DVD players...

kenisu3000 · Post by **kenisu3000** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 3:27 pm

This topic's going to be locked before my question's answered, I just know it (because of the possible argument that this has nothing to do with DragonBall, which is baloney). But I'll ask away anyway:

Would it be smart to buy a region-free DVD player?
I've been hoping to get the DragonBox GT when it comes out (which is really soon!), and I need a new Region 1 player anyway, and I figure, why not get one that's region-free, and isseki nitcho (kill two birds with one stone)? All I'm wondering is, there HAS to be some sort of downside to region-free players.

Adnan · Post by **Adnan** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 3:53 pm

There isn't a downside. Region locks are simply a matter of programming. Essentially, a region-free player simply doesn't have a locking program built in, otherwise it is just like region-specific players.

Only downside is the extra hundreds of dollars you'll pay to get one if you're buying it here, which isn't worth it 'cause you're paying for exactly the same thing except with programming code removed. If you can, try to get one outside of North America as they're much cheaper.

Note, you still won't be able to play PAL discs as they won't be displayed properly on your TV.

Thank God it's friday. Getting off work and this has been a very long week.

lost in thought · Post by **lost in thought** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 4:01 pm

Would it be smart to buy a region-free DVD player?
I've been hoping to get the DragonBox GT when it comes out (which is really soon!), and I need a new Region 1 player anyway, and I figure, why not get one that's region-free, and isseki nitcho (kill two birds with one stone)? All I'm wondering is, there HAS to be some sort of downside to region-free players.

Well... there kind of is, as I've heard that they are quite difficult to come by, and may, or may not be quality products. [Though this is up to speculation, of my experience with dvd player purchasing.]

You might want to do some research about eliminating regional restriction codes, with certain big-name brands [Sony, Magnavox, Philips, etc], and if you can come by the model, and the way to eliminate regionals, you should be golden. On an up-side, with DVD players becoming more easily accessable, and cheaper, you should have very little trouble in your venture; what with a lot of websites with region-cracking inputs around these days.

I'll do my own search later on, and see if I can give you some more help with this. [Note: When I say 'region-cracking', it's more like a series of button presses on your dvd remote.]

Adnan · Post by **Adnan** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 4:04 pm

I've never heard of region-cracking just by pushing buttons on a remote. As far as I know, it requires you to open up the player and making changes to the hardware itself.

kenisu3000 · Post by **kenisu3000** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 4:30 pm

Adnan wrote: Only downside is the extra hundreds of dollars you'll pay to get one if you're buying it here, which isn't worth it 'cause you're paying for exactly the same thing except with programming code removed. If you can, try to get one outside of North America as they're much cheaper.

Really? 'Cause I just went to Amazon.com (not one of the foreign sites) and the region-free players there are anywhere from $50-$160. That's not too much.

Post by **VegettoEX** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:39 pm

Adnan wrote:I've never heard of region-cracking just by pushing buttons on a remote.

It's exactly what I did on my player. Press a couple buttons, and presto... in goes my Asian Kung-Fu Generation DVD. It's a VERY common practice.

Adnan · Post by **Adnan** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 6:37 pm

VegettoEX wrote:
Adnan wrote:I've never heard of region-cracking just by pushing buttons on a remote.
It's exactly what I did on my player. Press a couple buttons, and presto... in goes my Asian Kung-Fu Generation DVD. It's a VERY common practice.

Cool! Just did some research on this and turns out to be true. It seems to be an intentional act by the manufacturers to override region lockouts (most probably so that they can easily reprogram the player if necessary). I'm guessing it was never meant to be known to the public but I guess in this day and age everything gets leaked.

Can't wait to try it out on mine! Now I just need to start importing DVDs!

Have a good weekend everybody (won't be back till Monday)!

Adnan · Post by **Adnan** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 6:39 pm

kenisu3000 wrote:
Adnan wrote: Only downside is the extra hundreds of dollars you'll pay to get one if you're buying it here, which isn't worth it 'cause you're paying for exactly the same thing except with programming code removed. If you can, try to get one outside of North America as they're much cheaper.
Really? 'Cause I just went to Amazon.com (not one of the foreign sites) and the region-free players there are anywhere from $50-$160. That's not too much.

I guess prices went down once region-free hacks became prevalent

.

Adamant · Post by **Adamant** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 7:20 pm

Adnan wrote:Note, you still won't be able to play PAL discs as they won't be displayed properly on your TV.

Really? My 20 year old european TV can play american discs just fine on my region free DVD player. Why is it different the other way around?

lost in thought · Post by **lost in thought** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 8:18 pm

Adnan wrote:I've never heard of region-cracking just by pushing buttons on a remote.

