hellboyy

The 727 has optical out and coax.

Glad you liked it, Jim. What a find, huh? Now I'm just waiting for someone to verify that the DVD963SA can do PAL to NTSC OOB. That is next on my quest.

----------------
Noel
My Collection

DVDude!

Thanks for the update jblackie. Just to make absolutely sure: the 727 (unlike the 724 mentioned by fnordboy above--thanks!) will handle anamorphic PAL discs correctly? Can you verify? Thanks!

hellboyy

I tested the 727 on a Sony 27" 4x3 and anamorphic discs were letterboxed correctly. Have you ordered one yet, DVDude? Or are you still sitting on the fence?

Franchot

Another affirmative on the anamorphic DVDs. I played "Dazed & Confused" from England (Region 2) which according to the back is 16x9 letterboxed and it played with no problems.

Arthas76

is the 727 available at amazon the region free one still (i ask cuz this thread is so old)? if so what is the remote hack for it?

DVDude!

Thanks for the confirmation. (I have a 27" 4:3 set too.) I've decided on the 727 due to everyone's advice in this thread. It's been a big help. I was just waiting on confirmation from a couple of people about the anamorphic PAL discs. Now I have it and I'm set. Now it's up to my girlfriend to order it for me for my b-day (September 26). I'll "remind" her tomorrow.

Thank you, thank you, once again. That was the deciding factor. Much appreciated.

Yes. It's the one we're talking about and the one I'll hopefully be getting very soon. The remote hack is as follows (paraphrased from a couple of posts in a thread at HTF):

Thanks again, folks!

jblackie

Perfectly. It is even nicer than the 3900. If only the remote were better... Oh well. Go buy one!

leemik

Does anyone know if the 727 can zoom non-anamorphic material properly on a 16:9 TV?

--mike

hellboyy

The 727 has a zoom button to make the image two, three or four times larger. I have not tested this since virtually all of my DVD's are anamorphic and my Sony set has a zoom feature (which I choose to use instead).

According to the manual, zooming will not work on PAL DVD's.

Andy_G

No, the 727 is pretty much useless for zooming anything.

tashayar

Those of you in this thread have pretty much sold me on the 727. So now that I am ready to place an order, anyone care to "share the love" as it was put?

Thanks!

Arthas76

STL doesnt work for dvd players i think...

"Only products from Amazon.com through our book, music, video, and dvd stores are currently eligible for the Share the Love program"

DVDude!

Oh well. I suck. Sorry about that. I guess in my frenzied state about the 727 I didn't think to check the fine print. Sorry.

tashayar

Thanks for the reply. Figured I would ask anyway.

According to Amazon, Office Depot has it, and there are always coupons for office depot floating around. However, when I went to OD's site I didn't see it listed there. This might help someone who might have it in their local store.

Thanks again for all the insight!

movielib

Here are some Office Depot coupons:

http://www.thatscheap.com/office_depot_coupons.html

DVDude!

Well, my birthday isn't until next week (September 26), but last night my girlfriend surprised me with the Philips 727 sitting on our bed.

However, I immediately wondered why the Target sticker was torn (it explicitly states to check contents if the sticker is broken). She said that the Target guy said that someone had opened the box in the store and security had to check it and then reseal it. Okay, sounded good. So she bought it.

I opened it up and discovered that everything had been opened. The batteries were loose in the box. The twist-ties on the cords had been removed and put back. The manual had obviously been read. There was even a scuff on the front of the player. It was pretty apparent that this was a return.

Normally, I guess I wouldn't have minded--IF they had given her money off because it was an open box. In fact, she asked them to open it in the store, but they said that it was fine. It was the last one in stock, so she took a chance.

Well, it's going back to Target today and she's going to try to find another Target in the area that has one. (She wanted to get it locally instead of at Amazon.com in case it needs to be returned due to a defect.) Worst case scenario: I'll get it after my b-day 'cause it'll ship from Amazon.

duofold

Just picked up the Philips 727 at Target for $80 (wife's employee discount) this past weekend. Am very happy with it overall with a few minor nitpicks - don't care for the red light on the front panel that constantly glows. Also, something really bizarre - there are no remote codes to control the Philips for my Sony remote on my 24" Vega (bizarre considering that Sony & Philips codeveloped the dvd).

