If HDM is starting out as a movie-lovers gauge, why ignore the DVD buyers who import PAL (and vice-versa)? I know a lot, of movie-buffs that are bypassing true HD media players, for Oppos and the like because their treasured DVD imports outnumber their potential new HDM acquisitions.

Sound like a small market? Sure, but so is HDM and the first format to open up that option could enjoy a flurry of sales. Remember when pieces of junk like APEX players flew of the shelves because they'd play imports?

:( I guess so (chirping crickets fill the air)

:( I guess so (chirping crickets fill the air)

Hey, I love Crickets too. :)

I am stumped why big name brands don't do PAL conversion. I got married this July, and guess what, the knucklehead videographer authored my marriage video in PAL. I can only play the DVD on a computer now, when some of my friends want to see the video. And I also want to be able to see my Bollywood movies on my HD-A1. :o

So, bring on PAL conversion !!

Hey, I love Crickets too. :)

I am stumped why big name brands don't do PAL conversion.

It's a not terribly well-kept secret that they do, I have Pioneer Elite, JVC, and Toshiba SD DVD players that do.

i want pal too, as well as region free. that's why i'm still hanging on to my oppo player

I really hope the toshiba players can have a firmware update to do PAL to NTSC conversion.

I've got a few PAL DVDs. So I've got a player for that. But it would be nice.
Although you'd have to make the player region free for DVDs as well. Or backup the movie as a PAL region 1/0 disc. Which I've done with most of my movies. As my xbox plays back PAL movies. Which is nice as I've always got that hooked up. Unlike the mult-region player which is only used for pal movies ..

I assume it's only a matter of time (a year or two) before we start getting some off-brand players that include region-free/PAL playback for SD.

I look forward to this, as it would be nice to streamline my setup a bit more.

i want pal too, as well as region free. that's why i'm still hanging on to my oppo player

I want PAL and region-free in one (as I do with all my DVD players), I just didn't think I could say so with out violating policy here.;)

PAL for me too.

It's very simple - really - you have all these benefits with Oppo players and there is a reason.

Oppo Digital is not a member of the DVD Forum. All they do is license the logo. They do not have to conform to the rules of the Forum. Just the specifics concerning DVD itself and the Guidelines set forth by the Forum

Listing of DVD Forum Members - letter: "O"

http://www.dvdforum.org/about-memberlist.htm#o

It's very simple - really - you have all these benefits with Oppo players and there is a reason.

Oppo Digital is not a member of the DVD Forum. All they do is license the logo. They do not have to conform to the rules of the Forum. Just the specifics concerning DVD itself and the Guidelines set forth by the Forum

Listing of DVD Forum Members - letter: "O"

http://www.dvdforum.org/about-memberlist.htm#o

How come my Pioneer Elite, JVC, and Toshiba SD DVD players "do it" Have they all been hotwired for my pleasure? They all came to me in their sealed boxes.

How come my Pioneer Elite, JVC, and Toshiba SD DVD players "do it" Have they all been hotwired for my pleasure? They all came to me in their sealed boxes.

They all played region free?

They all played region free?

I have a Phillips and an LG that are region free too.

Are you late to the party, or not a big fan of foreign films?

What surprised me is that the Toshiba HD-A2 won't even play a region free PAL disc. I don't need PAL-to-NTSC conversion since my projector can play native PAL, but if I put a non-region coded PAL disc into the HD-A2 it gives me an error message saying it can't play the disc because it's PAL. Interestingly, I had an older Toshiba DVD player that could pass native PAL from non-region coded discs (something I discovered by accident). It wouldn't play region coded PAL discs and didn't do PAL-to-NTSC conversion, but it could pass a native PAL signal to my projector and I'm surprised the HD-A2 won't do the same. Hence, I'm keeping my Oppo for my PAL and overseas NTSC dvds.

Vincent

They all played region free?

yes they do

Thank you for the link - those Region Free are modified DVD players. They are not coming directly from the manufacturers that you are mentioning like Pioneer, JVC, etc. These CEM's are not allowed to sell DVD players like that - against the DVD Forum's rules.

So please do not give the impression they are "stock" players. They are modified players.

You have 2 options

1. Buy a cheap regionfree player (they are not expensive)

2. Make a conversion from PAL to NTSC when you rip the disc.

For me I have a different experience. I can only play combodisc one one side(the right side) in my player. So I dont have to worry that my wife plays the DVD side when she watches movies with her friends. ;)

IIRC, in australia, it is required by law to supply all DVD players with region free ability.