Well now you know, hehe.*cackles maniacly*

Adamant wrote:Really? My 20 year old european TV can play american discs just fine on my region free DVD player. Why is it different the other way around?

I am thinking it has something to do with your television set, Adamant. I believe that Adnan was referencing the use on an American set, as opposed to a European set, as I am sure PAL will play just fine on Euro-models, but I am pretty sure American sets are just incapable of displaying PAL anything, correctly.

The S · Post by **The S** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 10:14 pm

Would such a "hacking" to make one's PC DVD drive region-free? I mean, I can already watch any DVD on my PS2 thanks to the Action Replay MAX, but I'd like to take screencaps.

DBW · Post by **DBW** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 10:14 pm

If you have a PS2 you can also just pick up a game shark disk (you can probably find them used for like $5).

And just a warning about region hacking. If you use a remote hack on your DVD player, it'll void the warranty, so just be warned. One of my DVD players is remote hacked and it sometimes has trouble loading dual-layer disks now. Since it's hacked I can't return it or anything, so I just have to grin and bear it as it spends several minutes loading the Dragon Box disks (still faster than pulling out the PS2 and booting the game shark, though). That particular player also has an NTSC/PAL switch, so it can come in handy.

You can also just pop the disk into your computer's DVD drive (if it has one), and then it'll ask if you want to switch regions. The downside is that you can only switch several times before it locks. You can also download a region free program for your DVD-rom if you can find one.

Adamant · Post by **Adamant** » Sat Jun 04, 2005 4:11 pm

lost in thought wrote:
Adamant wrote:Really? My 20 year old european TV can play american discs just fine on my region free DVD player. Why is it different the other way around?
I am thinking it has something to do with your television set, Adamant. I believe that Adnan was referencing the use on an American set, as opposed to a European set, as I am sure PAL will play just fine on Euro-models, but I am pretty sure American sets are just incapable of displaying PAL anything, correctly.

Well, obviously European sets can display PAL, as Europe uses PAL. The point is that my region free DVD player can play american (NTSC) DVDs without any problems.
However, the same TV is unable to play american and japanese Gamecube games when I use a Freeloader.

Following this logic, if my TV can display video from american DVDs by using a region free player, then your TV should be able to display video from european DVDs.

Adnan · Post by **Adnan** » Sat Jun 04, 2005 9:04 pm

In Europe (and the rest of the world as a matter of fact), TVs are usually multi-system, meaning they're able to display images in PAL, SECAM and NTSC.

TVs in North America are only NTSC compatible so content that isn't NTSC will not display properly on your TV.

The S · Post by **The S** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 10:24 pm

If you have a PS2 you can also just pick up a game shark disk (you can probably find them used for like $5).

Um... yeah. Action Replay is basically the same as a Game Shark.

DBW · Post by **DBW** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 12:13 am

The S wrote:Um... yeah. Action Replay is basically the same as a Game Shark.

I wasn't replying to your post, our posts just happened to come out at the same time. I know, my post seemed kind of awkward following yours, I was considering editing it, but whatever...

Mirai Trunks´s Nr. 1 fan · Post by **Mirai Trunks´s Nr. 1 fan** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 8:31 am

kenisu3000 wrote:This topic's going to be locked before my question's answered, I just know it (because of the possible argument that this has nothing to do with DragonBall, which is baloney). But I'll ask away anyway:

Would it be smart to buy a region-free DVD player?
I've been hoping to get the DragonBox GT when it comes out (which is really soon!), and I need a new Region 1 player anyway, and I figure, why not get one that's region-free, and isseki nitcho (kill two birds with one stone)? All I'm wondering is, there HAS to be some sort of downside to region-free players.

Only that it costs more than a susal DVD player but I will still recomend it!

The S · Post by **The S** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 11:33 am

I wasn't replying to your post, our posts just happened to come out at the same time. I know, my post seemed kind of awkward following yours, I was considering editing it, but whatever...

Oh, okay. Just a misunderstanding. No problemo.

MajinVejitaXV · Post by **MajinVejitaXV** » Thu Jun 09, 2005 8:05 pm

My solution:

http://www.oppodigital.com/opdv971h.html

Great player man, great player

I'm getting one in a couple of weeks.

-Corey

Daimao · Post by **Daimao** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 2:04 am

Did someone finally work out a Divx player that outputs an HD quality picture? I've had my eye out for one of these (not seriously, but casually) for a couple of years. All the ones I've seen before had compatibility problems or generally poor reviews, though (or couldn't do any better than 480p, what's the point?).

Kanzenshuu

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