Tales of the Gold Monkey in the works ? (1 Viewer)

[smithb]

There has to be that one thing that you just have to have that pushes you over the edge to going multi-region. Once done, you find yourself adding a few more here and there. Phillips makes a cheap easily setup multi-region DVD player for cheap. Can be found for under $50. I believe it can even do PAL to NTSC conversion, so you don't have to be concerned with the capability of you set.

That said, cheap DVD players such as this don't always have the best upconverters. So depending on how big your set is may determine how low scale you are willing to go to get multi-region capabilities.

 

[Jeff Willis]

Chris,

Most std DVD players have the internal PAL/NTSC Converter built inside them. All you would need to do is tell the player in the setup what type of TV you have, NTSC or PAL.

There are some exceptions in these players. The older Sony's don't convert PAL to NTSC but as far as I know, all Phillips and Oppo players have them inside as most other brands.

I have a Pioneer player that has been modified intermally. I did some tech research before I bought my player so if you're interested in more info send me a PM.

Like Brad said, it depends on what you may be interesed in overseas. For me, it's the best decision that I made, going region-free. I have several TV/DVD sets and a few movies that aren't available in R1. Some have been released in R2/4 since '03 and are still waiting for R1 releases, if they ever are seen over here.

The use of these R-free players is transparent. Pop in any disc NTSC/R1 or PAL R2/4, they all play with excellent PAL/NTSC conversion quality.

 

[TV_Fan]

Jeff, I know my DVD player will play PAL, but even if doing so, wouldn't the TV need to also be able to display PAL? I'm not very high tech with my DVD player and TV but hopefully will be upgrading them next year sometime.

Anyway at the moment I'm not aware of anything that is only an overseas release that I'd be interested in. But who is to say that won't change? It almost did with TOTGM but hopefully I won't have to go that route with a R1 release coming.

 

[smithb]

Chris,

For your TV, It depends. What Jeff is referencing to is when the DVD player doesn't just output both PAL and NTSC, but also has the conversion capability built in. If it also has a built in converter it will behave as follows:

DVD player output setting is set to NTSC
- If a PAL disk is played it is converted on the fly to NTSC
- If an NTSC disk is played it is just output as is

DVD player output setting is set to PAL
- If an NTSC disk is played it is converted on the fly to PAL
- If a PAL disk is played it is just output as is

So in this scenario you can have an NTSC only TV because the DVD player will convert. What it comes down to is what chipsets they use in the player and to what effort they went to in deactivating the additional capabilities. Phillips are very popular for being cheap, handling both signals, and converting on the fly. But you also tend to get what you pay for. Not all converters are equal. I believe Oppo references a concept called "tearing" as a negative effect of some cheaper converters.

Personally, I have two players. My trusty Denon 2900 that I've had for years and the Marantz 4001 that I picked up in the last year, originally cost $300 that I was able to pick up for $69 during a deal. I use the Marantz just for PAL duty. In a few months I will probably pick up the Oppo BD83 for BR and DVD playback, so I might have to finally retire the Denon, but I'll keep the Marantz for the PAL playback.

Like I said before, if you deicde to go this route someday, just make sure you know what capabilities your existing devices have before making a final decision. For example, my Marantz will only convert through component and not HDMI. I believe this is because they use a different chipset for their analog connections (component) then their digital connections (HDMI). The chipset for digital connections doesn't support the conversion. So if I was just using HDMI as a clean simple interface to go from my DVD player to my receiver to my projector, I would have been out of luck if I needed this player to convert.

As for the Phillips, I'm not sure if they convert through HDMI or just through analog. So DVD player, TV, and connection type can all come into play, as well as simplicity of setting region free (e.g., remote key entry, hacked firmware upgrade, hardware adjustment).

While it might seem complicated, a few searches or questions to board members can usually work out any confusion, if and when you choose to go this route.

 

[Jeff Willis]

Chris,

I owe Brad a "thanks" for explaining it better than I did That's what I was trying to convey in my previous posts. If a DVD player has an internal PAL/NTSC Converter, as most have, then it doesn't matter what type of TV you have, either NTSC, PAL, or one that can receive either format.

I have the PIONEER DV-400V modified player which has an internal PAL/NTSC Converter rated at 64 Mb. The player is an upconvert model which converts std DVD's to several HD formats, including 1080p. The main reason I bought a "chipped" (internallly modified) player vs going the "hack" route is that I wanted to check the PAL/NTSC Converter spec and I wanted to avoid, however remote the possibility, any issue with RCE-coded playback of movie DVD's. "RCE" refers to "Region Coded Enhanced" which is an extra region-coding that some studios applied to their movie DVD's a few years ago. If I recall, this was mainly used by MGM and some Columbia Tristar movies. The idea wasn't widely endorsed by the major studios so I believe the RCE coding was dropped by most studios. The idea was to try and prevent region-free players from playing discs from other regions around the world. There were reports, although infrequent, that some "hacked" DVD players had problems playing back RCE coded movie DVD's. The RCE DVD's could be played back but occasionally required a "workaround" routine to get the DVD to play on a hacked player. The advantage of a "chipped" or internally-modified player is that the player has been modified to accept any region (std) DVD regardless of additional RCE coding.

If I recall, I paid around $90+ for the Pioneer player but the prices have dropped considerably during the past year for modified std players. Although I knew I could have saved money and bought a Phillips player or similar model at a local Walmart and hacked it, I was interested in getting a player that had a spec rating for the internal PAL/NTSC Converter and wanted to read an independent lab report on its PAL to NTSC playback quality.