Outside of those minor issues, the PQ is outstanding (seems on par with the SD3900). And while I never had issue with inputting the remote hack each time I played a non-R1 disc, it is very nice not to have to do this anymore with the Philips. Each of my non-R1 discs (all European R2 + PAL) play like their native. While all played on my SD3900, not only did I have to enter in the remote hack, I usually had to go through a myriad of hacks to get a couple of problem discs to play.

I big plus the Philips has over the SD3900 is that the 727 shows time remaining for films. All you need to do is hit 'Display', scroll down until you find 'Time Disp.' and change the setting to 'Title Remain'. It will now show the time remaining from then on.

So I'm very happy to have switched to the 727, even though I thought I preferred the quality of the Toshiba. But when I was at Target, I was given pause when I saw that Toshiba now released the SD-3950. Plus, the SD3950 lists for $79.99. So anyone who wants to take a risk (virtually none) can try to see if the 3950 corrects some of the 3900 problems.

jblackie

THANKS FOR THE TIME REMAINING DISPLAY TIP, duofold.

Now how can you use the resume feature it touts? I can't figger out how/if it works! Any ideas?

grunter

Ok - this thread postively sent chills down my spine as I read it.

Get this: My birthday's the 25th. I will be 34 tomorrow and gee - guess what I was contemplating purchasing for my birthday?

A Toshiba 3900 - purely for the region-free capabilities.

But now that I've read through this thread, I'm considering the Phillips 727 player.

Does anyone know how this player handled the "Lord of the Rings: Two Towers" Ch. 51 bug? Does it play through that spot with no problems?

Thanks, much.

duofold

grunter,

played through ch. 51 twice last night to see if I could reproduce any problems...played absolutely fine.

Also, from what I've read about where the layer change is supposed to be, it was completely transparent on the 727 - no hiccup or noticeable at all. And with respect to a purported red flicker...none on the 727.

BTW...welcome to the 34 Club! Also remember that Target carries the 727 for $89.99 (price cut from $99.99...even BB carries the older 726 for $89.99). The Targets in the Twin Cities area seem to have been restocked with a fresh supply. So, if you're not entirely happy with the 727, you've got 3 months to return or exchange.

P.S. If you do ultimately choose the Toshiba over the Philips (I cannot think of any reason why...even though I really like the Tosh brand better), you might want to check out the updated SD3950, now sold at Target.

At the time I picked up the 727, I saw the new 3950 and was tempted. However, given its 'newness' (no info on its region-free capability on either DVDRHelp or Nerd-Out), you may not want to be the guinea pig.

typecase

I bought a Toshiba 3900 as a second DVD player for the multi region capabliities. I then read about the 727. I returned the 3900, paid about $12 more for the philips (at Targer for $89+tax -didn't want to wait for amazon) and spun my region four DVDs without a problem. The best thing about this player is that it does not require multiple hackings, one is all it takes to make it region free. It does anamorphic beautifully and is one heck of a sweet deal!

mrwilson

I'm really starting to love this player.

The interlaced output is significantly better than the JVCs. I noticed the box of the Philips mentions 3:2 pulldown. I couldn't find any info in the manual about this. I was curious if it was cadence reading or flag reading. The 2:3 motion test in DVE looks identical to my RP91. I tried to find some improperly flagged dvds to play on the 727. I want to see if it combs as this would suggest its a flag reader. The only one that came to mind was the R2 NTSC Tartan version of Battle Royale. Not combing at all. I'd like to test this more. Can anyone suggest other improperly flagged dics or other tests from discs. I've got all the DVE and Avia discs.

ashegam

Incase some were wondering.... the philips 727 doesn't play DVD-R/-RW but does play DVD+R/+RW.

Edit: I was trying to be helpful and found this on another review. I guess it's wrong and the palyer plays this type too.

omi

Thats weird, I tried a Maxell DVD-RW and it played ok on my Philips 727.

mrwilson

It does play DVD-R and DVD-RW. However, the -RW must have been recorded in Video mode and not VR mode.

What media are you using ashegam?