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Region free players

Old 12-30-01, 01:57 PM
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Region free players

Please help me find one. Type it in on search options on web sites and get nothing. Any assistance will be appreciated.
Old 12-30-01, 04:41 PM
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Best bet would be to get a cheap Apex, Sampo, or Daewoo model that is "hackable" to allow disabling the region code and/or macrovision. You should be able to find lots of info on that elsewhere.

I'm not sure what the moderators will allow in terms of discussing this type thing, so I'll hush.
Old 12-30-01, 05:07 PM
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try http://www.dvdcity.com
Old 12-30-01, 09:18 PM
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OK, so I won't hush...

Good example. The 'codefree' Daewoo 3000N is $329 at dvdcity, or $99 at Amazon (or was recently) and hunt around (easy to find) for the hack to disable region code. Again, best bet would be get a cheap Apex, Sampo, or Daewoo (for cheap) and hack it. Another popular hackable player is the $79 Apex 1500 at Circuit City.
Old 12-30-01, 09:21 PM
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The best code-free player I've used is the Malata N996. It will play any region's dvd. It also features progressive scan, MP3-CD playback, and karaoke (well, it is a feature). Best of all, it has built in NTSC/PAL conversion. You don't need a signal converter if you play discs meant for PAL playback, it automatically converts the signal to NTSC. And at $289.99 it's not bad for just the progressive scan, let alone the other features.

http://www.avdeals.com/malatan996.htm
Old 12-30-01, 11:45 PM
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apex also has the 3210 that can be hacked and has the pal-ntsc converter.Kmart has it for $99.
Old 01-08-02, 09:14 AM
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I just bought an Apex AD1500 from Circuit City for $79 (last one they had).

I created a 'special' cd-r to uh, 'test' it with.

And doggone it, all I got was some writing on my screen, the disk ejected, and I had to power it down! Just like I read about here!

But boy, this thing has all the 'features', and makes a great second player. Highly recommended.
Old 01-08-02, 12:03 PM
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Originally posted by norman l
apex also has the 3210 that can be hacked and has the pal-ntsc converter.Kmart has it for $99.
This is probably the best deal out there. No Firmware upgrades to do or anything, just a simple code. Apex does great PAL/NTSC conversion, I'm sure it's equal to the Malata.

There's no sense in spending over $200 for a region free player when you can purchase a comparative player for $99 and disable Macrovision, Regions and RCE with 4 key strokes.
Old 01-08-02, 01:09 PM
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What is the code to disable Regions on the 3210? Thanks
Old 01-08-02, 01:43 PM
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Originally posted by biggen
What is the code to disable Regions on the 3210? Thanks
Everything you need to know is found here:

http://www.dvd-wizards.com/darrenk/
Old 01-08-02, 02:23 PM
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Thanks! Now i'm going to see if my local Walmart or Kmart still has these. I know walmart.com does.
Old 01-08-02, 02:43 PM
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Note that it's actually Apex model 3201.
Old 01-09-02, 06:50 PM
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Anyone have any opinion on the video quality of the Apex 3201? That seems like a friggin' region-free DVD player wet dream come to life if it plays worth a darn.
Old 01-10-02, 05:47 AM
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how to hack these players?

When you say there's a hack for these players, do you mean a hardware alteration, or just entering some kind of secret code to disable the region coding? There's so much european stuff I'd like to get on DVD that isn't available in the US!
Old 01-10-02, 07:50 AM
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Go back and click on the link that Renaldow provided. It a simple enter the number "hack" for the Apex 3201 player.
Old 01-10-02, 10:22 AM
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Originally posted by Patman
Anyone have any opinion on the video quality of the Apex 3201? That seems like a friggin' region-free DVD player wet dream come to life if it plays worth a darn.
I've not seen the 3201 in action, but despite the bad rep Apex got with their 1st releases of Chinese players they're a lot better now. Most of the regionless players you'll find are Chinese as well, so comparatively I would think the 3201 would be pretty good. If not, you at least would have a player for the imported stuff and could play the R1 discs on your 'better' player.
Old 01-10-02, 12:51 PM
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Originally posted by renaldow


I've not seen the 3201 in action, but despite the bad rep Apex got with their 1st releases of Chinese players they're a lot better now. Most of the regionless players you'll find are Chinese as well, so comparatively I would think the 3201 would be pretty good. If not, you at least would have a player for the imported stuff and could play the R1 discs on your 'better' player.
Well, my "better" player is the Panasonic RP91, and my backup player is my Pioneer DVL-909 combo player. I'm wondering if I'll be able to stomach the video from an Apex player now. Heh.
Old 01-10-02, 03:49 PM
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As good a forum as any to read about others' experiences with Apex (and other) 'hackable' players is here.

It appears that people who own both the 3201 and the 1500 say the 1500 is a little better. But it's kind of like reading reviews at audioreview...you have to read between the lines to get a feel for a product due to the nature of the forum.

Mine is connected through a vcr (and ultimately via RF, at that) to a 27" set in our bedroom, so understand why I'm not going to bother with trying to extol its video quality. It does exactly what I bought it for , and looks very good--proportionately better than vhs on the same tv.

Point is, I don't think it will kill anyone to watch dvds on this player...
Old 01-10-02, 05:31 PM
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Originally posted by Patman
Well, my "better" player is the Panasonic RP91, and my backup player is my Pioneer DVL-909 combo player. I'm wondering if I'll be able to stomach the video from an Apex player now. Heh.
I'd be surprised if you saw much of a difference assuming you used the same cabling.
Old 01-11-02, 08:34 AM
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Anyone know when the Apex 3201 will be on sale again for the $100 price? I noticed that they retail for around $120 (checked the local K-Mart yesterday).
Old 01-11-02, 09:18 AM
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Originally posted by Patman
Well, my "better" player is the Panasonic RP91, and my backup player is my Pioneer DVL-909 combo player. I'm wondering if I'll be able to stomach the video from an Apex player now. Heh.
Only in very small doses. This is definitely a case of "you get what you pay for". Picture quality on the Apex leaves a great deal to be desired when compared with most brand-name players(including those you listed).
Old 01-13-02, 08:23 AM
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Anyone know if the Apex 1500 does the Pal to NTSC conversion like the Apex 3201 does?

thanks
Old 01-13-02, 01:47 PM
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Originally posted by flashburn
Anyone know if the Apex 1500 does the Pal to NTSC conversion like the Apex 3201 does?

thanks
Supposedly all Apex's do the conversion. Some do it better than others and none convert anamorphic dvd's very well. An anamorphic PAL DVD will usually be squeezed to fill the whole screen, just as if you had the player set to play on a 16:9 TV. On a non-anamorphic PAL it will play as normal.
Old 01-13-02, 02:50 PM
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From my AD1500 manual: "Connect this dvd player to a tv compatible ith the NTSC or PAL/3.58 system. APEX DIGITAL players will play VCD format discs. Most VCD's are PAL. VCD's are not region specific (no code) and APEX DIGITAL players can play them because of the PAL compatibility feature."

I don't own any PAL discs. It's my understanding, though, that the 1500 does whatever PAL conversion is required.
Old 02-03-02, 12:28 AM
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JUST GOT AN APEX 3201!!!!!!!

I just got my apex 3201 from walmart.com, set it up, and punched in the hack code.... and BINGO!!!! NO REGION CODES!!!!! I promptly popped in my Region 2 "This Life" DVD and voila -- it works! Then I popped in my Australian Region 6 DVD of "The SEcret Life of Us" and BOOM -- it worked!!

God, I love technology....

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