All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

Discuss internationally-released DVDs and Blu-rays or other international DVD and Blu-ray-related topics.
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thesemodernsocks
Joined: Sun Nov 14, 2004 3:31 am
Location: CA

#26 Post by thesemodernsocks » Sat Jun 04, 2005 5:33 pm

ben/tryavna,

What kind of set-up are you using? Another poster on the board, nick, has the same model that I do and only experiences the interlacing problems when he's not using the progressive scan option. Unfortunately, my television is not capable of progressive scan.

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ben d banana
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 8:53 pm
Location: Oh Where, Oh Where?

#27 Post by ben d banana » Sat Jun 04, 2005 8:08 pm

Regular ol' non-progressive CRT (until Sony Canada gets on the ball and brings the model into the country that i can actually get the gf to agree upon).

My brother actually has a LCD rear projection now and was mentioning trouble with a UK TV DVD, but my memory fades. And I guess it doesn't really apply to your problem anyway.

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tryavna
Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2005 4:38 pm
Location: North Carolina

#28 Post by tryavna » Sun Jun 05, 2005 11:15 am

Mine's a non-progressive set-up, too. But I don't think that would be the problem with the R2 release of The Wicker Man because, IIRC, the Extended Cut had to be non-progressively transferred (since the negative no longer exists and the transfer had to come from Roger Corman's privately owned tape).

Could the problem be just with non-progressive R2 transfers. After all, I can't imagine that older TV shows would be progressively transferred. (It may not even be possible for shows made before 1997.) But this is just a guess.

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Godot
Cri me a Tearion
Joined: Sat Nov 06, 2004 12:13 am
Location: Phoenix

#29 Post by Godot » Mon Jun 06, 2005 5:20 pm

ltfontaine,
thanks for the thorough post on the Philips 642. I went looking for the older model in area stores, to no avail. May be available online at used sites, with expected markup?
(The CH-500 requires that a code be entered each time one plays such a DVD.)
This is not true for my CH-500. Enter the region-free code once, works forever. However, in order to curtail the Macrovision software, one would need to enter the special menu hack for each disc, which takes about 10 seconds. Or so I've read.

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ltfontaine
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 3:34 pm

#30 Post by ltfontaine » Thu Jun 09, 2005 2:30 pm

I went looking for the older model in area stores, to no avail.
Godot, I recommend that you check local Target stores, as our branches here in Michigan appear to remain well stocked with the earlier model. Call around and ask for the black and blue box.

Of course, if you need only the region-free feature, and not the disabled macrovision, the new model is as easily modified as the earlier one.

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Godot
Cri me a Tearion
Joined: Sat Nov 06, 2004 12:13 am
Location: Phoenix

#31 Post by Godot » Tue Jun 14, 2005 12:08 am

I looked at two local stores each of Target and Best Buy, but found only thinner white boxes. Then I stopped wasting fuel and searched Ebay, finding three that sounded like the older model. E-mails to the sellers and posted pictures of the original boxes confirmed that all three were the older DVP642 model, one unopened and one never used. All three sold for $60-80 (including shipping).

Thanks for the tip on the firmware, features, and box styling.
Always exciting to have a new electronic toy on the way.

Anonymous

#32 Post by Anonymous » Thu Jun 16, 2005 12:55 am

I just bought the Phillips from Amazon and got it today. We tried it out with a Region 2/NTSC DVD and it looked fine. Does anyone know if I can play PAL DVDs on this thing, and if I need to do anything special to do so? I tried to find this info in the user's manual (I write documentation for a living, so I will actually attempt to read manuals and things) but couldn't find quite the info I needed. I don't have a PAL DVD to try right now, and want to find out for sure before I actually buy any.

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ltfontaine
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 3:34 pm

#33 Post by ltfontaine » Thu Jun 16, 2005 8:00 am

Does anyone know if I can play PAL DVDs on this thing, and if I need to do anything special to do so?
Assuming that you have entered the one-time code to render your machine region-free, as described above, it will play PAL discs without additional action on your part.

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Faux Hulot
Jack Of All Tirades
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 11:57 am
Location: Location, Location

#34 Post by Faux Hulot » Thu Jun 16, 2005 1:08 pm

I paid around $40 for my Daewoo DVG-9200N at my local Target, and after I entered the crack I found at Videohelp.com it plays discs from all regions (including PAL discs) like a charm.

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Morbii
Joined: Sat Nov 27, 2004 3:38 am

#35 Post by Morbii » Fri Jun 24, 2005 1:10 am

I too bought the 642 from amazon and got it for a measly $33 using super saver shipping and by signing up for a amazon credit card :P

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Godot
Cri me a Tearion
Joined: Sat Nov 06, 2004 12:13 am
Location: Phoenix

#36 Post by Godot » Tue Jun 28, 2005 6:21 pm

By the way, in case anyone was buying the Philips DVP642 to side-step Macrovision, it only does so with the analog component (so you can record onto VHS, for example), but not the digital component (so you can not record onto DVD).

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Fletch F. Fletch
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:54 pm
Location: Provo, Utah

#37 Post by Fletch F. Fletch » Mon Aug 08, 2005 3:44 pm

I've been thinking about purchasing a regionless DVD player and I was wondering if anyone on here could point me in the right direction a good, reliable player that doesn't cost too much. I would prefer a name brand, if possible (i.e. Panasonic, Sony) as I've heard that there are some cheapie players out there that work fine for a bit and then start having problems.

Anyways, any help in this area would be much appreciated!

