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Region Free DVD Player help

post #1 of 12
8/9/05 at 4:41pm
Thread Starter 
Simple question:

From your experience, what's the best Region Free DVD player out there?

Advice on any players that I should be sure to stay away from would be just as appreciated.
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post #2 of 12
8/9/05 at 7:25pm

Stay away from Malata!!

The Malata brand is balls. I bought one (out of novice-ignorance), and regretted it mightily. I have a Yamaha now, which I'm pretty happy with, although it doesn't seem to have any kind of slow playback function.

The worst part was when I bought the Malata, it wasn't just crappy, it was also a lot of money.
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post #3 of 12
8/9/05 at 8:13pm
Oddly enough, Malata is the brand that most people will recommend for region-free players.

I have a Jaton and a Daewoo, myself...
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post #4 of 12
8/9/05 at 8:38pm
I have a Jaton like Davis. I've had it for a few years now and haven't been able to break it yet.
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post #5 of 12
8/9/05 at 8:41pm
I myself have heard good things about and plan on getting a Momitsu:
HKflix (not a shill, this is the most informative link)

I've heard nothing but good, and it'll enable me to watch Spaced. Plus, it does upconversion, and PAL-NTSC conversion. If anyone knows of a better price, let me know, as I plan on getting one in a few weeks.
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post #6 of 12
8/9/05 at 11:19pm

It's not my place to argue with Dave Davis...

but all's I know is, I bought a Malata and was frequently tantalized to the very nadir of incontinence with its capricious nature. Sometimes it would play a disc, sometimes it wouldn't, right up until the point where it seized up its nether-cogs altogether, taunting and tittilating me with weird scraping and whirring sounds: a veritable symphony of technical impotence.

Speaking of impotence, my long-lamented ex-female campanion also bought a Malata, following in the footsteps of my own unadvisable intrepidity, and she has been mired in a similar morass of mechanical disappointment since shortly thereafter. And she rarely ever used hers in the first place, given how greatly diminished her non-region 1 needs are in juxtaposition with mine own.
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post #7 of 12
8/10/05 at 12:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wydren
I myself have heard good things about and plan on getting a Momitsu:
HKflix (not a shill, this is the most informative link)

I've heard nothing but good, and it'll enable me to watch Spaced. Plus, it does upconversion, and PAL-NTSC conversion. If anyone knows of a better price, let me know, as I plan on getting one in a few weeks.
I would check out the Oppo Digital 971. It upconverts and is region free. Here is a link to Home Theater HiFi, which is considered one of the top DVD player authorities on the web.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-b...deInt=0&mpeg=0
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post #8 of 12
8/10/05 at 1:18am
I have a Malata I bought a few years ago. It's the second Malata I got, actually. The first was damaged in shipping, but I've been happy with the second one. Well, except that it won't play DVD-Rs.

A buddy of mine got a JVC all-region player from HKFlix.com. He's been very happy with both the player and customer service from HKFlix. Whenever I upgrade, I'll probably go that route.
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post #9 of 12
8/10/05 at 2:15am
If you're on a budget, I'd just buy a Philips DVP642 (Amazon Link) which I believe can still be bought at Walmart and Target for $60 as well. There is a simple hack online involving pressing a few buttons on the remote that changes the player to region free. I would be happy to track it down for you. I got this player last year and it works great. I've bought Region 3 versions of Ong-Bak, Old Boy and Kung Fu Hustle and they all work quite well. An added bonus is that this player also plays MPEG4 encoded (DIVX/XVID) movies burned to CD/DVD.
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post #10 of 12
8/10/05 at 11:15am
See above post. Bought the Philips through Overstock.com and paid about $50 for it. Hack was very easy, and worked great, and still works great. Had it about 6-8 months now, and the player is used about every other day (at least). "Spaced" was my main reason for the purchase, and was well worth it.
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post #11 of 12
8/10/05 at 11:32am
Thread Starter 
Thanks to everyone for the help. I'm checking out all your recommended players.
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post #12 of 12
8/13/05 at 10:29am
The hack for the Philips DVP642 is:
Open tray
7, 8, 9, OK, 0 (representing the region code you want)

Works great. Got mine from Target.
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