Region-Free DVD player
 

Just wanting to know what is the best etailer to buy a region-free DVD player from? I've searched google and havn't found anyone I've 'fallen' for enough to buy from.

PM me or post some trust-worthy links and perhaps some recommended players.

Looking to spend $200-$400. Has to have DTS out. Capable of NTSC/PAL w/ out having to buy an extra converter. Most everything else is standard these days.

What kind of TV do you have and are you looking for HDMI or DVI?

Your search begins and ends with the Oppo Digital. You can thank me later.

I have a 65" Mitsubishi (not HD), but am in the midst of building a theatre in my basement which will have a HD-ready projector.

What is HDMI? I am assuming my TV is just DVI.

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Josh, any links to buy an Oppo? Why u think they are so good?

I was considering the Yamaha w/ built-in converter for PAL discs. Yamaha DVD-SL100S-R
here ---> http://www.world-import.com/yamaha-dvdsl100.htm

Opinions?

If he's got DVI or HDMI thats what I was going to say. Using component though, the player is nothing special PQ-wise.

That's because it doesn't do 480 progressive at all through the component output. Only upconversion via the digital out. But the latest firmware is supposed to make this the absolute best upconverting buy ever. If it wasn't for high-rez audio, I'd probably sell my Denon and get this. Take my wife to dinner with the difference.

Another vote for the Oppo. Mine arrived last week and is hooked up through DVI. Best picture I have come across. My Denon is making its way to e-Bay as we speak to pay for the Oppo's cost.

Check it out at oppodigital.com. Also check out the avsforum thread about it. It's 100+ pages now.

I think I said the same thing the last time you made this comment, but if your price range is that high, then you should be looking at a player with advanced outputs like DVI and HDMI.

I agree, as long as you're planning on buying a new HDTV in the next couple of months. Beyond that, I think it would be better to see what's new at the time. DVD players change so quickly, you never know if something a lot better is going to be on the market 5 months from now.

I would also hate for someone to spend the money on the Oppo (granted, $200 isn't that much, but when you consider many people are happy with $80 players...) only to find the PQ over component or Svideo isn't all that great. Personally, I love the Oppo and am glad I bought it back when it was brand new and everyone was saying what a crappy player it was (without ever having seen it.)

My relatively old Samsung CRT HDTV has DVI, and I've noticed that many others did as well. It's funny how bad the component and svideo is on the Oppo, almost like they just included it because they had to.

I read recently on AVS that some companies are going to be releasing the new breed of upscalers with ONLY HDMI outputs. That should be interesting.

It wouldn't surprise me to see players coming out with just a HDMI output. The other connections really do seem to be just an after thought on the Oppo. I mean, heck, component doesn't even do 480p!

I don't plan on buying a HDTV anytime soon. I have a 65" Mitsubishi, which does NOT have these ports you are all talking about.

If I bought this Oppo, I couldn't take advantage of it, right?

I can understand buying this now, for when I get an HDTV, but for $200, I can easily buy it then (when I do get an HDTV).

I am currently planning on making a theatre in my basement, which will have a HD-capable projector. I am assuming it would be wise to hook the DVD player up w/ HDMI or DVI to the projector, in which case an Oppo (or similar DVD player) does well.

This could be true, but in the DVDp world newer is not always better. The latest Denon's and this Oppo are the only ones to surpass the 3-4 year old Pannys at Secrets de-interlacing tests, for instance. In fact, Panny's own models are far worse since that golden group of the RP-82 and brethren. This Oppo is apparently so good, with pretty good customer service for firmware upgrades, it may be the one we've been waiting for. If using digital input, of course.

I would NOT purchase the Oppo in your case. I would look for a player that performed well over component (which I assume you have). You can only display a 480i image, which lucky you, is the native resolution of the DVD itself.

Yes, I'm sure you'll do BETTER when you are ready. The AVS thread keeps hinting at major revision in the next-gen Oppo player, which seems to be aimed at a late-summer, early-fall release (such as SACD support, passing progressive over CV, some DCDI issues, etc.). The price will be the same (unless it has multi-disc support).

