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LG BH-200 SD-DVD region hack - Page 2

post #31 of 146
3/23/08 at 5:40am
This MR Hack has only ever been tested with USA Players. I don't think anyone's tested it on European Players.

It's not European software.
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post #32 of 146
3/23/08 at 6:42am
Thread Starter 
Hi everyone,

Since it just activates the region changing menu, worth a try with european players.

But if the European players actually plays NTSC DVDs, loading the US players with the european firmware should work, if they are not equal.

BR

Julio Cohen
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post #33 of 146
3/23/08 at 7:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Julio Cohen View Post

Since it just activates the region changing menu, worth a try with european players.

Thanks. I thought so.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Julio Cohen View Post

But if the European players actually plays NTSC DVDs, loading the US players with the european firmware should work, if they are not equal.

So far no one has had the guts to try this.

It seems the firmware downloaded from the USA and Irish sites are identical, although they may have an identical file size but in fact be different. European models will support PAL that much I do know. How it's achieved I've no idea.

I'm not sure I'd risk bricking my USA Player by trying a European firmware on it.

EDIT: Going to:

http://ie.lgservice.com/

Which is the Irish website, says when you go to download firmware:

This firmware file is apply for USA and Canada only.

A. This could indeed mean they're the same and PAL is done elsewhere in the Player.
B. LG have just copy/pasted info across websites. Considering they put the March firmware inside the January ZIP file (which is the only reason we all have it) I could well believe this.

Regardless that's shoddy working on an Irish LG website.
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post #34 of 146
3/23/08 at 8:59am
could it be possible when loaded the european software version in my us player it plays pal and ntsc or is that not to get by software but hardware?
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post #35 of 146
3/23/08 at 9:11am
Cheeky you've already asked that

Personally I think it's done elsewhere in the player, so if not hardware another part of the Player but not Firmware. To give you an idea what I mean, Julio Cohen is changing data in one of the EEPROM chips to make the LG BH200 SD DVD Multiregion but he is not touching the Players Core Firmware, which is done when we install Firmware Upgrades.

If it's not done in Firmware PAL/NTSC could be stored elsewhere and it looks likely it's not being done in Firmware (i.e - the files on the USA & Irish sites appear identical). In short I doubt installing the European Firmware will give you PAL compatibility. I'm no LG Engineer though so could obviously be wrong.

So far no one has had the guts to try the European Firmware (technically not Software) in a USA Player to be able to say either way. Do you fee like being a guinea pig?
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post #36 of 146
3/23/08 at 9:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bradavon View Post

That's a pity. Thanks for the heads up the hack isn't RCE safe.

There is nothing wrong with leaving it on Region 0, then set it to Region 1 for Final Fantasy (how many times do you watch it?), then put it back to Region 0. Unlike a Firmware upgrade you're only making a minor change so I wouldn't worry about running it every now and again. There are very few RCE discs out there.

I read about that E1 workaround to play RCE discs. Personally it wouldn't bother me.


That's the million dollar question, that so far no one has cracked. Not on the BH200 or any BD Player. Given time I'm sure someone will crack it though.

Spiderman SD RC1 does not work, but spiderman 1and 2 superbit DVD, spiderman 3 DVD works. I am leaving mines at region 0, worst case i just buy it on bluray.
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post #37 of 146
3/23/08 at 9:57am
Thanks Benc5.

What does RC1 mean? I bet that Spider-man disc is RCE, it's a Sony title after all. Thankfully there aren't many RCE discs. I'm pretty sure all RCE discs are R1 though.
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post #38 of 146
3/23/08 at 12:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bradavon View Post

Thanks Benc5.

What does RC1 mean? I bet that Spider-man disc is RCE, it's a Sony title after all. Thankfully there aren't many RCE discs. I'm pretty sure all RCE discs are R1 though.