IIRC, in australia, it is required by law to supply all DVD players with region free ability.

Do you have a link for that please?

the only thing that i could find is this wikipedia reference

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD_region_code

and we know how accurate wikipedia is! :D

at least it has some citations, so it's probably pretty correct

Do you have a link for that please?

Lee,

My DVD players are not modified whatsoever. All I had to do was change the region setting in the options menu. No extra hardware or software.

Very common these days. I think they sell them under the guise of "travel players", both of mine are very slim. The LG's menu calls it "travel mode".

From the Wiki link:

The commercial DVD player specification requires that a player to be sold in a given place must not play discs encoded for a different region (region 0 discs are not restricted)

However, region code enforcement has been discussed as a possible violation of World Trade Organization free trade agreements or competition law.[7] The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has warned that DVD players that enforce region coding may violate the Trade Practices Act.[8][9][10] The government of New Zealand is also considering a similar ruling.[11] This, supposedly, means that all DVD players sold in their territories have to be region-free.

Did this happen? Was there a law suit?

I'd like it as well.

Thank you for the link - those Region Free are modified DVD players. They are not coming directly from the manufacturers that you are mentioning like Pioneer, JVC, etc. These CEM's are not allowed to sell DVD players like that - against the DVD Forum's rules.

So please do not give the impression they are "stock" players. They are modified players.
the thing i never get about this, is that they must be master-box surgeons, because the machines always come tapped in their brand-name boxes (with no rips and tares) and all the seals an stickers? Also didn't they kind of have to do these tricks when made to be "activated" in the first place? Why build in that capability (PAL conversion) if it's never to be used? I thought maybe they were euro-players, but don't they run on different current?

Thank you for the link - those Region Free are modified DVD players. They are not coming directly from the manufacturers that you are mentioning like Pioneer, JVC, etc. These CEM's are not allowed to sell DVD players like that - against the DVD Forum's rules.

So please do not give the impression they are "stock" players. They are modified players.
Just for the record, I have a Toshiba SD-3900 DVD player that I bought at Best Buy and have not modified at all. It plays discs from any region with just a few clicks of the remote and it does PAL-to-NTSC conversion. It may have been a "mistake" on Toshiba's part to allow the remote hack, I don't know, but such stock players do at least exist.

The only brand you seldom see as a fully-capable region-free player is usually ...drum-roll...symbols...SONY

the thing i never get about this, is that they must be master-box surgeons, because the machines always come tapped in their brand-name boxes (with no rips and tares) and all the seals an stickers? Also didn't they kind of have to do these tricks when made to be "activated" in the first place? Why build in that capability (PAL conversion) if it's never to be used? I thought maybe they were euro-players, but don't they run on different current?

Could be same internal components with just a power supply change - 120V versus 220V

Just for the record, I have a Toshiba SD-3900 DVD player that I bought at Best Buy and have not modified at all. It plays discs from any region with just a few clicks of the remote and it does PAL-to-NTSC conversion. It may have been a "mistake" on Toshiba's part to allow the remote hack, I don't know, but such stock players do at least exist.

It was not sold as a region free player. The fact that you can hack the remote and make it one is different. Look in the user manual - it will have a region code listed somewhere. ID USA should be region 1

Is the hack listed in the User Manual?

Yes, a lot of DVD players will do region free PAL-NTSC. In most cases you have to punch in a "region free" code.

Www.dvdrhelp.com is a good place to cheek. I found the codes for my phillps 642 their.. Not the best PAL-NTSC but it works.

I'm so gald HD-DVD is region free.also uses the same system so it willplay well on all players anywhere.
Theirs a few BDs. Haven't imported any yet. But I may. I see xploited has started to sell BDs which is sweet. That site is just too much fun. You can spend a lot their. When I found DVDs I was amazed. So I've imported a few DVDs as well

Everyone knows about the 30 second skip feature you can "punch into" the Motorola 34/64 HD DVR's right? THAT is not listed in the manual and if you call Comcast - they have no idea what you are talking about - and they provide the STB's.

Also some CBL co's prevent you from doing this - I believe COX is one.

The only brand you seldom see as a fully-capable region-free player is usually ...drum-roll...symbols...SONY

In Sony players the region coding is hardwired in a silicon chip.
To get these region free the chip was replaced with a hacked version.
There where some 'region 2' retailers offering region free Sony's but they stopped several years ago because of warranty issues.