I would really review the Oppo thread at AVS, as it seems there are some HDCP handshake issues that people are having with the Oppo and PJs (even though the Oppo is not HDCP), and some other issues with the Oppo and PJs in general. If X was reading this, he'd agree with me that you should consider using your computer as a media station for DVD playing, especially since you can adjust the scaling for the best possible image over a PJ (sorry for speaking for you X if you disagree).

I’m planning on possibly buying the OPDV971H because, thus far, it seems like the best DVD player I’ve read about when it comes to playing Region 2 DVDs (the new series of Doctor Who, as well as older shows like Spaced, Casanova, Blake’s Seven, etc. play heavy on my decision to buy a region-free player.)

I’ve read that the PAL to NTSC conversion is pretty excellent.

However, I’m concerned that I’ve only got a standard televison set, which hooks up through the use of an RF switch, coax cable and your standard red/white/yellow audio and video cables. It’s just a plain little Sanyo TV set.

Does the fact that I do not have a setup that utilizes the DVI output hinder how good DVDs would look on my TV from this player?

What I mean is, will DVDs look as good on this player as they would on most other DVD players, or would I have to worry about subpar picture compared to using coax or red/white/yellow audio and video cables on other DVD players?

I'm at the end of my rope trying to find a nice, solid DVD player to play PAL DVDs on an NTSC television set, and with the new WHO fast approching DVD release, I need a player. I've heard nothing but good things about to Oppo, but I dunno . . .

Unless you plan on upgrading to an HDTV sometime soon, the Oppo is probably not worth the extra cash. It is really only great with the DVI. There are lots of players under $100. Have you checked out the International forum here? There are links to stores that generally sell nothing but region free players. JVC, Malata, Philips, etc.

Well, I’m not planning on updating to HDTV as much as I’d like to, but the thing is, most of the under $100.00 DVD players aren’t so great at converting PAL to NTSC. One in particular that people seem to be raving over is the Phillips 642.

The problem with that model is that it only has a 2mb video converter, and so PAL DVDs tend to look a bit blurry on it. As well, they might not play RCE protected discs.

I’ve read of some Pioneer models that are around $120.00 that have a 12mb video converter, but I don’t know what the best one to go after is. I want a player with a higher-end video converter than the Phillips, that’s for sure.

Could you possibly link me to a thread in the International section about region-free DVD players?

I've found that most of the cheap players make PAL and NTSC look about the same. Which isn't great, but the conversion is just fine. In fact, the only truly bad conversion I've seen is on my Denon with an MSRP of $1000.

I'm ready to pull the trigger on purchasing a region free (or multi-region) player. I'll only be connecting using optical. I really don't require it to do more than play DVD's from other regions and be able to utilize DTS through my Onkyo SR602. I don't have an HDTV yet and probably won't for another year or so as I'm waiting to see how low the prices will go.
The region free player will not be my main player - it will only be used for other region DVD's.
So far I'm looking at the Phillips DVP642, Yamaha S5750 & The Oppo.
I'm leaning towards the Phillips, but I hear a lot of bad as well as good news about it - It seems to be hit or miss as to whether you get one with issues.
Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions??
I'm mainly looking for input from people that own these models as I've already been all over the AVS forums looking at these.

I looked all over the Oppo site and did'nt see where the player was code/region- free? can someone direct me to where that's shown?

Not sure. Do you trust Secrets?

I don't believe it says it's region free on the Oppo website. I believe it is in violation of DVD licensing for the manufacture to advertise their product as being region free. It is region free though. I think one of the firmware upgrades turned off region free capability, but Oppo provided the hack for it:


TO MAKE REGION FREE:

The latest shipment of units are not region free. To change to region free mode do this:

• Press Setup on remote control to access the setup page
• Enter 9210 on the remote
• A secret menu will pop up
• Select 0 to 6 in region code (0 is region free)
• Press Setup on remote again to exit

Thanks <B>Renaldow</b>!