renaldow

I think the HKFlix website is the only place that says that. Also, people on AVS forum have experimented with it and had no problems playing dual layered.

brainee

It just came in the mail -- yay! I guess I got my order in right before the rush. Now I just have to hope that the DVI input on my HDTV is working (my HD cable box only had a functioning component output, so I never had the opportunity to test the DVI).

landsmarra

Anyone know why on my LGDVB418 480i (which shows letterboxed) would look better to me thru component than 480p (which shows full-screen)? Also, 720p shows a scrambled picture (normal I guess as it's probably unsupported) and 1080i (letterboxed of course) doesn't look special at all. I've tried it on many different commercial DVDs. I'm using a Sony 32" non-wide HD CRT TV.

If this might be a firmware issue, can the unit's firmware can be downgraded to allow upconverting through component. Would that be the firmware I found online for the LG7832/Zenith DVB318? I thought I'd ask rather than risk a dead player.


Thanks,
Steve

npk9

Where can we find this file to download?

Sifu

This is how I did it.

Go to - http://lgregionfree.tripod.com/2005/menu1.htm

Select the 6000 series and you will be able to download the files to your hard drive. Then burn the folder labled "RMT000" to a recordable CD (CDR).

Once that is done, take the CD and pop it in your DVD player and it will read it and you just follow the instructions (basically you enter "0" to tell it you want it region free).

After you have done that you have to turn off the DVD player to complete the process.

This worked perfectly for me. I think there are more detailed instructions (if needed) on the AVS forums in the LG DVB318 thread. It's a different model, but the same region hack works for both units.

npk9

Thank You Sooo Much!!!!!

Joe Molotov

I think my JVC DVD player that I've had for about 2 1/2 years is about to go out, and I'm looking to find a cheap replacement for it. I've been looking at two players that are under $100, one at HKFlix and the other at YesAsia.

http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.asp...n-all/did-685/

http://www.hkflix.com/hardware/xq/as...qx/details.htm

I was kinda leaning towards the Malata, since I've never really heard of GIEC, but the GIEC player has good reviews on the site, and I'd get the free shipping if I order at YesAsia. What do you guys think? Any opinions on these two players, or any alternate suggestions?

Jazz19

I got a Nintaus model that will allow you to skip all the begining fluff and go straight to the movie. The unit is Code-free out of the box, and is dual-voltage (110V-240V).

I got it at a specialty shop in Vancouver BC that deals with Multi-System TVs, VCRs, 110V-240V Voltage transformers etc etc. (Foreign Electronics, 111 West Broadway Ave. 604-879-1189 www.multi-system.com .)

I'm grateful for a London Drugs store for recommending this place as it helped with our move from the UK.

randall

I was in the market for a U.S. player that could be region-free and do PAL to NTSC conversion out of the box. While my 60" TV has DVI, that input is being used by my hi-def sat receiver. So I didn't need an upconverting player, and 480P over component was fine. What I recently selected and bought was a R1 Yamaha DVD-S5750. It has a 12-Bit video DAC and came in under $150.

I successfully applied the Yamaha remote region hack out there: Power up - Open tray - Press "On Screen" - Press 99990 (0 is for region free - you can change to whatever you want) - Press enter - It should then say Region:0 on the top left - Close tray - Play and enjoy. It now plays Region 2 PAL discs that will not play in my other players.

The S5750 hasn't been through the shootout yet, and as my first PAL to NTSC player, I don't have any point of comparison. But I'm quite satisfied with the PQ on my 60 incher.

Frankly I would look for a more upscale machine as a main player for a large screen digital TV. Indeed I'm lucky to have an all region but NTSC-only Panasonic RP82 as my major work horse, and I only need the Yamaha for PAL discs. But if you have a TV under 40" and only need 480P over component, the S5750 is quite a feature-laden package for the price.

SpikeRevell

www.world-import.com has suggest to me, though their Customer Service people, the following:

Pioneer DV-270-s
Pioneer DV-373-s
Yamaha DVD-S5750
Yamaha DVD-SL100S-R

Out of those, which DVD player should I consider getting? I want it to do a strong PAL to NTSC conversion (without ghosting, if possible) and be able to play discs that are RCE protected (and RAC, I think, or RCA - there's some other protection on it.)

Opinions?

