Need some recommendations for an all region, NTSC / PAL dvd player (1 Viewer)

[Eric_M]

hello,


I am currently looking for a DVD player that can easily be changed to play all regions, does very good PAL to NTSC conversion, upconverting through component outputs, de-interlaces preferably (like the Oppos used to do), excellent picture and just an overall solid quality player. Blu Ray option is not necessary which is making it harder to find new reviews on DVD only players. Any recommendations would be very much appreciated. Unfortunately Oppo no longer makes DVD only players so before I go spending money on a used one I'd figured I'd look into other players that will hopefully be comparable. Thanks in advance.

 

[JoeToth]

The Philips DVP5140 will play any NTSC or PAL DVD on any PAL or NTSC TV with a bit of tweaking to remove the region code restriction (see below). You can get it from Amazon.com's Marketplace for $77. I bought one to play British and German DVDs, and it works well.

To make the DVP5140 region code-free follow these instructions:
1. Turn on the unit and the TV connected to it.
2. Open the loading tray.
3. Press the Setup button on the remote.
4. Navigate to the Preferences page using the right arrow key.
6. Press the down arrow once to enter the Preferences page.
5. Use the remote to enter code 138931.
6. The current region code [1] is displayed.
7. Use the arrow keys to select region 0.
8. Press the Play button on the remote.

 

[TheBat]

I found an oppo 983 for 299 at amazon. you can try there.


Jacob

 

[AndyMcKinney]

Philips players are good for this, just so long as you're not planning on using the HDMI cable (at least, on the models I've tried). The reason I say that is that in my tests, all PAL DVD content via HDMI undergoes a PAL-to-NTSC conversion over HDMI, even if you have MULTI or PAL set up as your TV system before connecting the HDMI cable (you cannot specify TV system with HDMI connected), even if the TV is capable of coping with PAL. I know this because I tried to watch an episode of The Goodies this way and all of the studio VT footage looked "film-like", which is a common side-effect of the player's standards conversion.


Didn't test upconversion via componenet as I didn't have component cables at the time, but I do remember that when I hooked it up with composite, it displayed correctly (i.e. in PAL without conversion).


I tried this with a 5990 and even though that player is "TV system-locked" from the factory, I installed unofficial firmware that re-enabled TV system selection in the menus (I use it on my multi-system tube TV).


If you're going to use HDMI and want your PAL discs output as PAL (rather than undergoing a standards conversion), you need a player that will allow you to specify TV system even with HDMI enabled. My Oppo BDP-83 is the only player I've owned (albeit BluRay/DVD) with HDMI that lets me do that.


Does the above problem apply to foreign versions of Philips players? No idea (probably not, though).