$58 DVD player at Radio Shack with Region-Free hack...plus $10 mail-in rebate! (1 Viewer)

[Xenia Stathakopoulou]

Thanks Mark! I finally got it.

 

[Tommy G]

Peter, it is not the complete series but some of their episodes. Some different from the old PAL tapes. Here's a website with a lot of "goodies" about them. Anyway, maybe someone on here from the other side of the pond can give a good website to order the R2 discs from.

http://www.goodiesruleok.com/news.php?cod=75

 

[DeborahK]

A quick question here for those of you who have bought this player: Does it come with a warranty card? I picked one of these up from a local Radio Shack last night and I can't find the warranty card or any reference to it. This makes me suspicious that I have a player that was returned to the store and I am a bit leary of this. If you all say there is supposed to be a warranty card, I will return the player for another without hesitation.

Thanks,

Deborah

 

[rutger_s]

There is no warranty card. Just the remote, video cables, AC cable, battery, and manual.

Oh, and of course, the DVD player.

 

[DeborahK]

Thanks, Rutger. (And may I say, how very odd!)

I guess this is probably okay then and I will relax ...

Deborah

 

[Carlo_M]

You suck, David!
(totally just kidding)

I just bought new speakers and a new receiver and now you're going to bleed me out of another $58 with this announcement!

Wow, can't wait to pick this one up, hopefully my local Rat Shack has one in stock...

 

[Bob Pierce]

Just picked two up, one for me, and one for a gift. Please forgive my ignorance, but does the PAL support this DVD player offers work for any TV? Or is it the kind where your TV/monitor needs to be the kind that can play either PAL or NTSC signals? (Kind of strange to find myself asking the question after buying the player, but I needed a spare, anyway!)

TIA for any info and education on the PAL stuff,

- Bob P.

 

[rutger_s]

The player is set to output to NTSC TVs out of the box. PAL to NTSC conversion is automatic.

 

[Bob Pierce]

Thanks, Rutger! I appreciate the help.

- Bob

 

[David Lambert]

I'm amazed and gratified by how many people appreciate this info I've passed on. I'm pretty pleased with this puppy myself.

The Last Unicorn arrived from Germany today. We watched it immediately. Me and the missus cried at the end. My son was hooked!

Awesome. I didn't have the new player hooked up in 5.1 yet because I need to buy a different cable, but watching in widescreen and 2.0 did indeed duplicate the original theatrical presentation, which my mom-in-law has seen and will be coming by to visit and judge against for herself within a few days.

I judge this the best $100-ish I've ever spent for a single movie ($58 + tax for the player, and $39.57 for the import from Amazon.DE). Now to look for those Korean versions of Twin Peaks Season 2 to leverage the value of the player...

 

[Kirk Tsai]

I have read reports at other sites that it does not output anamorphic progressive PAL correctly. It vertically stretches the image.

I've read this too, can anyone else confirm this?

I checked at my local Radio Shack, and the player looks very enticing. But if it cannot convert PAL anamorphic correctly, the biggest reason for me to get it will be loss, despite all the other good stuff.

 

[Xenia Stathakopoulou]

This player is fantastic ! The picture the audio, what a value for that price. My only minor complaint is the remote, it could have been a little bigger, but then again i have big hands. I guess in time ill get used to it.

 

[MarkA]

Has anybody tried DVD+R or DVD+RW discs in this machine?
Mine wouldn't work and the player just brings up file listings.
I got a response from Radio Shack (after several days) but they misread my question (confusing it with "-" discs). Their site says that it accepts these but they are not listed in the manual.
Thanks much.

 

[GregAK]

I don't know if anyone is still checking this thread, but I just picked up one of these DVD players today at RS. Did anyone get any color bleed at the very bottom of the screen. I tried a few DVDs and it kept happening. Then I tried my old DVD player with the same DVDs and it did not happen. Definitely the player. However, it seems to have stopped now. Is this something normal with a brand new player? Is there some type of "break in" period? Or should I return it for a new one just in case? Just not sure.
Thanks
Greg

 

[David Lambert]

Greg, I didn't have any problems like that here. Maybe it was your unit?...

 

[GregAK]

After posting my message about my player causing color bleed at the bottom (and later stopping), I tried it again and the color bleed was there again. Then, to top it off, the audio cut out. After shutting it down and unplugging it, the audio came back, but that sealed it for me. I packed it up and will be exchanging it for a new unit. I'll give them one more chance.

 

[Jim Garbern]

Hi,
Just picked up one of these from my local RS. I tried the region code setup and can''t change it from the default region 1 . The system software date is 20030320 if that makes any difference.

While it plays DD 5.1 OK, my unit skipped incessantly when I played the Peter Gabriel Secret World disc using the dts output. Gladiator was fine in dts, however. Has anyone else had thess problems? Otherwise, pretty impressive for a cheap player, except that my reason for getting it now seems to be obviated.
TIA

 

[Tony_I]

Jim, were you able to scroll down to the region section?

I have the same software date on my unit, and I have no problem changing the region after every dvd. (without even powering down the unit)

Make sure you hit enter when the region section is highlighted. (and hit enter to save the region you've selected, or it will revert back to it's last saved region.)


On the cover of the instruction manual, under the model #, it says USA version 1.1


Hope this info helps. Now, I am off to find some "otherlyregion" dvd's that I've been missing out on...

Like Dave, The Last Unicorn will be one of my first purchases... (though the price seems a "bit" steep)

Tony

 

[Jim Garbern]

Hi Tony,
Thanks! I didn't realize I had to push enter first to enable changing the region code. Now just have to get my hands on some nether-region DVDs.
By the way, for previous posters, I did get a warranty sheet that says there's a 3 month warranty for labor, and 1 year for parts. Receipt is needed to prove it's in the warranty period. There's supposed to be warranty info at:
www.cyberhome.com .
I do get a band of shimmering colors at the bottom of the screen on some, but not all, DVDs.
FY (or any one else's) I, the RS web site indicates this unit is only available at the B&M stores, not online.
Jim

 

[Tony_I]

Glad I could help.

BTW, what dvd's are you testing with?

I didn't notice anything like a band of shimmering colors with my unit, but I haven't really tested it out either.

I only did a fast check to see if the player sent out a pro-scan image/DTS signal, and if the region hack worked...