boies00

I currently have a Pioneer DVD-414 Region Free player bought a few years ago. I have been very happy with it, but for some months now it has become less reliable, especially with dual layer discs.

I have now to buy a new region free player to use as my main setup (I already have a cheap Lasonic as alternate). I don't want to spend unnecessary money on features I don't need, and since I am not as familiar as many people in this forum with the current ranges of players, I would appreciate some help.

I have a Multistandard TV that will allow me to input directly PAL or NTSC signal, and I don't plan to upgrade to HDTV anytime soon. My TV unfortunately has only RCA and S-Video connectors, so I have to live with that.

I need a player able to do Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS (no need for a built-in decoder) with an optical output. It would be helpful if it could also play other formats such as VCD, MP3 and DVD+R but not essential.

I am buying DVD from both The United Kingdom and France, and I recall to have read that some players (Malata?) have problem with the audio setup of many French discs.

I have also been told that Sony players are more reliable than others, and I am thinking of buying a Sony NS715P.

Anybody has any comments regarding this particular player, or suggestions for other reliable or cheaper models?

Dominique

fnordboy

I personally have a JVC XV-SA602 and am very happy with it. Though it might have more than you need since you have a multi-system tv. There are a few other JVC models, but I cant really comment on them since I have no experience with them.

I do know that if/when my player goes I am going for another JVC, I have been very happy with it.

renaldow

There are a lot of discussions in this forum about various region free players. I'd suggest reading them and then posting any questions you might have about certain models. There's enough info here already to help make a buying decision.

jkester

JVC XVFA902 is awesome

boies00

I have gone through several months of posts about many models, but since most people are concerned about their player doing transparent PAL to NTSC conversions, it automatically avoid players like SONY and PIONEER (among others) that don't have built in converters.

My current Pioneer now detects problems on 5%-10% of the DVD it reads. I know I can go with a Malata or the newly released Philips 963SA - they seem very nice machines. But I don't want to sacrify basic reliability for good features I may not need.


As for the JVC, one of my friend has one (I don't remember the model) and he said he experienced problem about static menus not showing properly on a number of titles (mostly Japanese animation).

Tarantino

Anyone know where I can get a decent MRPlayer for cheap?

Thanks...

spfanatic

Try www.hkflix.com , they have a good selection at affordable prices. Or you can get a cheap player like the apex, cyberhome, etc. and end up paying less than $100. All you have to do to the cheap players is press a code to make it all-region. But the problem with cheap players is that they are made with inferior quality and can end up falling apart with less than a yr of use. Im sure other owners have had better luck. But all in all, I recommend you visit HKFlix.

Fandango

Toshiba SD-3900 is $100 at Best Buy, can be made region free with remote and does PAL->NTSC conversion.

MrBob

Well I've had my Apex ad3201 for over a year now, and used it as my secondary player, where if performed it's job well. Over the last several months I've been taking it to work with me and despite sitting in my car in 90+ weather, stuffed in a gym bag, and despite being bumped ocassionally, it has held up very well. (Forgive the runon sentence).

Tarantino

Awesome, thanks - that's the one.

Are you sure it can be made region free?

Fandango

Yes, I have one myself, there is a huge thread about it in this forum, you should check it out. Some people have problems with some R2 PAL discs however.

jrsl76

I have been checking on this page from time to time over the last 6 months. I am thinking of getting an all region player, but thought I would ask and see what others thought. I have read many of the threads about player types, but still don't know if any player does everything I am looking for. First off though, I only have a 27" 4:3 television which is interlaced. I am trying to get a machine that I can keep for awhile, including when I hope to upgrade to a widescreen HDTV. I am looking to pay no more than around $250 for the player. Anyway, here's what I am looking for in a player:

Plays all discs - all regions
Plays RCE discs (What is RCE? I am not sure, but assume that I would want my player to play these.)
Pal>NTSC out of box
Excellent Picture quality
Will play Pal anamorphic
X,Y scaling
One time region hack (if not hardware based all region) - Basically, I don't want to have to re-hack for each disc, but it is better if I do it once and it plays that way until I change it.
Macrovision blocker (if possible - a hack or anything)

That's all I can think of, though please mention anything that is a feature I would probably want that I might have missed. Thanks for your help.

spongebobkay

I recently bought a JVC XV-N50BK from HKFLIX.com for $199.00 & I could not be happier! It has played every disc without a problem & the buying experience at HKFLIX was great. Go to their web site & check out the spec.'s. It plays everything right out of the box. No hacking what so ever.