The Pioneer player has an excellent lab report on its conversion quality. Here's an excerpt from a tech's lab report:
Quote from an independent lab report:

The 400 uses the Mediatek all-in-one MPEG decoder solution. This chip has some great strong points to it, including being extremely fast in its functionality. This can be seen in both the user interface and layer change of the player. This is the first Pioneer player to have a completely seamless layer change and extremely fast menu and chapter navigation.
This chip also excels at its PAL to NTSC conversion, which is excellent. I went through a lot of the demo material on the PAL edition of the Digital Video Essentials disc and there wasn’t a trace of artifacts or improper timing. If this player could be made region free, it would be an excellent offering for those with monitors that only accept NTSC.

The italic portion of the tech's report is referring to most Pioneer std players' inability to be hacked with a coded # entered from the player's remote control. Some players can't be hacked to enable the internal region-free function.

I am fairly critical when it comes to DVD playback quality and my eyes are completely satisfied with this player's PAL/NTSC conversion. When I am watching my R2/4 PAL DVD's, the video quality is outstanding. For example, I watched one of my PAL DVD's from "The Saint" TV series this week (the complete B/W series available from "Network", a UK online store) and I'm still amazed at how well the player converts PAL on the fly during playback. It's like watching any US NTSC DVD.

Brad has an interesting idea, using a dedicated PAL player. I am viewing my DVD's with a 50" Panasonic Plasma TV via HDMI from about 9 ft away. I don't know how PAL converted DVD's would look on a larger screen so perhaps there is a need to use a PAL player for a larger screen size depending on the TV's capabilities regarding to PAL format.

Hope this info helps. And apologies to "Tales..." thread readers out there. The "region-free" stuff is sometimes confusing to some and it's really cool to be able to watch some great DVD releases only available in R2/4. Case in point, if "Tales..." wasn't getting an R1 release due to some music or clearance rights, you're still able to own it with an R-free player.

I'd still be waiting for 2 of my all-time favorite TV miniseries "Rich Man Poor Man" Bk 1 & 2, if I didn't have that R-free player. And those "Bionic Woman" S1 & 2 sets from R2/4....wow Studio transfers and uncut episodes! Still waiting after 3-4 years for an R1 release.

 

[TV_Fan]

Just wanted to convey my thanks to Jeff & Brad for their help in understanding this multi region stuff. Thanks guys.

At any rate I'm glad both R1 & R2/4 will finally be able to enjoy Tales of the Gold Monkey on DVD. Fingers crossed the R1 release happens as planned. Hopefully they'll be able to use all the bonus materials on the R1 release that they used on the R2/4. This is my 2nd most wanted show on DVD and I really can't wait to finally own it.

 

[Roy Wall]

Sounds official

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Tales-Gold-Monkey-The-Complete-Series/13361

 

[TV_Fan]

I got mine pre ordered

 

[Jack Cleveland]

I have pre-ordered mine as well... I never saw this series (I was in college when it originally aired, and wasn't much of a TV watcher during that time in my life), so I'm excited about finally seeing it. The bonus content looks great... I'm a big Indy Jones fan, and I have heard so much about this one over the years!

 

[TV_Fan]

I saw the series when it originally aired (although I was quite young) & saw it again a few years ago. A lot of people compare it to Indiana Jones, but in my opinion (and from what I hear many others) there's really not much of a connection. Hopefully you will enjoy the set. I can't wait to see the bonus features. I know I'll certainly be enjoying it, and for the price it is on amazon now I had to pre order right away [/url]

I have pre-ordered mine as well... I never saw this series (I was in college when it originally aired, and wasn't much of a TV watcher during that time in my life), so I'm excited about finally seeing it. The bonus content looks great... I'm a big Indy Jones fan, and I have heard so much about this one over the years!

 

[Roy Wall]

Artwork, extras and other news...

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Tales-Gold-Monkey-Press-Release/13378

 

[cajunhillbilly]

I plan to order this as well. I have an "alternate" set that has very bad picture quality. Look forward to seeing the series in excellent condition

 

[Aryn Leroux]

I have to order this myself... After I take care of some of the April releases I have to buy. (Simon & Simon: S4, Dallas: S13 & Falcon Crest: S1) I am not in a rush to put in a pre-order the way I used to be. Should be a great release!

 

[Albert_M]

Looking forward to this though I haven't seen it since i was pretty young. I hope it holds up well.

 

[Mark Collins]

Hi I see this series will be out next Tuesday. I have never seen the show. I will do a blind buy. I love the Young Indiana Jones series which I bought. I have this werid idea that there was a show like this series. The star actor was from the lead actor in Scarecrow and Mrs King. I never watched an episode of Scarecrow either. I would not buy that show. This show looks great I will pick my copy up Tuesday. Thank you Gord and Dave for having it up as "pick of the week".

 

[Aryn Leroux]

ordered my copy... this is some good TV, buy it blind if you have to.

 

[GeorgeJA]

I'm definitely in. I loved this show when it was on and I hope it holds up. It's really nice to see an older short-lived show released to DVD.

 

[Douglas Monce]

Originally Posted by Mark Collins

Hi I see this series will be out next Tuesday. I have never seen the show. I will do a blind buy. I love the Young Indiana Jones series which I bought. I have this werid idea that there was a show like this series. The star actor was from the lead actor in Scarecrow and Mrs King. I never watched an episode of Scarecrow either. I would not buy that show. This show looks great I will pick my copy up Tuesday. Thank you Gord and Dave for having it up as "pick of the week".

The show you are thinking of was called Bring 'Em Back Alive and starred Bruce Boxleitner and Cindy Morgan. It premiered the same year at Tales of the Gold Monkey and also only lasted one season.


Doug

 

[Adam Gregorich]

HTF review is up: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/thread/301185/htf-dvd-review-tales-of-the-gold-monkey-the-complete-series#post_3698011