PLEASE HELP : All-Codes DVD Players... (1 Viewer)

[Oliver Besner]

Thanks so much Dave, please keep me posted as to what your company says but I guess my best bet will be to go with 2 different players..

Thanks again everyone for all the help, it's really appreciated!

 

[Oliver Besner]

Can somebody please tell me whether I would be able to buy a PAL formatted DVD player to attach to my NTSC formatted TV?

Btw, PAL is Region 2 or all-codes PAL encoded right?

Thanks!

 

[Dave Mack]

Hey again, Oliver

You need a player that converts PAL-NTSC, or at least a player that also plays PAL and then buy an external converter. The JVC's, Malata's and a couple of other lesser quality companies do the conversion.
Do a net search for code free dvd player, and you will get several sites that sell and explain all this.

D

 

[Mark Zimmer]

Although there are quite a few players (many of them very cheap) that will do the PAL-NTSC conversion for your NTSC set, not all will do it well. The only ones that I'm aware of that don't have severe problems rendering anamorphic PAL are those using the Mediamatics chip (i.e., the JVC and some of the Malata models). Personally, I've got a Malata N996 and think it's just terrific, though others have noted there are quality control issues, the remote is for shit and the documentation is written in an incomprehensible Englese. But if you can figure it out, it's a swell player. :b

 

[Oliver Besner]

AARGGHH!!!

WHY IS THIS SO COMPLICATED?!?!


OKAY...

HERE'S WHAT I *NEED* - WHAT'S MY BEST BET (WHETHER IT'S 1 PLAYER, 2 PLAYERS, 3 PLAYERS OR 4)...


I NEED TO BE ABLE TO PLAY:

NTSC R0 DVD'S
NTSC R1 DVD'S
NTSC R2 DVD'S

&

PAL R0 DVD'S
PAL R1 DVD'S
PAL R2 DVD'S


THESE NEED TO BE COMPATIBLE WITH MY NTSC FORMATTED TV - I AM NOT GOING TO BUY 2 TELEVISION SETS!!

PLEASE POST SIMPLE SOLUTIONS, THANKS!!

 

[Dave Mack]

Hey Oliver!

There are no R1 Pal discs, and any DVD that is region 0 will play on ANY machine even if it hasn't been code-free modified, as long as the machine plays the format, NTSC, PAL etc... so that's 3 down. A couple of days ago I would have said get the JVC 600. BUT, I later noticed it has a TERRIBLE Video mode. Meaning any DVD's mastered on videotape, like concerts, music videos, DVD documentaries etc... will look REAL bad! Now, it's possible I got a bum unit, I am posting EVERYWHERE to find out.


I'll let you know as soon as I know.

D

 

[Oliver Besner]

Thanks again Dave, I seriously appreciate your help!

I sent you an email and I'm gonna give you a call this week..

I have a ton of PAL encoded DVD's just sitting on my shelf taking up space and a bunch of R2 DVD's that I want to eventually pick up but otherwise wouldn't be able to play, I really want to purchase something within the next month and this is extremely confusing...

Thanks again man

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Oliver,

Do you watch/own any DVDs of concerts, music videos, etc. that Dave mentioned? If not, then you don't really need to wait.

Even if you do watch/own a small amount of such DVDs, should that really stop you from getting a hacked JVC? Probably not since your next single-player alternative would be the Malata 520 (not that reliable, but offers the ultimate in scaling capability) or the Philips 963sa (much more expensive and requires your own hack and still has some quirks though should be superior for video and sound quality).

Personally, I'd say go w/ a hacked JVC 500 for

 

[Andre Espinoza]

Man and Dave -

After reading your posts all I can say is that you gentlemen rock! I'm kinda in the same boat as Oliver (I'm sorry, don't mean to hijack your thread

I was considering the JVC 600 and the Malata 520.

I have a Pioneer 53 inch 16X9 rear projection television that locks in full mode on progressive scan. I was leaning toward the Malata becasue of its scaling features. I guess my question to you both (or anyone who is kind enough to answer) is should the scaling features on the Malata outweigh the cons of this player, i.e. poor build quality and questionable life span?

After all my research if I understand correctly the Malata is the only player that does the scaling, correct? I'm about to purchase large quantities of Region 2 and 3 dvd's. I really don't want to worry about not having the ability to see the PQ the best possible way.

My primary player is a Panny RP-91, so this will only be used for R2, R3 discs.

So, short of asking someone to spend my money for me and pick a player what do you all think?

Thanks again!

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Hmmm... If it were my $$$, I'd probably go w/ the Malata 520 over the JVC 600 as my 2nd player for use w/ lots of imports since the more imports you get the more likely you'll need the x/y-scaling of the Malata. And it's always nice to be able to get rid of all picture cropping, including those usually forced by TV overscan.

If I expected to own lots of region-coded and/or PAL imports, I'd do that too. But at this point, my priority for a 2nd player is split between SACD and a short list of such imports (and I'm not about to buy one for each purpose on top of my RP91 ).

_Man_

 

[Andre Espinoza]

Man,

Thanks for the reply! I appreciate you taking the time to give advice on this subject. This helps me in my decision. Now I just have to decide if I want to wait for the 520VGA the HK Flix will soon carry.

Thanks again!

 

[Dave Mack]

Hey Y'all!

Man, I think I'm gonna buy a JVC 600 from a local store to do some A/B comparisons to see if I got a bum unit w/the VIDEO mode. It's truly annoying as the PAL-NTSC conversion is perfect and the FILM mode actually looks a little better than the 70's did. The interlaced pic. surprisingly, is not too bad. So there ARE workarounds for my VIDEO based stuff, but it's annoying constantly guessing modes. For ex... For my BUFFY R1 Season 2 for ex... FILM mode 480i on player (480P produces combs at edits) as it was (incorrectly) flagged that way, and then VIDEO mode on my Mits. TV. Seems to work. Also the 600 does NOT auto-scale like the sa-70 did!!!!
I am thinking of the Philips again as well. If you get the 963 or cheaper 1, let us know how it is!
Oliver, give me a call when you get a chance and I will go over all the pros and cons with you.

Peace! D