Advice needed: region & code free DVD players

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MG_Saldivar

Joined
Feb 5, 2005
Messages
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I've recently made contact with a guy in the UK who can supply me with cheap DVD copies of classic BBC sci-fi shows that I've been wanting to own for a long time (chief among which is the 3-season TV version of John Christopher's "The Tripods" trilogy).

Since his DVDs are PAL format, I know I need not only a region free/code free DVD player but also a player with "PAL-to-NTSC" output so I can watch the DVDs on my regular American TV.

I've found some sites on the Web, including Amazon, that sell such machines, but I wonder if any of you have experience with them. Pros? Cons? Pitfalls? I've found relatively cheap (~$60) machines for sale but many of them have mediocre reviews so I'm wary of throwing away the price of a solid production folder... I understand there will always be DVDs here or there that might not work but I'd like to have a machine that will play at least 75% of UK DVDs...

I did a search of BladeForums and only found this one short thread on the subject (from 2005). Hopefully there's more knowledge about this topic available now!
 
"DVD region free" works well on computer DVD drives. It makes the computer believe it is playing a regionless DVD, regardless of the region. It's a sweet program. However, some playing programs, aren't compatible with it.
 
if i'm not mistaken, you can get a free program to run on your player to change the region. i'll see if i can find the program and let you know where its at. you might even try doing a search for a program
 
All DVDs are recorded on the disk in unencoded, component format. Encoding them into NTSC or PAL or SECAM is done by your player.

The region code is encoded on the disk and the player reads it before beginning to play. If the player isn't supposed to play that disk, the it won't. But player makers don't want to have to make different models for each region of the world. Witness the fact that the on-screen menus can be set to any of 15 different languages and the manual is also provided in fifteen different languages. Legally, the player has to play only the disks for the region it's sold into. So, the manufacturers typically have some hidden key sequence to change region on a player quickly. You might, for example, press both the FF and the REV buttons at the same time and hold them for three seconds. This way, if there's a sudden spike in demand in a certain region, they can easily change the players they have in-stock to be for that region.

Of course, these hidden codes leak out.

Google the make and model number and you'll probably find the magic key sequence.

Some use a special IR code which can not be sent by the remote included with the player. For these, you'll need a universal remote that can be programed to a specific code (i.e. one that doesn't just learn codes from another remote). Again, the code itself can be found on the web.
 
Get a dvd player that's divx certified. I have the Phillips DVP642/37. It plays everything I throw at it. It's a region 1. You can rerip your friends DVD with DVD Shrink. Make sure you disable autorun for you DVD-CD drive on your computer. If you get a warning message about regions just eject and put the DVD back in and hold the Left Shift Key in till your drive stops looking for a disc. Rip with DVD Shrink and that's it. If it were me, I'd rip the DVD and re-encode into Divx. I can fit 5 or 6 full length movies on 1 DVD. I don't have a HDD TV so the quality is damn near a store bought DVD on my set. Heres a link for a Registry hack for disabling "Auto-Run. It's near the top, left hand side. I've personally used it and it's fine.
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
And here's a link to a tutorial for DVD-Shrink
http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/mpg/dvdshrink31-main.htm

My Phillips plays the following formats and cost around $45. It plays PAL and NTSC DVDs. Most newer TVs will play PAL but it's not guaranteed.

Compression formats : Divx 3.11, Divx 4, Divx 5, MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4
Playback Media : CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DivX, DVD, DVD+RW, DVD+R, DVD-Video, MP3-CD, MPEG4, Picture CD, SVCD, Video CD
 
If your looking for a standalone player I'd recommend something from Oppo
I have the 981
Excellent players, NTSC/PAL, region free, good upconversion if you have an HDTV.
 
If it comes down to it you could just get another DVD drive for your PC and change the region to UK in the DVD drive setup. That way you can watch them on your PC or copy them onto a region free DVD using DVD shrink to play on your TV, or connect your PC to your TV using a VGA cable if you have a new LCD TV and watch them on your TV off of your PC....

You can change the region of your PC dvd drive in start > control panel > system > device manager > DVD/CDROM drives > double click on the drive and then click the region tab at the top. be careful you can only change them 5 times and then it will lock, hence my suggestion of buying a cheap DVDrom drive and setting it to the UK region (should be region 2 but please double check!)
 
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