hanshotfirst1138

And so, as my trusty Sanyo DVD/VCR combo finally starts to die on my, and the remote is totally on the fritz, I must select a new player. Eclectic cinephile that I am, I of course want a region-free player to play those various discs that I otherwise could not. It's a birthday gift from a very kind relative, and I really need to get down to things and start looking so that he can purchase one for me. I am aware of region-hacking, though only vaguely. I'm looking for something in the $100 or so price range, it's me limit . I'd like, naturally, something reasonable good for the price, that'll play whatever I put in, and that will give me decent reproduction. I'm sadly a novice in much of this, and wish to entreat some help and suggestions. Anyone who is willing to offer something, I would much appreciate it. Thank you.

Chris-K

If up-conversion doesn't matter to you, I can recommend the Philips DVP-3140, which has served me faithfully for several years now and has never chosen not to play a disc. It usually sells for around $40. The hack code is easily found on-line.

If you want up-conversion, a friend of mine has the DVP-5960 which can also be made all-region. Looks like this one retails for $80.

Lastdaysofrain

What about the Philips DVP5982? It has a digital coax audio out, which the DVP -3140 doesn't seem to have.

hanshotfirst1138

Philips seem to be well know for this sort of thing, judging by what I've been reading.
Yes, people have recommended those Oppo machines to me on a number of occasions. Unfortunately, they're currently way beyond my price range . I'm basically looking for a starter machine; I've got a pretty cheap T.V. wired with a coaxial cable. Ideally, of course, I would love a badass home theater system, but it's definately not going to be something that I will be able to acquire in the near future as a college student on a 9-5 salary, especially with the economy currently in the toilet. This is basically just a first step so that I can get to better things. Assuming that they ever come . Though technology progresses so ridiculously fast now, there may well some sort of curve ball in the not to distant future anyway. I'm also wondering if there is any way that I can get my PC region free. I believe that there is hardware/software that you can purchase to do the job. I could be mistaken, however. Tokyo Monsters used to have a great section about it, but unfortunately it was taken down when the site went down. Currently, I'm actually looking for a way to have a sort of "studio" where I can talk the out-of-sync mono tracks on certain HK DVDs and dump all of the superfluous extra tracks and resync the mono with the picture/downloaded subtitles/audio from another DVD, etc.

mythmaker18

Don't fret about anything, it sounds like any of the current Philips machines will be exactly what you need. I think they all have HDMI video outputs now (as well as component and composite), so you should be fine whether you have an SD or HD set.

I also believe all the currently-shipping models do HD upscaling, too (fine future-proofing investment even if you're not HD ready).

The 3000-series machines are the cheapest ones. I saw a 3960 in one of the big-box discount stores the other day for less than $40.00. You could even get a factory-reconditioned one direct from Philips if you'd like to save even more money (outlet.philips.com). That very same player is available there for $29.99 with free shipping.

As for region free: all you have to do is visit sites like "VideoHelp" and you can quite easily find the code to unlock the region, which is usually a five-digit sequence on the remote control, and only have to apply it once. Easy!

Tutut

5960 and 5980 models, and many players that use the Mediatek 1389 chipset, have better support for "unofficial" firmwares (to use at your own risk) that fix bugs or give some other functions.

For example:
Long filename support
Change subtitle's position on the fly (8 position)
Load Org. then all in menu: (max 10 subtitle)
1: Original Then All
2: All Subtitles
3: Original Subtitle

Wordwrap + reformat
Fixed MP3 Bitrate Bug "kbps"
Jpeg preview and Mp3 Tags has moved to the bottom of the filebrowser
Jpeg preview resolution text has disabled
New filebrowser and setup menu fonts ,with outline
Scrollbar activated
up and down arrows has disabled

hanshotfirst1138

My old one finally died , so I've got to go shopping ASAP. Anyone else who wants to chime in, go ahead .

NoirFan

I have the Phillips DP5982. It won't play WMV files, and the loading trey is extremely flimsy, but other than that I have no complaints. The UBS port is very handy to have. Cost me 50 bucks from Best Buy during their Black Friday sale last year. Congrats on going region free - for a true film buff it's the only way to live. The only drawback is the lousy pound to dollar conversion, but Amazon.co.uk is always having sales, and most of the dvds I've purchased were 50% off or more.

CritterYawn

A refurb 5982 cost $40 at Philips Outlet
It can easily be made region-free

dleedlee

Philips' latest is the 5990/5992, around $40-$50 sale priced at Best Buy, Walmart, Costco. Also with USB port.

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=531769

TheDoug

I guess you could go the "hacking" route if you want to, but I've had the RJ TECH 4200 Karaoke player which is already region free and plays both PAL and NTSC format DVDs. Here's a link to Yahoo Shopping that gives you all the pricing details. Right now on Ebay they have some listed at $69.99 with $15.00 shipping. As you'll see, there are many outlets carrying this player at various prices. Link to: http://shopping.yahoo.com/search;_yl...200&sem=google

http://www.sumakaya.com/product.asp?sku=HPD000009 has this as well and they ship it for free!!! (I bought this product five years ago and mine is still working without any issues) Of course one doesn't have to use the Karaoke machine (I don't) but its originally was created for this use as well.

hanshotfirst1138

Everyone keeps telling me that. I just hope that it's as easy (and effective) as I keep hearing.

SD. Won't be going HD for a while.

Quite so. I'll need it with the changeover coming.

+

Checking now. Today I'll probably place my order, then lock myself in my room and pray that what I but does what I want .

Like I said, so I'm told .