decent Region Free DVD Player??

[ArkiStan]

Later this year, I'm gonna be moving out of the country to a place that's region 3. However, I currently have a large collection of region 1 discs, so I've decided to get a region free player. I've thought of keeping my current player and just getting a region 3 player when I get there, but I might as well get a region free so I can watch any disc I want in the future. I currently have a Toshiba SD-1200 (great player!) which I believe doesn't have a region free hack... So I'm planning to spend no more than $300 on a region free player.

I found the discontinued Apex player on eBay ($220), but I don't know about the brand...Is it reliable? I'd be more comfortable with a major brand unless someone tells me something good about the Apex. Good things about the Apex --> its versatility. It plays MP3 discs too (Plays DVD/MP3/VCD/SVCD/CD/CD-R/CD-RW). Of course it's region free and it's very cheap!! IT sounds great, just not sure of the quality. Any advice on this machine or suggestion on other good players with Region free hacks??

[Leon]

Try here too:

http://zonefreedvd.com/

[M_A_C]

You can also try here (http://www.lik-sang.com/catalog/product_list.php?category=123&) for a modchip for your current player to play all regions.

[ArkiStan]

Hmmm,. couldn't find a mod chip for my player at that site M_A_C. I guess I'll have to resort to buying a RegionFree player. I looked at the Apex Player on epinions and it had some bad reviews about the video/audio quality which is absolutely crucial. So I've found another one. The Sampo DVE-620. It has pretty much the same abilities as the Apex, and is also a rather no name brand. I'll just have to look around for reviews...

[Anupone]

I bought my Pioneer 535 from http://www.ebyweb.com and I love it. My crouching tiger region 3 played with no problem at all. The picture was breathtaking. It looks much nicer than my Panasonics. The price has gone down 10 dollars a week after I bought it (somehow I'm just not surprised, this is not the first time)
Check it out. It plays almost anything except MP3 including CDR-w

[ArkiStan]

Thanks for the advice Anupone. I'll definitely look into it. Reviews look really good compared to the Apex at Audioreview.com. And the fact that Pioneer is a big name will probably wiegh heavily into my decision. Though they were out at ebyweb.com, I'll be looking around. Looks like we might have a winner. Good call!! :thumbup:




[Edited by ucbstan on 06-25-2001 at 07:02 PM]

[Anupone]

I wonder if I bought the last one.. :-)
Yeah, I did a lot of research (including reading the review from Audioreview site like you did )before decided to go with this model.

Ebywed by far the cheapest I found. They ship Fedex I got mine in 2 days. You should call when they'll restock it again.

And be sure to checkout http://www.resellerratings.com if you're not sure if the site is legitimate.

[ArkiStan]

Hey, Anupone
how's the Pioneer 535 working for ya? I think that's the one I'm gonna get (I haven't read a single bad review yet!!). Just trying to save up a little cash for now.

I just had a little question. I've read many reviews on the web and some mentioned that it's "Automatic region free," or "Region Free out of the box." How was it with your reg.3 crouching tiger disc?? Did you have to enter some wierd code with the remote control to change the player's region code setting? Or did you just pop in the disc and it read it automatically?

thanks






[Edited by ucbstan on 07-10-2001 at 08:31 PM]

[Anupone]

Nope. It functions just like normal DVD. Pop the DVD in it works (regardless of disc region) no special code needed.

I like it so far. Very nice Pictures (exellent I should say) the only drawback is that it's not VCR friendly.

I just found another site that sell the same thing and it's VCR friendly check it out.

http://www.dvdoverseas.com/dvd_333.htm

[froggystyle]

my panasonic dvd rv31-k plays regions 1-3-5 by default
maybe you want to look into that one if you are moving to region 3

[ArkiStan]

that sounds like a nice machine froggy, but unfortunately I have some Reg. 2 discs as well...

anupone,
you mean macrovision right? yeah without macrovision disabled, you can't record with a VCR, but I really don't plan on recording any of my stuff. It would break my heart to see my high quality movies transfered onto a VHS tape!! :bawl:

If you're interested in disabling you macrovision, there are many sites that offer tips to make you DVD player Macrovision free. Some are codes you enter and some are chips you have to install. I'm not sure what the sebsites were, but your 535 might have a secret way to do it too. I'll look around and see what I can find.

[Anupone]

I know what you mean by degrading the quality of the movie by recording on VHS tape. I rent a lot of movies from Netflix. Some of them are good and some are not that good. I don't like to keep it for too long so the not so good one I would record it on my S-VHS tape and watch it when I want.

One nice thing about Pioneer is that. It allows you to play CDR and CDRW. If you have a lot of those it will come in handy. It even play Home made VCD. I captured my niece video from Hi8 tape and burn it on CD. It works but the picture was No DVD.

[ArkiStan]

Originally posted by Anupone
...It even play Home made VCD. I captured my niece video from Hi8 tape and burn it on CD. It works but the picture was No DVD.

ahh yes. That's something I love to do. It's just different watching you computer clips on a big screen without frame skipping....I do 3D computer animation and it's great to watch my stuff on TV.

[leemaj]

anyone got an effective way of getting an avi to a vcd?

[ArkiStan]

Originally posted by leemaj
anyone got an effective way of getting an avi to a vcd?

I asked that question a while ago. Here's what I got.
http://www.gotapex.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=16895