Sorry about that, I meant Spiderman RCE region 1 don't work on region 0. I hope they get a pal hack too, then i can move my oppo 1080p player out off my shelf.
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post #39 of 146
3/23/08 at 9:58pm
Thanks to the OP, worked great for me!
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post #40 of 146
3/24/08 at 12:26am
Okay quick question for you guys, many may feel it is stupid but region coding is a bit of a weakness of mine when it comes to knowledge in AV stuff. Now those who do get a PAL movie to play on your screen. Don't you need a special TV set to still display these other formats (NTSC --> PAL, PAL ---> NTSC). How does the framerate work exactly? Is it changed during upconversion, or does the player just "force" it to come to 60 Hz (for those who dont have 24fps capable)/24 Hz. I guess what I am asking is how does a PAL framerate work on an NTSC TV set.
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post #41 of 146
3/24/08 at 12:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by blakeBBY View Post

Okay quick question for you guys, many may feel it is stupid but region coding is a bit of a weakness of mine when it comes to knowledge in AV stuff. Now those who do get a PAL movie to play on your screen. Don't you need a special TV set to still display these other formats (NTSC --> PAL, PAL ---> NTSC). How does the framerate work exactly? Is it changed during upconversion, or does the player just "force" it to come to 60 Hz (for those who dont have 24fps capable)/24 Hz. I guess what I am asking is how does a PAL framerate work on an NTSC TV set.

I think that's exactly the point. Your TV must support the other format. In US your TV must support 50Hz, if it does not, your not capable of watching PAL material.

The funny thing is, that all European Hardware (I am from Europe) these days support 60Hz. So, playing NTSC movies these days is no problem on newer European TV's because they support 60Hz (since about 10 years they do).

I think I read elsewhere in this thread, that US TV's don't support 50Hz. Because that, the region hack is not so usable for US people when it comes to PAL mastered movies.

Greetings
AlfaGT
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post #42 of 146
3/24/08 at 1:17am
i am living in holland my tv is able to receive ntsc and pal only the bh200 dont accept pal dvd and my player is from us
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post #43 of 146
3/24/08 at 4:02am
He he I see the Europeans have taken over the forum, while the North Americans sleep peacefully in their beds

Quote:
Originally Posted by blakeBBY View Post

Now those who do get a PAL movie to play on your screen. Don't you need a special TV set to still display these other formats (NTSC --> PAL, PAL ---> NTSC).

No not special .

PAL is a European/Australasian (it's also common in the Far East) format and as such TVs sold in Europe/Australasia commonly support PAL & NTSC as standard.

It is common to find DVD Players that have the ability to output NTSC as PAL too, for ancient TVs that cannot handle NTSC. As to American TVs pre-HDTVs most from my knowledge couldn't handle PAL but I'd imagine all if not most can now handle it. Not all HD frame rates and Hertz are 100% equal so I'd be surprised if they couldn't handle it.

Still like DVD Players/HD Players which have PAL specifically removed (or never added) they may not unless you track a particular model down. The Oppo DVD Player (I forget the other make) is known to be able to convert PAL to NTSC.

It's all a moot point sadly, if you own a USA or Canadian model as they simply don't and probably never will support PAL.
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post #44 of 146
3/24/08 at 4:09am
bradavon thanks for your answer.i made my bh 200 region free but do you know how to change bd region(a,b and c)
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post #45 of 146
3/24/08 at 6:10am
i found thid today maybe it helps SlySoft will release a version of AnyDVD with the BD+ crack and its downloadeble
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post #46 of 146
3/24/08 at 7:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bradavon View Post

That's the million dollar question, that so far no one has cracked. Not on the BH200 or any BD Player. Given time I'm sure someone will crack it though.

Incorrect. Region A/B Blu-Ray players have been available for months. Check out jvbdigital.com for an example.
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post #47 of 146
3/24/08 at 7:19am
I meant as a mass market solution.

I know of them but they're significantly altering the players by soldering stuff to the boards. There is also a Scandinavian company which does something similar. I meant an easy to deploy software type hack.

JVB Digital (who seem to be in Holland) even offer a service to add an SDI connector to BD Players. SDI being a connection used in professional broadcast. I'd consider buying a MR BD Player from the likes of them but I want a Combo and they charge a flipping future too.
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post #48 of 146
3/24/08 at 9:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bradavon View Post

I meant as a mass market solution.

