X-Box region 0?

Jepthah · 08-19-02, 04:02 PM

For a while there was excited talk about how the XBOX could convert PAL to NTSC flawlessly, then people speculated on whether a chip or DVD boot mod could be made available to make the player region-free.

Has this sort of product come out to the market? Has anyone reported on its success?

ScreachingWeasel · 08-19-02, 07:09 PM

I don't know about it being region free, but if you have not used a dvd kit on the x-box you can use the region 2 kit and make it a region 2 player only. There was a thread about this at Asian Dvd Guide. www.therage.com supposedly has it for 29.99.

Dvd kit
http://www.therage.com/cgi-local/Sof...619+1055181248

Thread at Asian Dvd Guide
http://pub5.ezboard.com/fhongkongdvd...cID=3496.topic

Jepthah · 08-19-02, 11:18 PM

Interesting reading! Thank you.

So if the DVD kit locks the region, there has got to be a mod to make it Region 0...I hope. This could be better than a Malata if for no other reason than you can also play good games on it!

The news about lack of progressive is a bit disappointing just from the expandability standpoint (I don't have the right TV for that anyway). DTS apparently works too if they're correct!

neiname · 08-22-02, 04:33 PM

Is there an Region 4 (Australia) dvd Playback kit and do you think it may lock my xbox to region 4 as described above?

Thanks

NN

squidget · 08-22-02, 06:22 PM

i don't know if there is a r4 playback kit, but yes once you use it will lock to that region
there are some things around it there is a mod chip available:
http://www.lik-sang.com/catalog/prod...7e0fdb39c6e2d5

this does a bunch of other things that are looked down on by the forum but it does have multiple region dongles that allows you to play all regions
the catch is you have to have all the different region remotes

there some talk of software that works with mod chip that loads that will allow the xbox to switch automaticly. see here:
http://www.ps2modchips.com/forum/sho...&threadid=2344
(need to register to view posts)

i have yet to do this myself because i havent found someone to do the mod for me

Trigger · 08-22-02, 07:14 PM

The need to make a region free DVD Playback kit for this to work. I don't like the kik-sang thing because it promotes piracy and doesn't really allow you to do easy region switching. Someone soon will come out with a region free playback kit. Wasn't there one for sale not long ago in the UK?

Trigger · 08-22-02, 07:15 PM

Here - what about this?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...385910-1019845

neiname · 08-22-02, 08:01 PM

Trigger - Thanks for the help, they do make the r4 playback kit, http://au.store.yahoo.com/dvdcrave-au/1189.html , but its out of stock and I can't find it anywhere else. I wonder if I need the region 2 playback for this region x thing or if I can use the US version.

NN

squidget · 08-22-02, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by neiname
Trigger - Thanks for the help, they do make the r4 playback kit, http://au.store.yahoo.com/dvdcrave-au/1189.html , but its out of stock and I can't find it anywhere else. I wonder if I need the region 2 playback for this region x thing or if I can use the US version.

NN

region x only works on UK xboxes i believe with the r2 kit.

neiname · 08-23-02, 01:02 AM

No bother, I just bought a Xbox R4 playback kit from ebay.com.au for US$30.00 including shipping. I'll let you know how it works out.

NN

neiname · 09-03-02, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by neiname
No bother, I just bought a Xbox R4 playback kit from ebay.com.au for US$30.00 including shipping. I'll let you know how it works out.

NN

This works by the way

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=234298

NN

Tuan Jim · 09-03-02, 10:46 PM

One more note -- if you chip your xbox for multiregion gaming or movies, the word on the street is that xbox live won't work.

Tuan Jim

sexygal910 · 09-18-02, 09:55 PM

Has anyone actually chipped the Xboxes for all region? My kid's been using it mainly for games, but this would be interesting if we can convert the thing to an all region player.

diesteldorf · 09-19-02, 12:43 AM

Can anyone share experience regarding the PAL-NTSC converion quality? Can it handle Anamorphic PAL DVDs without stretching them?

Does anyone know how the Xbox PAL conversion would compare to the more expensive Malata?

