If you bring video tapes to the USA & try to play them in a normal USA VCR, you will get a black & white (or distorted) picture & possibly no sound. And DVD's probably won't play at all due to Region Coding (see Q3 below). But even if they do, you may have the same problems.

No, definitely bring them. Even though the systems are not compatible, there are a number of options available.

1. There are a number of companies that do tape conversion, including myself. They take your PAL tape & make an NTSC copy, or vice-versa. Some places charge by the tape, others by time (eg: so much per hour of tape converted). If anyone has a recommended place, e-mail me & I'll put them in the appendix in the next update). If you find a place, check how they do their conversions. Some places might just drop 100 lines off the bottom of the picture - not good. The best way is to check the Appendix at the end of this for those recommended places, or if you find someone local to you, get a small tape converted first.
2. Purchase a multi system TV & VCR. These automatically convert to display either a PAL or NTSC picture, depending on the signal it's receiving. Note that they will NOT convert a PAL picture to NTSC or vice-versa. There are not a lot of multi-system TV's & VCR's readily available in the US (note that a lot of the new plasma screens & projectors ARE multi-system). However, in Australia, most TV's & VCR's are multi-system. If you buy them in AUS & bring them to the US, check the voltage requirements. You may need to purchase a step-up transformer. This will up-convert the voltage from US standard (110-120V) to the Aus standard (220 - 240v). If you do need one of these transformers, make sure to get one that can handle the power load required. Also note that servicing of these items may be impossible without sending it back to AUS - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
3. There are a small number of VCR's that playback both PAL & NTSC tapes AND convert on the fly. The most popular seems to be the Samsung SV-5000W (see "Equipment Reviews"). This can record either a PAL or NTSC signal & can playback a tape of either format on any TV.

And you won't have to. In addition to the PAL / NTSC difference, DVD's have a feature (and I use the term loosely) called Region Coding (to explain Region Coding fully, check out http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#1.10). In short, AUS is Region Code 4 & the USA is RC1. When a DVD player first reads a disc, it checks to see if the region code matches the codes set in the player. If it does, the disc plays. If not, the player displays an error. There are some discs that are RC0, which can be played in any machine.

So, how do you get around this problem? A number of companies have modified certain players so that the Region Coding is either bypassed, or set up so that the each time the DVD player reads a disc, the software sets the Region Code to that of the disc. Also, there are some machines that are sold in the US that can be "hacked" via codes entered through the remote. Here are a few places you can find these players:

1. I got my first player at an Indian (as in India, not Native American) Import shop. These are usually imported from Japan. But I would not buy this way again. The reason - No warranty. Also, if it ever breaks down, it may have to go to Japan for service - the US service departments won't touch it. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!
2. There are a number of stores online that sell these modified DVD players. Most, if not all, offer some sort of warranty & service provisions. Plus they have a larger range. However, ALWAYS ASK ABOUT REPAIRS & SERVICE. It's no good if they have a service agreement, but they have to send it to Japan for 4 months.
3. Research on the web for these "multi-standard" players. One of the better forums I've found is The Nerd-Out Forums

Most of the DVD players sold in stores in the US will only handle Region Code 1 NTSC discs. As the US DVD market has so many DVD's & the need to play DVD's from overseas is so small, they have no need to cater for any outside markets. There have been a few models that snuck in to the USA that can play both PAL & NTSC discs (and can even do the PAL-to-NTSC conversion) for all regions.

Finally, when purchasing a player, check to see if will play Region Code Enhanced discs. This is a new development in the Region Code saga. Check the link above for further info on RCE. (Most newly modified players will, but check it anyway).

That's one option. However, if you have tapes of AUS TV shows, movies that you can't get here, or your own personal tapes, then you don't really have a choice - you bring them or miss out. Also be aware that some Aussie movies available here have different features on the DVD's. Compare the Region 1 & 4 "Mad Max" & "The Dish" DVD's:

Remember that to play Aussie DVD's in the US, you will need to get a multi-region, signal-converting player.

Most of what has been stated in the points above applies equally when taking DVD's the other way - from the US to AUS. However, there are a few things which actually make this an easier transition. Firstly, it is easier for a PAL display to be made to display a NTSC signal. A lot of new TV's in Australia now are capable of displaying both a PAL & NTSC picture. Furthermore, Australia does not have quite the strict DVD region coding laws as the USA, so there are machines for sale there that can not only handle both PAL & NTSC playback, but are also set to be multi-zoned or region free players. So as long as your TV & DVD can handle both PAL & NTSC pictures & the DVD player is region free, then you're off & running.

Keep in mind that a PAL picture is usually better than a NTSC picture So if your choice of movie is just a PAL / NTSC difference, you would normally be better off going with the PAL version. But as stated in 4. above, check the entire disc. The slight descrease in picture quality may be worth the extras on a disc.

I recently got to use a US PS2 & tried some Aussie discs. The discs I tried were "The Dish" which is a Region 4 only, and "Jimeoin - All Over The Shop" which is an all region disc. I inserted "The Dish". The player immediately threw up a "Invalid Region Code" message. I then tried the "Jimeoin" disc. It gave a "Incorrect video format" (or something similar) message, meaning it couldn't handle the PAL signal.