Denon uses firmware and Pioneers have/had an internal slot where a card with a chip could be inserted to get the player region free.
I believe JVC, Philips and others use a sequence through a special remote control or with simple the regular remote.

In Sony players the region coding is hardwired in a silicon chip.
To get these region free the chip was replaced with a hacked version.
There where some 'region 2' retailers offering region free Sony's but they stopped several years ago because of warranty issues.

Denon uses firmware and Pioneers have/had an internal slot where a card with a chip could be inserted to get the player region free.
I believe JVC, Philips and others use a sequence through a special remote control or with simple the regular remote.

That's some very interesting stuff. I just wish the whole regional thing would fall away in general.

That's some very interesting stuff. I just wish the whole regional thing would fall away in general.

Seems the DVD Forum agreed with you - at least for HD DVD - Region Free.:)

I still don't understand why people are so against having multiple players. I would imagine that most PAL collectors already have a PAL/NTSC multiregion player.

I still use my OPPO for all standard definition player since it is faster and quieter than my Toshiba or Sony. The other nice thing is that my OPPO outputs in 480i or 576i over HDMI which is nicer than the 480i into my processor. I'm not planning on getting rid of my OPPO anytime soon.

That's some very interesting stuff. I just wish the whole regional thing would fall away in general.

Especially since the entire DVD format has been cracked wide open, it makes no sense to keep antiquated region coding and prohibition against analog upconversion.

I still don't understand why people are so against having multiple players. I would imagine that most PAL collectors already have a PAL/NTSC multiregion player.

I still use my OPPO for all standard definition player since it is faster and quieter than my Toshiba or Sony. The other nice thing is that my OPPO outputs in 480i or 576i over HDMI which is nicer than the 480i into my processor. I'm not planning on getting rid of my OPPO anytime soon.

Here is my setup from top to bottom

Sony VPL LCD Hi-def front projector (component input only)
Pioneer Elite region-free DVD player (480-p)
Toshiba XA2 HD DVD player
DVDO standalone upconvertor (because my projector has no HDMI input)
Onkyo 7.1 surround amp & speakers

Sound like a big mess of boxes an wires? It is. If I gotta buy BD at some point too it's gonna get one uglier (and require a switch-box to boot).

Especially since the entire DVD format has been cracked wide open, it makes no sense to keep antiquated region coding and prohibition against analog upconversion.

Agreed 110%

When movies are consistently released world wide and not by region - then we will see an end to region coding. But it is a huge undertaking. A few movies have released WW. D-Cinema will make it easier to accomplish.

It was not sold as a region free player. The fact that you can hack the remote and make it one is different. Look in the user manual - it will have a region code listed somewhere. ID USA should be region 1

Is the hack listed in the User Manual?
of course not, but i was addressing your suggestion that region free players do not come directly from the manufacturers. clearly in some cases, the manufacturers ship the players with full region free capabilities. whether those capabilities are documented in the manual is a separate issue.

instead of not buying either format why not just get a cheap $30.00 dvd player that plays pal disks thats what I am going to do I have a A20 and a ps3 and neither one can play my pal movies and vcd's.

Does anybody have any idea how to convert a TV signal from PAL to NTSC? Recently I moved from overseas to Europe and took my TV with me. Unfortunately I do only receive black/white images via the video converter I connected to the TV. Any idea how to fix this?

Any hints are appreciated.

I think people in America should be requesting TVs that can accept a PAL/50hz signal first. I'm astonished that the video equipment you get over there can't accept both formats and the video needs to go through a degrading conversion.

I think people in America should be requesting TVs that can accept a PAL/50hz signal first. I'm astonished that the video equipment you get over there can't accept both formats and the video needs to go through a degrading conversion.

You mean all the equipment in the UK has NTSC/60Hz?:confused:

Yeah, it's a standard feature now. Starting from around the mid-90s, just about any good TV would handle 525-line/60hz signals. Sometimes it had to be 60hz with PAL colour (Pioneer's European LaserDisc players could transcode NTSC discs to PAL60) but the best TVs had full NTSC support over the video inputs.

With today's TVs, it's a standard feature. In fact, the European "HD Ready" spec mandates that a TV needs to be able to handle HD at both 50 and 60hz. It of course doesn't say anything about supporting NTSC for standard-def, but everything bar a few supermarket LCD TVs supports it anyway.

Agreed. I actually went and popped in an import (bought it when I was last visiting family) DVD and a PAL error came up on my A2. I was bummed... but it worked on my 360 :D