Trigger · 09-19-02, 02:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by diesteldorf
Can anyone share experience regarding the PAL-NTSC converion quality? Can it handle Anamorphic PAL DVDs without stretching them?

Does anyone know how the Xbox PAL conversion would compare to the more expensive Malata?

I've got some PAL region 0 movies that I've played in the Xbox - worked great. Yes it can handle Anamorphic PAL DVDs without stretching.

It's great... only drawbacks are that the xbox is not progressive scan and it doesn't have x-y scaling like the Malata. Other than that I'd sell my malata if the xbox were region free.

Lampei · 09-19-02, 08:29 AM

I'm still a little leary of using a r2 remote. I read a couple of the posts in the video game forum that r1 games will still work in a US xbox set to r2, but I was wondering if any of you guys have been able to play your r1 games.

diesteldorf · 09-19-02, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Trigger
I've got some PAL region 0 movies that I've played in the Xbox - worked great. Yes it can handle Anamorphic PAL DVDs without stretching.

It's great... only drawbacks are that the xbox is not progressive scan and it doesn't have x-y scaling like the Malata. Other than that I'd sell my malata if the xbox were region free.

Trigger---

If the XBox can already handle Anamorphic PAL WITHOUT stretching them,
does it even need to have X/Y scaling?

I thought the only reason that Malata had X/Y scaling was so that it could display Anamorphic PAL without the stretching.

If DVD Region X works on U.S. X Boxes when it is released......

http://www.codejunkies.com/shop/prod...0&CountryID=GB

Then perhaps you may sell your Malata after all.

mh_tang · 09-20-02, 04:43 PM

Alright, let me try to answer some of your questions about the XBox as a DVD Player. My XBox is modified with an OpenXbox chip, which has two huge advantages: 1) the bios is upgradable by simply plugging the chip into my computer by a parallel port cable, and 2) you can boot the Xbox back to its original state and bypass the modchip by holding down the open button instead of the power button. So the Openxbox will neither be obsolete anytime soon, nor will Live detect any difference.

I got mine from some guys in Germany, but lik-sang.com is selling them in a great package these days. You have to know how to solder to install the mod - the solder points are pretty small and there are 11 wires to connect.

If you have an Xbox which is modified, it lets you run unsigned code. One such program (which I think is actually illegal because it was built with a MS XDK) is from a pirate group called "X-ecuter". They released DVD-X 2.0, which lets you:
- play any region DVD
- converts NTSC vs. PAL
- smooth scaling so you can adjust the picture size and position with the analog controllers of the Xbox
- zoom
- fully AC3, DD, DTS compatible. you need to buy the High-end AV pack for your Xbox to get the optical audio port out though.
- no longer need to buy the hardware remote. can use controller.
- can run straight from CDRW. if your modchip bios supports the eject-without-reboot trick, you can swap out whatever DVD's you like after booting with the DVD-X 2.0 bootdisc.

That's all I can think of at the moment. I have a US NTSC XBox with NTSC TV. I tried running PAL discs from Region2 (HKL movies), and they worked perfectly. I figure the Xbox is $200, with $50 modchip and maybe $35 installation if you pay someone to mod it for you. If you can find DVD-X 2.0 online, then you're all set to go.

diesteldorf · 09-21-02, 07:57 AM

mh_tang----

Do you know if the OpenXBox chip would allow for a bigger hard drive(s) to be added? If you ever reverted
back to the original Bios (and bypassed the chip) temporarily, would the XBox have a problem recognizing the extra space?

I have been looking at Lik-Sang.com but the site is down?
Does anyone think that a package from aplace like that might be flagged by customs?

I am also curious about the new Matrix mod chip which somehow doesn't require any soddering.
This will be released shortly, so hopefully there will be some reviews posted
in the future.

cultshock · 11-06-02, 04:20 PM

Hi everyone,
I think I read somewhere in this forum that a brand new Xbox is not set for any region until you install a DVD kit for it. I'm thinking of picking one up and want to make it region 2 (I wouldn't need another player for region 1 discs anyway, and I heard that it does great PAL/NTSC conversion).
Where could I get a region 2 kit, and would I still be able to play US games on it? (video games aren't region coded, are they?)
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Chris

11-06-02, 06:27 PM

Just get a japanese dvd playback kit from therage.com. It will flash your xbox to become--permanently, so far--an R2 player. Don't worry about your R1 games; it will still play perfectly fine.

