region free (as in not locked), but it still is a region incompatibility.  However, there are ways to get around it.

First off, Hong Kong, the US, and Japan are in a region known as "NTSC" which displays 480 lines of resolution.  Europe/Australia use PAL, which is 576 lines of resolution.  You might be able to see where I'm going with this.

Your games you purchased are trying to display 480 lines of resolution, but your TV wants 576.  Hence it's distorted.

Here are your solutions:

a) Purchase another SD TV that supports both PAL and NTSC inputs (newer sets typically do).

b) Play in HD (ie 720p or 1080p) via component or HDMI.

Also, keep in mind your PS3 will only play Blurays from the same region as HongKong, which I believe is Region A, like Japan and US, but I'm not sure.  Europe is Region B.  Not all Blu-rays are region locked though, so you'll have to search online for lists of region locked movies (trust me, the lists exist, I just don't have any bookmarked atm).