But some of the Denon DVD players do share technology with Marantz DVD players. The software might be different but if you lift the hood and look underneath they are almost the same. Denon DVD-1400 and Marantz DV6400 are examples of this. Denon and Marantz have the same owners I believe.
At least here in Sweden VCR's and TV's that can play NTSC tapes are very common. If your friends in Spain has a decent VCR it most likely can play the NTSC tape. Let them try the tape and see what happens.
Nowadays I have a DV-4300 hooked up to a Sony HS-10. I don't have any problems with PS PAL, PS NTSC, R1 or R2. Everything plays just fine. I used to have LG RL-JA20 projector that didn´t support PS PAL. The proportions of the picture was screwed up. That was one reason I had the LG replaced...