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nick
grace thought I was a failure
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:42 am
Location: Rochester, NY

#38 Post by nick » Mon Aug 08, 2005 4:03 pm

This is pretty informative. I also have personal experience with the JVC XV N412SL Region-Free DVD player and I love the machine. The only thing it doesn't have that I would like is a zoom out feature to correct overscan. Other than that though the image quality and conversion from pal to ntsc is superb.

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kieslowski_67
Joined: Fri Jun 17, 2005 5:39 pm
Location: Gaithersburg, Maryland

#39 Post by kieslowski_67 » Wed Aug 17, 2005 3:49 pm

Wow! They did not have Malata 520 on their list. I currently have 6 region free DVD players in my house (2 others burnt out) that have price ranging from $60 to $1000, and Malata 520 provides the best picture quality for WS enhanced DVDs (using component video).

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Simon
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 6:52 pm
Location: Montreal

#40 Post by Simon » Wed Aug 17, 2005 4:24 pm

The Malata 520 is certainly pretty sweet and one I'm pretty happy with, but it's been out of production for a while now, so I don't know how easy it is to get one these days.

BrightEyes23
Joined: Tue Dec 28, 2004 9:46 am

#41 Post by BrightEyes23 » Wed Aug 24, 2005 2:18 pm

Do they make hackable region free DVD players that feature the following?

HDMI or DVI outputs that also upconverts?

My new comcast box doesnt have an DVI output so now my setup is kinda funky, and I've been thinking about getting an upconversion player for my R1's...so if I could kill a ton of birds with one purchase, that'd be awesome :D

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ben d banana
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 8:53 pm
Location: Oh Where, Oh Where?

#42 Post by ben d banana » Wed Aug 24, 2005 8:52 pm

I don't have one, nor do I know anyone who does, but how about this?

BrightEyes23
Joined: Tue Dec 28, 2004 9:46 am

#43 Post by BrightEyes23 » Sat Aug 27, 2005 4:17 am

Thanks! I think im gonna get one of those 2...is the 2nd one worth the extra money?

Also, does anyone know how to make my NEC 3500A region free? I'm a little leary about just running a firmware patch without knowing what im doing. If someone with knowledge could PM me, or post for everyone's use, that'd be awesome. Thanks.

BrightEyes23
Joined: Tue Dec 28, 2004 9:46 am

#44 Post by BrightEyes23 » Sat Aug 27, 2005 5:23 am

remote? this is my DVDROM for my PC. I don't have a remote for it :)
I'm just worried about doing irreparable damage to the DVD burner and having to replace it.

Costas
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2004 8:22 am

#45 Post by Costas » Mon Aug 29, 2005 6:53 am

BrightEyes23 wrote:remote? this is my DVDROM for my PC. I don't have a remote for it :)
I'm just worried about doing irreparable damage to the DVD burner and having to replace it.
Try this. Doesn't mess with your firmware or anything like that.

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Faux Hulot
Jack Of All Tirades
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 11:57 am
Location: Location, Location

#46 Post by Faux Hulot » Mon Aug 29, 2005 12:33 pm

Fletch F. Fletch wrote:I've heard that there are some cheapie players out there that work fine for a bit and then start having problems.
A year ago I bought a Daewoo DVG-9200N from Target for about $40. After pressing a five-button sequence on my remote (PM me for details) I was able to play discs from all regions (though not disable Macrovision). It has performed flawlessly ever since. It's also played virtually every DVD-R and CD-R I've put into it, which I can't say about other players I've used.

Titus
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 4:40 pm

#47 Post by Titus » Mon Aug 29, 2005 2:02 pm

So for those who've got a DVP642, how satisfied are you with it?

I bought one a while back and while I'm not neccesarily disappointed, I can't say I've been thrilled.

Particularly with animated pictures the picture seems more...."pixellated", or something, than it should. And edge enhancement seems to be exacerbated on it considerably more than on other players I've had. On top of this, with any disc that's even remotely dirty/scratched, it's fairly loud. It's difficult to watch rentals because of the incessant "chirping" noises it makes throughout.

The PAL conversion seems adequate but even being a techie illiterate I can still spot the deficiencies with it.

How does this player hold up incomparison to the Malata and other region free players with built-in PAL converters?

Cinesimilitude
Joined: Tue Jul 09, 2013 12:43 am

#48 Post by Cinesimilitude » Fri Sep 09, 2005 2:30 pm

I got a cyberhome DVD-300 and used a hack from Video Help to make it multi-region. Plays PAL discs like a charm.

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ltfontaine
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 3:34 pm

#49 Post by ltfontaine » Fri Sep 09, 2005 3:38 pm

So for those who've got a DVP642, how satisfied are you with it?
Titus, I've been using my DVP642 for three months now and am, thus far, very satisfied. This machine definitely outperforms the Cyberhome CH-500, my previous all-region player, and features a more versatile and responsive remote unit.

I have not played discs on the 642 that feature animation, so can't speak to that particular concern. I only occasionally play rental discs, but haven't noticed the “chirping noisesâ€

Titus
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 4:40 pm

#50 Post by Titus » Wed Sep 14, 2005 10:21 pm

Thanks for the feedback, lt.

I've recently upgraded to a Widescreen 52'' Television, and have noticed that the progressive scan makes a huge difference. Particularly with the animated titles, the edge enhancement (which was absolutely horrific on my tube) seems to be under control, outside of when they're natural flaws of the disc. The PAL discs I've tried have all seemed solid with the exception of the Danish release of Dogville, which is strange considering the rave reviews it got.

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