Also, on the world-import site, the DVD players have been "modified", but the site offers a lifetime warrenty if the player breaks down. I'm not likely to get jipped ordering through them, am I?

randall

Hi SpikeRevell: Of the four you mention, I only considered the two Yamahas. Their specs are nearly identical except that:

1. The 5750 has a higher rated video digital-to-analog converter: 108MHz 12-Bit vs. 54MHz 12-bit. This would be consistent with some retailers advertising a 12MB converter for the 5750 and a 8MB converter for the SL100. Frankly I could never find independent/Yamaha verification of the latter figures, and don't understand the relationship between the MB and MHz/bit ratings.

2. The SL100 is an international model that handles both 110/220 voltage while the 5750 only does 110 as a U.S. model.

I'm not sure where you live, but as a U.S. resident, I was concerned whether I needed a "modified" player for region free and PAL capability -- especially since "modified" prices run higher than unmodified. This is where it became important to confirm that 5750 U.S. model did indeed have built-in two-way PAL-NTSC conversion (p.8 of the manual: http://www.yamahashoponline.com/product.asp?sku=2593190), and that the remote region hack worked. I'm not sure what else the retailers "modify," but I decided to save $50 with an off-the-shelf U.S. model from a U.S. retailer with a regular U.S. warranty. I'm by no means a flag waver, and I certainly have my issues with customer service as practiced in the U.S., but I didn't want to add extra retailer-specific or international hoops to jump through.

cverneau

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.

splattii

I've owned region free players for years now. I have 5-6 Malata's, a sampo, diamond, nova and even cyberhome.

I'm going to do some more research before I post a long thread, but I'm finding more and more dvd's will play on some region free, while others won't and it's NOT consistant. It's at the point where I have 3 all region players connected via a Switch Box so I can move between units.

I've also noticed more and more titles with the disclaimer "will not play on a region free dvd player" showing up on the market as of the last 1-2 months. It's put in fine print on the back of the DVD cover.

I actually run through 75 or so dvd's a week because of part time job testing on various machines etc... It might just be the number of discs I'm going through, but I *NEVER* had these problems at all before the last 1-2 months.

Has anyone else started notice this? I actually found one distributor who tried to tell me that some companies are authoring media now so it won't play on region free players? Is that even possible?

randall

In either case, a player that can change regions on the fly might rise in one's considerations. It wasn't an original consideration of mine, but I remember reading a post (here or AVS) from a Yamaha owner who would occassionally use the remote hack to go back to R1 for a pesky disc or two.

Steve

I would seriously consider the new Samsung HD950. only a few keystrokes to make multiregion, and state of the art picture and connectivity (component and HDMI)... Not cheap - about $250 USD, but have only been reading rave reviews on it...

circadian

I can't find the Yamaha S5750 on sale anywhere. They have a 5650 for sale - is it as good as the 5750? Does the region hack work?

Also, where can you find players that change regions on the fly?

ShagMan

other than some of the more advanced up-converting options (720p/1080i), what's keeping people from running to the local Walmart/Target and picking up whatever's cheap? I got a Daewoo 9200n, has optical out, remote hack is easy to do, and has been 100% solid for me... is it just the general lack of reliability or "cheapness" of the lower cost common players??

Spiky

They feel cheap to me. And all the ones I've tried have crappy PQ. For VCR, I did get a cheap one, because I didn't care.

Brent L

Do any of you guys know where I can get a region free player (using a hack of course), like at a WalMart or something? I can't seem to be able to find any except for the Cyberhome 300. I had one of those, and it worked great, but I want something that will not stretch my R2 DVDs now.

Mscott716

Brent,
If you just want to go to Walmart ,pick up the Phillips DVP642, in store it's only $58 and change. Easy one time hack, and your good to go. I have two of them and have had no problems, one of them owned for almost a year and a half.For me it's a no brainer, as I don't have HDTV..I could see if you did how you would want to get a better player, but since I don't , plus the fact my DVD collection is mostly classic titles from the 30's through 50's..I would see very little difference in quality.

Chris Camfield

Do any of the "home theatre in a box" systems have good DVD players which are region-unlockable and (if you happen to know...) capable of playing DivX/similar movie files?

I'd like to upgrade to 5.1 affordably, but I'd also like to have a player like the above.

GnX18

Hi Steve. Any idea on how to crack the code making this a region-free dvd player? Thanks!

Donnie Eldridge

You can use an Aiwa Universal remote to make the HD950 region free.

digitalfreaknyc

$190 through amazon.

does this handle dual-layer blanks well? how about PAL?

GnX18

Hi Donnie. How exactly can you do this? Please e-mail me the specifics. Thanks!