Getting all regions on the XBOX DVD Player (1 Viewer)

[Ryan Peter]

Since the little DVD plug you put into a controller spot is basically what regulates the DVD player, and the DVD Player converts PAL -> NTSC, couldn't a person import a region 2/3/4 DVD kit and then use the plug for DVD. Then you could get any region right?

 

[Richard Knight]

Not very likely - but perhaps worth a test for some.

I've got the sneaking suspicion that there is probably some hardware involved in setting the DVD region, which would probably prove very useful to Microsoft for defining XBox Game regions as well.

Richard

 

[Jeff Kleist]

As far as I know the DVD codec and software are contained in the dongle, so THEORETICALLY you could grab other regions dongles. However, I'm willing to bet it runs an OS language check or somethign.

 

[Camp]

huh huh...he said "dongle"

 

[Ryan Peter]

Yeah the doggle says region 1 on it. I'm not sure if it's that intelligent enough to run a language check. In fact, I'm pretty sure the XBox is identical all over the world at this point. The XBox hardware has to be the same everywhere, making the region stuff in the doggle. It would be worth it to get a region 2 doggle and import some great Japanese stuff. That would be a good doggle cuz it would work for Europe too.

I love this DVD player, it eats layer changes for breakfast! Didn't notice not even a hiccup watching Moulin Rouge tonight. Kudos Stacey!

 

[Ike]

Where can you import other controllers, and what is a trustworthy import DVD store? (Screw Warners, I'll get unrated Eyes Wide Shut through Japan!)

 

[BrianB]

The XBox isn't out anywhere else in the world yet, so it's a bit of an academic discussion until February.

Europe gets the XBox in March.

Japan gets it in February.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Ssshhhh... Maybe Microsoft hasn't realized this. Let's not give them any ideas until we've all got our region 2/4/etc. remotes.

 

[Bergan Peters]

Im guessing it won't be too long until we see a progressive scan/all region boot up disk for the X-Box. The Xbox is just a computer in a box basically, so it's DVD quality when progessive should be on par with an HTPC, correctomundo?

 

[Ryan Peter]

Bergan, it was mentioned by someone who is on the DVD player development team for the XBox that 480p was eliminated in the 11th hour. That's another of my theories, that it is probably pretty easy to switch.

 

[John Haghighi]

So wait te XBOX does 480P for games, but not for DVD's. It's not Progressive!? Sounds lke an M$ Xbox2 ploy

 

[Bergan Peters]

It's an MPAA Macrovision scam. It had nothing to do with Microsoft.

 

[Henry Colonna]

I just typed this in another topic, hope yall don't mind another message, but I saw a "progressive scan pack" at Circuit City in an empty box with a sticker that said "coming soon" yesterday.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Hackers have found a 512K ROM inside of the DVD dongle. Speculation is that the DVD playback software resides in this ROM.

This could be good news for multi-region playback. I could even imagine a 'progressive' dongle from Hong Kong. =)

 

[Bergan Peters]

I'd like to see a 1080i Dongle. Drool.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

I'd like to see a 1080i Dongle. Drool.

The internal frame buffer is limited to 1280x768, so don't hope for too much. How good of a job the Conexant chip that makes the SD/HD Component output can do with stuff like scaling to 1080i is still unknown.

I'm sure that if the code is in the dongle that it is encrypted (like the games and the filesystem)...here is hoping to seeing that enycryption cracked.