I know of them but they're significantly altering the players by soldering stuff to the boards. There is also a Scandinavian company which does something similar. I meant an easy to deploy software type hack.

JVB Digital (who seem to be in Holland) even offer a service to add an SDI connector to BD Players. SDI being a connection used in professional broadcast. I'd consider buying a MR BD Player from the likes of them but I want a Combo and they charge a flipping future too.

That is not what you said, and I don't have a crystal ball. This is what your post reflects :

Quote:
Originally Posted by bradavon View Post

That's the million dollar question, that so far no one has cracked. Not on the BH200 or any BD Player. Given time I'm sure someone will crack it though.

On top of that, do you know for a fact that it is a hardware mod and not a firmware mod ? I know of at least one person located in Switzerland that is a Sony players firmware modder wiz and the models offered all seem to be Sony's.
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post #49 of 146
3/24/08 at 3:15pm
My first DVD player, the famous Sony one with the motorized front, was perfectly moddable and played any region code as well as any PAL and NTSC DVD.

The stupidity of bringing HD players to the market who do not play back both tv standards is unbelieavable. Is it ignorance?

I have even heard of plain US HD-XA2 players that can be modded to play back PAL DVDs.

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showt...&highlight=xa2

Why can't this be done with the US LG BH-200?
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post #50 of 146
3/25/08 at 2:38am
i just had contact with lg europe and thet told me that the bd reg code is a matter of changing in the service menu as well as the possebillity to change the player into into dubbel position pal/ntsc is also a code to change in service menu but the only one who could give these codes is lg usa
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post #51 of 146
3/25/08 at 2:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by StardustOne View Post

The stupidity of bringing HD players to the market who do not play back both tv standards is unbelieavable. Is it ignorance?

I just don't think there is much of a market for it North America.

Quote:
Originally Posted by StardustOne View Post

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showt...&highlight=xa2

That's impressive.

Quote:
Originally Posted by zabus View Post

i just had contact with lg europe and thet told me that the bd reg code is a matter of changing in the service menu as well as the possebillity to change the player into into dubbel position pal/ntsc is also a code to change in service menu but the only one who could give these codes is lg usa

That's interesting. That's surprisingly honest of LG to tell you that.

I would guess Julio Cohen found this Service Menu to enable SD DVD MR. If someone could find the one to make it PAL & NTSC plus BD MR that would be amazing.
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post #52 of 146
3/25/08 at 4:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bradavon View Post

He he I see the Europeans have taken over the forum, while the North Americans sleep peacefully in their beds


No not special .

PAL is a European/Australasian (it's also common in the Far East) format and as such TVs sold in Europe/Australasia commonly support PAL & NTSC as standard.

It is common to find DVD Players that have the ability to output NTSC as PAL too, for ancient TVs that cannot handle NTSC. As to American TVs pre-HDTVs most from my knowledge couldn't handle PAL but I'd imagine all if not most can now handle it. Not all HD frame rates and Hertz are 100% equal so I'd be surprised if they couldn't handle it.

Still like DVD Players/HD Players which have PAL specifically removed (or never added) they may not unless you track a particular model down. The Oppo DVD Player (I forget the other make) is known to be able to convert PAL to NTSC.

It's all a moot point sadly, if you own a USA or Canadian model as they simply don't and probably never will support PAL.

Well I know the differences between the actual standards. But getting them to play is a whole different story. Are you claiming, that with this multi region hack, it will basically convert a PAL DVD to output as NTSC? Almost like upconverting a 480i image to HD 720, 1080?

Im 95% positive will only accept a 60 hz signal. Its fairly old Mitsu DLP. I dont own this player but it is something I am considering for maybe a little bit down the road. Would this be able to take a PAL disc and output it as NTSC?
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post #53 of 146
3/25/08 at 4:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by blakeBBY View Post

Are you claiming, that with this multi region hack, it will basically convert a PAL DVD to output as NTSC?

No not at all. Sorry if I implied I was.

