Is my only option to buy a region-free dvd player?

[tbickle]

Hey, I'm new in looking outside of just region 1 for dvd's and was wondering if there's not a cheaper solution to playing different region dvd's? I own a standard toshiba player, a portable aiwa player and an XBOX. Any suggestions? I thought I heard awhile back that the PS2 will play any region with a little tinkering. Would that be the same for XBOX? Also, if my only option is to buy a region free player, is ebay my cheapest route?

Thanks for any info.

[renaldow]

Cheapest route to a good region free player is the Cyberhome 500 for only $69 at Best Buy. Does accurate PAL/NTSC anamorphic conversion. Stay away from Ebay unless you want to grab your ankles.

You could also look into getting a DVD-ROM drive for your PC and watching them on the computer.

The PS2 does not do PAL > NTSC conversion, so it basically worthless as a region free player. I think there may be an option for the XBox though. Check out the past threads here and you may be able to find something. I believe there have been a couple threads here about the XBox and other region DVDs.

[benedict]

As <b>renaldow</b> intimates, you may care to check out:<ul><li><A HREF="http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=230718" target="_blank">X-Box region 0?</a><li><A HREF="http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=160757" target="_blank">X-Box DVD Player converts PAL to NTSC!</a><li><A HREF="http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=254778" target="_blank">The CyberHome 500 Dvd player discussion thread</a></li></ul>

[Deke Rivers]

Originally posted by renaldow
Cheapest route to a good region free player is the Cyberhome 500 for only $69 at Best Buy. Does accurate PAL/NTSC anamorphic conversion. Stay away from Ebay unless you want to grab your ankles.

You could also look into getting a DVD-ROM drive for your PC and watching them on the computer.

The PS2 does not do PAL > NTSC conversion, so it basically worthless as a region free player. I think there may be an option for the XBox though. Check out the past threads here and you may be able to find something. I believe there have been a couple threads here about the XBox and other region DVDs.
there is a 20 buck rebate going on so that cyberhome is 49 bucks now..cant beat that price..its a nice unit as well