US DVD players......and TV's.....help?? (1 Viewer)

[Phil Yeredin]

hi everyone/anyone.......i'm new here so bear with me. I am off to live in the states in the Autumn (or is that Fall now......)and will buy a decent tV and dvd player. I would like a reasonable priced player for DVD's that will play multi region discs. I have seen one or two sony's that look ok, but don't really know my way around this so could any of you good folks help? Also, i have seen and like the look of the sony wega 36 inch TV's.....are these good to start a decent system with?
thanx in advance

 

[Hendrik]

...erm... what is not clear from your post is whether you
a) plan to buy this equipment in the UK and take it with you to the USA (hardly a good idea!!!)
or
b)whether you are already asking now what equipment you should buy once you are atually settled in the USA...
(signed) Discombobulated Reader
. . . . . .

 

[Phil Yeredin]

sorry...........i want to buy the equipment any time now and have it delivered to my fiance in the states. I will buy from the states (internet) and can have it delivered as and when I wish.

..:b ..

 

[Mark_vdH]

I bought my modified dvd player at JVB. It's a US/The Netherlands based store, and as I live in the Netherlands, I just picked it up at their retail store. They also offer DIY kits for many models.

 

[Scott Barnhart]

Phil,
The problem in the US isn't so much getting a multi-region player as getting one that will convert PAL to NTSC nicely, since hardly ANY televisions in the US are capable of displaying PAL signals. So if you are also planning on buying a US television that is either a direct view or rear-projection TV, then be aware that aside from specialty dealers, you are looking at NTSC-only TV's. (Front projectors sold in the US will almost always sync to PAL, at least in interlaced mode.)
If that is the case, then you really only have 1 choice in DVD players that will do a *good* job will displaying PAL DVD's on an NTSC tv. That is the Malata N996 DVD Player (or its upcoming successor, the Malata 520). Both of these use the Mediamatics Pantera II chipset which does flawless PAL-to-NTSC conversion (also flawless NTSC to PAL) conversion without messing up the aspect ratio. There is also some model of JVC player that uses that chipset that is not natively region-free, but has a hack for region-free somewhere. The Malata also has the added benefit of being a progressive DVD player (including PAL progressive) and supporting really interesting scaling modes.
I have a Malata and it is the coolest multi-region player ever. Search either HTF or avsforum.com for many posts on the Malata and also the JVC I mentioned. Price is somewhere around $320 (USD). Check www.avdeals.com as they are a big dealer of the Malata.
Beware of other players such as Apex, Sampo, Raite (and even a cheaper Malata - the 920?) that also advertise PAL-to-NTSC conversion, as they will mess up the aspect ratio of the movie so that things are either too tall or too fat, depending on the OAR and anamorphicness of the DVD.
If you will have a PAL-capable TV in the US, then ignore everything I just said, since your choices will be much wider!

 

[Phil Yeredin]

Hey Scott

Thanks........this is just the help i need here cos i am fairly green on UK video wares and totally green on the US variety.

I think that the Malato is just the machine i need from what you tell me. I need to be able to have a machine that will play UK DVD's as well as European ones too, and you seem to be saying that it will be no problem. You also have been very happy with your machine too from what you say and personal reccomendations are always the best.

I have been looking at the Sony wega sets, particularly the 36inch ones and they seem to range from reasonable (suffix 13)to somewhat expensive. Whilst i appreciate that the upper priced ones are for HDTV, do you know if there any real difference in the others below these? I am also amazed hat in the Uk you can hardly buy any set that isn't widescreen, yet in the States unless you get up to the much larger screens it is almost exclusively 4x3.....i always thought you were further down the road on new stuff than us....what gives?

Once again, thank you very much for the info and i hope you can clear up some more for me.

Phil