Quote:
Originally Posted by blakeBBY View Post

Would this be able to take a PAL disc and output it as NTSC?

I don't believe the BH200 can do that.
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post #54 of 146
3/25/08 at 5:31am
Okay I am just making sure. It really wouldn't be anything I would HAVE to have anyway. Just a few select titles that are only available in the UK I wouldn't mind owning. It would have been pretty cool if that would have worked out. Thanks for the info.
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post #55 of 146
3/25/08 at 6:27am
Just a question...if I got a BH-200 from the US(I'm in Australia), and applied this hack, my PAL DVDs would play on it fine?(since my TV supports PAL of course)
Also the BD region would be A since I got it from the US?

Cause it looks like at this point I can only get one from the US, and at this stage I'm more than happy to import US BDs instead of buying discs locally.(at double the price!)

While obviously the HD DVDs would play no worries since they're all region free.
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post #56 of 146
3/25/08 at 6:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrotherEstapol View Post

Just a question...if I got a BH-200 from the US(I'm in Australia), and applied this hack, my PAL DVDs would play on it fine?(since my TV supports PAL of course)
Also the BD region would be A since I got it from the US?

Correct and Correct. It's the Player that doesn't support PAL and chucks it out regardless of your TV.
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post #57 of 146
3/25/08 at 1:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dickydoo View Post

I don't have a new receiver to test bitstreaming, but Dolby TrueHD is still downmixed to DTS 5.1 over SPDIF.

And it always will.... Dolby TrueHD cannot be sent over SPDIF, but instead must be downmixed and sent over as either Dolby Digital or DTS as you have discovered - not enough bandwidth to support it. Why would they send it as DD(640Kbps) if they can send as DTS (1.5Mbps)
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post #58 of 146
3/25/08 at 1:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bolmsted View Post

And it always will.... Dolby TrueHD cannot be sent over SPDIF, but instead must be downmixed and sent over as either Dolby Digital or DTS as you have discovered - not enough bandwidth to support it. Why would they send it as DD(640Kbps) if they can send as DTS (1.5Mbps)

Splitting hairs here...but, prior to LG's March firmware, Dolby TrueHD output over SPDIF was limited to 2-channel PCM.

With that in mind, dickydoo may have been pointing out a positive aspect of the MR hack (i.e. the MR hack doesn't mangle the newfound multi-channel DTS output of TrueHD tracks).
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post #59 of 146
3/25/08 at 2:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by oilblue View Post

Splitting hairs here...but, prior to LG's March firmware, Dolby TrueHD output over SPDIF was limited to 2-channel PCM.

Cannot you still get it to do that depending what audio option you choose? If there was a TrueHD 2.0 track it would be the way to go.

Quote:
Originally Posted by oilblue View Post

With that in mind, dickydoo may have been pointing out a positive aspect of the MR hack (i.e. the MR hack doesn't mangle the newfound multi-channel DTS output of TrueHD tracks).

The hack just makes the BH200 region free, it doesn't change anything to do with audio. I asked Dickydoo if it also removes the March firmware (i.e - by stuffing something up) and he was reporting it doesn't.
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post #60 of 146
3/25/08 at 2:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrotherEstapol View Post

Just a question...if I got a BH-200 from the US(I'm in Australia), and applied this hack, my PAL DVDs would play on it fine?(since my TV supports PAL of course)
Also the BD region would be A since I got it from the US?

Quote:
Originally Posted by bradavon View Post

Correct and Correct. It's the Player that doesn't support PAL and chucks it out regardless of your TV.

Just to clarify -- BrotherEstapol wants to know whether the multi-region hack will allow the US BH200 to play PAL DVDs; your first "Correct" implies that it will, but your second sentence implies that it won't.

BrotherEstapol, unless I've missed something the reports suggest that your BH200 won't play your PAL DVDs even with the current hack. Future hacks may allow it though, like the hacks to all the US Toshiba HD-DVD players.

Just trying to help out a fellow Aussie. (My BH200 should be arriving today, fingers crossed.)
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