Laser Movies

One that I am thinking of getting is a Liteon LVD 2001. Sounds like it would do everything you wanted and more. However with your current television you might not be able to take advantage of its ability to scale to 1080i through component video cables. Here is an interesting thread about the player located at HomeTheaterForum. Also here is some more information about the player located here.

stingo

Out of curiosity, if you have either Mallrats and/or Phenomenon, I'd be interested to hear what your experience is in playing them. The JVC 602 (also purchased from hkflix) seems to have some problems with the multiple angle features on the Mallrats disc, and does not turn off the subtitles (when Portuguese is spoken) once they are used on Phenomenon.

Other than these minor glitches, the 602's an excellent player.

dvdjoy

The LiteOn LVD-2001's 1080i upscaling is terrific if you have a HDTV. It also scales the picture like the Malata & JVC players--not incremental, but in acceptable steps. For example, you can scale a 2.35:1 anamorphic DVD to fill a 16x9 TV.

Hendrik

"...For example, you can scale a 2.35:1 anamorphic DVD to fill a 16x9 TV."

...thereby either cropping it down from 2.35:1 to 1.78:1, or effectively distorting the image...

...sigh...

. . . . . .

CloudVader

I've got the LiteON myself, and it's a great little machine, especially at 1080i. But is the "acceptable steps" scaling you're referring to just the Zoom button on the remote? If so, I wouldn't say it scales like a Malata at all, unless there's some trick I haven't figured out yet. If there is a way to get the player to scale without zooming, I'd love to know it since I can't watch non-anamorphic discs without losing some information (especially annoying for non-anamorphic discs with subtitles).

The instruction manual's a piece of junk on this thing, so I'm learning new info about it all the time.

And in case anyone asks about the anamorphic PAL conversion, my R2 copy of Four Rooms looks absolutely perfect, but it's the only PAL disc I've tested on thus far.

mrwilson

Go to Target and get the Philips 727. You can make it region free and even select individual regions with the remote. It will also correctly transcode PAL to NTSC. Not bad for $79! They also have a good return policy if you don't like it.

stingo

As a side note the 727 does not have any way of disabling the multiple angle icon when the feature is present. Don't know if that would mean anything to you but it would to me.

Furious

The Liteon outputs quite a soft picture at 480p (comparing 480p to 480p of other players, not it's 1080i to it's 480p) so bear that in mind if you are not scaling to 1080i. A new model from Liteon is on the horizon, perhaps the 480p performance will be improved. A handy player worth looking at with the extra features, and with some good support in the form of firmware updates from Liteon.

typecase

I'm very happy with my Philips 727!

syphon00

hmm when I compared the image to the ouput on my JVD XV502S
the picture quality is the same

the problem is with 1080i,
for some reason when I select 1080i
the ouput suddenly has a yellowish hue over the entire picture
actually the same happens when I played xbox matrix on 1080i
what kind of component cables are u guys using?

shill66

I need to buy a new DVD player, and have a few requirements.

Most of the requirements are pretty common:
•Must be region-free
•Must do PAL to NTSC conversion
•Must be able to play DVD-R, and preferably also DVD-RW

But this requirement is my stumbling block:
•Must be able to buy from ecost.com

Now...they carry many JVC models, including the XVS600, XVS602, XVN33, XVN44, XVN55. From what I can find, the XVN44 is a great player and meets my requirements. BUT... does the unit do everything out of the box, or does it require a hardware mod to do all those things?

Any guidance would be very much appreciated!

spongebobkay

The dvd players at ecost.com would require a hardware modification. Go to hkflix.com and compare the same models. If you must buy at ecost.com, you will need to do some other type of "hack" in order to play other region codes. But this "hack" will not convert to "pal". I bought a JVC XV-N50BK @ hkflix.com & am VERY satisfied with it. It plays everything I have tried in it with no problems. It fits all your requirements except for place of purchase & probably price.