I got my xbox about a week ago for the prime reason of having an R2 player (having it to play games was a bonus for me). I only have a Sony 4:3 TV but anamorphic playback of R2 discs has been excellent with no stretching or anomalies. I am just a bit disappointed though in playback quality. I mean, I have two R2 discs--Cross of iron and Drive; everytime the scene involves panning the movement of the whole scene is not smooth but jerky. Is this an effect of the PAL speed-up? I have no clue.

So I tried my Criterion copy of Insomnia--R0 NTSC--and playback was smooth even on panning scenes. So I suppose the jerky playback is only inherent on R2 PAL dvd's.

If anybody can shed more light on this, then it would be most helpful.

cultshock · 11-06-02, 08:03 PM

Thanks for the info Hellboyy!
I missed that original thread. I'll try picking up the Japanese DVD kit.
In answer to your question, I've heard that PAL can cause jerkiness in scenes involving pans (probably because of the speed up). I'm no expert on the subject, but I read that somewhere.

11-06-02, 08:55 PM

Glad to be of help, cultshock.

I was planning to buy one of those JVC or Malata all-region player as an "upgrade" from the xbox but if the panning anomaly is inherent in PAL discs then I do not see the point in having another R2 dvd player. The image output from the xbox looks good to me (assuming of course that the disc is perfectly mastered in the first place).

Prancetron2000 · 11-07-02, 07:13 PM

As soon as some sort of Region-free CD like a gameshark or a Region-X comes out for the X-Box I'll be a very happy man. I don't want to get my system modded.

neiname · 11-07-02, 07:22 PM

Just so you know I was successful in using a region 4 dvd kit on my XBOX and it has worked flawlessly

08-19-02, 04:02 PM	#1
Jepthah DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Fascination Street Posts: 6,521	X-Box region 0? For a while there was excited talk about how the XBOX could convert PAL to NTSC flawlessly, then people speculated on whether a chip or DVD boot mod could be made available to make the player region-free. Has this sort of product come out to the market? Has anyone reported on its success? __________________ "If a sufficient number of people who wanted to stop war really did gather together, they would first of all begin by making war upon those who disagreed with them. And it is still more certain that they would make war on people who also want to stop wars but in another way." -- Gurdjieff

08-19-02, 07:09 PM	#2
ScreachingWeasel Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Wasted outskirts of Escondido Posts: 601	I don't know about it being region free, but if you have not used a dvd kit on the x-box you can use the region 2 kit and make it a region 2 player only. There was a thread about this at Asian Dvd Guide. www.therage.com supposedly has it for 29.99. Dvd kit http://www.therage.com/cgi-local/Sof...619+1055181248 Thread at Asian Dvd Guide http://pub5.ezboard.com/fhongkongdvd...cID=3496.topic __________________ How did the cat get so fat?(Profiler Style) Last edited by ScreachingWeasel; 08-19-02 at 07:12 PM.

08-19-02, 11:18 PM	#3
Jepthah DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Fascination Street Posts: 6,521	Interesting reading! Thank you. So if the DVD kit locks the region, there has got to be a mod to make it Region 0...I hope. This could be better than a Malata if for no other reason than you can also play good games on it! The news about lack of progressive is a bit disappointing just from the expandability standpoint (I don't have the right TV for that anyway). DTS apparently works too if they're correct! __________________ "If a sufficient number of people who wanted to stop war really did gather together, they would first of all begin by making war upon those who disagreed with them. And it is still more certain that they would make war on people who also want to stop wars but in another way." -- Gurdjieff

