DVD questions
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i’m currently looking into buying a player, and am wondering exactly what to buy. i remember a similar topic cropping up on the Lexx forum, but i think it was tied into another subject and i can’t remember which one! so what i want to know is..
1) what’s all this about PAL/NTSC/multi-regional? i read the specs on different machines, and they all seem to say different things (suppliers, manufacturers). i’m well confused
2) i’ll want a player that plays as many different types of disc as possible- i.e. CD-R/RW, VCD, etc. any recommendations?
3) What about these video/DVD combi’s? i’ve thought of one of these, but i’m worried about one section going wrong, and losing the lot! has anyone had any problems with these?
all thoughts gratefully received!! [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
oh, and by the way- Somptember’s issue of DVD magazine has a VCD on the front, with the first eps of Captain Scarlet and Sapphire and Steel on it!! couldn’t leave that on the shelf…[ 11-08-2002: Message edited by: snooklepie ]
quote:
Originally posted by snooklepie:
i’m currently looking into buying a player, and am wondering exactly what to buy. i remember a similar topic cropping up on the Lexx forum, but i think it was tied into another subject and i can’t remember which one! so what i want to know is..
1) what’s all this about PAL/NTSC/multi-regional? i read the specs on different machines, and they all seem to say different things (suppliers, manufacturers). i’m well confused
2) i’ll want a player that plays as many different types of disc as possible- i.e. CD-R/RW, VCD, etc. any recommendations?
3) What about these video/DVD combi’s? i’ve thought of one of these, but i’m worried about one section going wrong, and losing the lot! has anyone had any problems with these?
all thoughts gratefully received!! [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
oh, and by the way- Somptember’s issue of DVD magazine has a VCD on the front, with the first eps of Captain Scarlet and Sapphire and Steel on it!! couldn’t leave that on the shelf…[ 11-08-2002: Message edited by: snooklepie ]
Probably the best way to get round the multi-regional problem is to get a console like PS2, which as far as I know will accept any region.
If you go for a stand alone it will be set to one region, although I’m sure these have been hacked, but on the whole if you bought it in the UK it will be region 2.
If you go for a P.C DVD solution, then you might find that some will allow you find changes to region code and then you can’t change anymore, there was a program that allowed you to change region, but if the region is set by the driver bios then 5 is all you will get.
Personally I’d get a stand alone or PS2 for big t.v viewing and AC3 Dolby Digital or 6.1, and I’d go for Region 1 (US) as the movies sometimes are cheaper and in some cases you’ll see them while everyone else has to go to the cinema, but you must have a television that can show NTSC as well as PAL, otherwise it will just appear in black and white, oh, and make sure it has an S-video connection.
Squishy
[img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img]What Squishy said. I’d add that if you wanted to go the multi-region route, it would be best to research all of the options available to you. Lots of players have problems handling discs that are anamorphically enhanced for widescreen TVs. Most “legit” players can handle the conversion from anamorphic widescreen to letterbox display on a regular set, but some have definite problems with this and can only show the picture “squeezed” so that everyone appears tall and skinny. Since you’re in the UK, I can’t really recommend any specific players, but I’d point you to [url=http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/index.php]The Home Theatre Forum[/url], where you can find a wealth of info.
–Aleck
Get a dedicated multi-region player
Not a PS2:
1) here in the uk, unless u get them chipped which costs a bit, region 2 only
2) PS2 isn’t as good as a dedicated playerIf u r in the uk, I’d say get a multi-region player from: [url=http://www.multimod.co.uk]http://www.multimod.co.uk[/url] – they chip the machines the best, and get round region coding enhancements
I’d go with the sony DVP-NS405 (£127 not including vat alredy chipped).
If you want a website for dvd comparisons by region (mainly region 1,2,4), go to [url=http://www.bytesandbobs.com/dvdcompare/default.asp]http://www.bytesandbobs.com/dvdcompare/default.asp[/url]
As to your questions:
1) PAL= uk/european standard for transmission to your tvs. NTSC= american. Most TVs sold in the uk will do both now. If your tv has a scart socet, chances are it will be able to take the NTSC input required for region 1 discs. Multi-region- the world is split into several ‘regions’ eg USA/Canada= region 1, europe and japan= region 2. Helps in distributin (supposedly), allows separate release dates (eg pich black was on region 1 dvd at the same time that it was in uk cinemas). Basically region coding is a major pain in the backside for anyone apart from those living in region 1 places (americans get the best discs whilst we get the feature removed for multilingual subtitles and audio)- I’d rather have the documentaries please.
2) See recommendation for a player above
3)avoid the video/dvd combos- u can’t record dvd to video anyway because of protection, and for the same price of a combo, you can get a dedicated dvd player and a dedicated video, both performing better than the combo. Combo is only any good if u want to save space, but it’s a compromise[ 26-11-2002: Message edited by: fluffy bunny ]
The first batch of PS2’s did have multi regional capacity, I’ve got one and it plays region 1,2 and 4 (haven’t tried region 3).
Older DVD’s (not players) did allow to change region, but now they allow for only 4 changes, some only allow one.
I would recommend Sony for a player, but not one for use with a P.C, I’ve had two and they were really bad, but the players are quality.
It does seem to take alot of shopping around to get a multi-region DVD nowadays, and I don’t think it will be too long before it will be impossible to get hold a player that allows for it.
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