08-22-02, 06:22 PM	#5
squidget DVD Talk Platinum Edition Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 3,404	i don't know if there is a r4 playback kit, but yes once you use it will lock to that region there are some things around it there is a mod chip available: http://www.lik-sang.com/catalog/prod...7e0fdb39c6e2d5 this does a bunch of other things that are looked down on by the forum but it does have multiple region dongles that allows you to play all regions the catch is you have to have all the different region remotes there some talk of software that works with mod chip that loads that will allow the xbox to switch automaticly. see here: http://www.ps2modchips.com/forum/sho...&threadid=2344 (need to register to view posts) i have yet to do this myself because i havent found someone to do the mod for me __________________ I want to fight, I want to fight. I want to prove I'm right. XBL: buzi PSN: squidget

08-22-02, 07:14 PM	#6
Trigger DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Arizona, USA Posts: 23,459	The need to make a region free DVD Playback kit for this to work. I don't like the kik-sang thing because it promotes piracy and doesn't really allow you to do easy region switching. Someone soon will come out with a region free playback kit. Wasn't there one for sale not long ago in the UK? __________________ theomnom.com Before you speak, ask yourself, is it kind, is it necessary, is it true, does it improve on the silence? Sai Baba

08-22-02, 04:33 PM	#4
neiname DVD Talk Ultimate Edition Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: MA Posts: 4,661	Is there an Region 4 (Australia) dvd Playback kit and do you think it may lock my xbox to region 4 as described above? Thanks NN

08-22-02, 07:15 PM	#7
Trigger DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Arizona, USA Posts: 23,459	Here - what about this? http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...385910-1019845 __________________ theomnom.com Before you speak, ask yourself, is it kind, is it necessary, is it true, does it improve on the silence? Sai Baba

08-22-02, 08:01 PM	#8
neiname DVD Talk Ultimate Edition Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: MA Posts: 4,661	Trigger - Thanks for the help, they do make the r4 playback kit, http://au.store.yahoo.com/dvdcrave-au/1189.html , but its out of stock and I can't find it anywhere else. I wonder if I need the region 2 playback for this region x thing or if I can use the US version. NN

08-23-02, 01:02 AM	#10
neiname DVD Talk Ultimate Edition Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: MA Posts: 4,661	No bother, I just bought a Xbox R4 playback kit from ebay.com.au for US$30.00 including shipping. I'll let you know how it works out. NN

09-03-02, 10:46 PM	#12
Tuan Jim DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Where the sky is always Carolina Blue! (Currently Hawaii) Posts: 5,096	One more note -- if you chip your xbox for multiregion gaming or movies, the word on the street is that xbox live won't work. Tuan Jim __________________ "We have sunk to a depth in which re-statement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men." -- George Orwell A healthy sense of variety.

09-18-02, 09:55 PM	#13
sexygal910 Banned Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: New York, NY Posts: 45	Has anyone actually chipped the Xboxes for all region? My kid's been using it mainly for games, but this would be interesting if we can convert the thing to an all region player.

09-19-02, 12:43 AM	#14
diesteldorf DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Apr 2000 Posts: 1,010	Can anyone share experience regarding the PAL-NTSC converion quality? Can it handle Anamorphic PAL DVDs without stretching them? Does anyone know how the Xbox PAL conversion would compare to the more expensive Malata?

09-19-02, 08:29 AM	#16
Lampei DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 2,708	I'm still a little leary of using a r2 remote. I read a couple of the posts in the video game forum that r1 games will still work in a US xbox set to r2, but I was wondering if any of you guys have been able to play your r1 games. __________________ So many movies...so little time

09-20-02, 04:43 PM	#18
mh_tang New Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Posts: 1	Alright, let me try to answer some of your questions about the XBox as a DVD Player. My XBox is modified with an OpenXbox chip, which has two huge advantages: 1) the bios is upgradable by simply plugging the chip into my computer by a parallel port cable, and 2) you can boot the Xbox back to its original state and bypass the modchip by holding down the open button instead of the power button. So the Openxbox will neither be obsolete anytime soon, nor will Live detect any difference. I got mine from some guys in Germany, but lik-sang.com is selling them in a great package these days. You have to know how to solder to install the mod - the solder points are pretty small and there are 11 wires to connect. If you have an Xbox which is modified, it lets you run unsigned code. One such program (which I think is actually illegal because it was built with a MS XDK) is from a pirate group called "X-ecuter". They released DVD-X 2.0, which lets you: - play any region DVD - converts NTSC vs. PAL - smooth scaling so you can adjust the picture size and position with the analog controllers of the Xbox - zoom - fully AC3, DD, DTS compatible. you need to buy the High-end AV pack for your Xbox to get the optical audio port out though. - no longer need to buy the hardware remote. can use controller. - can run straight from CDRW. if your modchip bios supports the eject-without-reboot trick, you can swap out whatever DVD's you like after booting with the DVD-X 2.0 bootdisc. That's all I can think of at the moment. I have a US NTSC XBox with NTSC TV. I tried running PAL discs from Region2 (HKL movies), and they worked perfectly. I figure the Xbox is $200, with $50 modchip and maybe $35 installation if you pay someone to mod it for you. If you can find DVD-X 2.0 online, then you're all set to go.

09-21-02, 07:57 AM	#19
diesteldorf DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Apr 2000 Posts: 1,010	mh_tang---- Do you know if the OpenXBox chip would allow for a bigger hard drive(s) to be added? If you ever reverted back to the original Bios (and bypassed the chip) temporarily, would the XBox have a problem recognizing the extra space? I have been looking at Lik-Sang.com but the site is down? Does anyone think that a package from aplace like that might be flagged by customs? I am also curious about the new Matrix mod chip which somehow doesn't require any soddering. This will be released shortly, so hopefully there will be some reviews posted in the future.

11-06-02, 04:20 PM	#20
cultshock DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: ~here there be serpents~ Posts: 7,173	Making a new Xbox region 2? Hi everyone, I think I read somewhere in this forum that a brand new Xbox is not set for any region until you install a DVD kit for it. I'm thinking of picking one up and want to make it region 2 (I wouldn't need another player for region 1 discs anyway, and I heard that it does great PAL/NTSC conversion). Where could I get a region 2 kit, and would I still be able to play US games on it? (video games aren't region coded, are they?) Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Chris

11-06-02, 06:27 PM	#21
hellboyy Guest Posts: n/a	Just get a japanese dvd playback kit from therage.com. It will flash your xbox to become--permanently, so far--an R2 player. Don't worry about your R1 games; it will still play perfectly fine. I got my xbox about a week ago for the prime reason of having an R2 player (having it to play games was a bonus for me). I only have a Sony 4:3 TV but anamorphic playback of R2 discs has been excellent with no stretching or anomalies. I am just a bit disappointed though in playback quality. I mean, I have two R2 discs--Cross of iron and Drive; everytime the scene involves panning the movement of the whole scene is not smooth but jerky. Is this an effect of the PAL speed-up? I have no clue. So I tried my Criterion copy of Insomnia--R0 NTSC--and playback was smooth even on panning scenes. So I suppose the jerky playback is only inherent on R2 PAL dvd's. If anybody can shed more light on this, then it would be most helpful.

11-06-02, 08:03 PM	#22
cultshock DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: ~here there be serpents~ Posts: 7,173	Thanks for the info Hellboyy! I missed that original thread. I'll try picking up the Japanese DVD kit. In answer to your question, I've heard that PAL can cause jerkiness in scenes involving pans (probably because of the speed up). I'm no expert on the subject, but I read that somewhere.

11-06-02, 08:55 PM	#23
hellboyy Guest Posts: n/a	Glad to be of help, cultshock. I was planning to buy one of those JVC or Malata all-region player as an "upgrade" from the xbox but if the panning anomaly is inherent in PAL discs then I do not see the point in having another R2 dvd player. The image output from the xbox looks good to me (assuming of course that the disc is perfectly mastered in the first place).

11-07-02, 07:13 PM	#24
Prancetron2000 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Colorado Posts: 290	As soon as some sort of Region-free CD like a gameshark or a Region-X comes out for the X-Box I'll be a very happy man. I don't want to get my system modded.

11-07-02, 07:22 PM	#25
neiname DVD Talk Ultimate Edition Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: MA Posts: 4,661	Just so you know I was successful in using a region 4 dvd kit on my XBOX and it has worked flawlessly __________________ neiname