[Tomas L]

I'll probably buy a US DVD-player with the help of a friend that lives in Boca Raton, Florida. I will use it to play my reg. 1 DVDs.
If it is made region free, will it be able to play my PAL DVDs? (and output a PAL signal from a PAL DVD?)


I am interested in the new Sony DVP-NS715. This 108 MHz/12 bit DAC and progressive scan (NTSC) player is unbelievably cheap ($200) compared to the prices I have to pay here in Sweden! (The NS755, $299, with SACD capabilities is also interesting...)

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S...VP715P&o=m&a=0


Thanx!

 

[marqueedehome]

I don't know about this specific model, but usually the Sony's have not been very mod-friendly. If i lived temporarily in U.S.A at the moment i would look after the new Philips 962SA player hitting the streets any day now. It is easily modified with remote control to play PAL discs.


marqueedehome

 

[hob]

Did the parties involved in this thread read it at all. or did do it all for nothing? I was up late last night and looked through a few books to find what you wanted. Typed all you would need to find out, even members like me would like to see some response to my effort.

 

[Tomas L]

Hob, I have read your reply and I have even discussed what you wrote with my friend in Boca. I'm sorry if I have been slow to reply, but I've been quite busy the last days...


And you definitely didn't do it all for nothing, so far the thread has been viewed over 130 times! I know that many Europeans is interested in a good reg. 1 DVD-player with progressive scan (although NTSC only) capabilities. As you might know, progressive scan DVD-players are very rare I Europe since there are no standard for PAL progressive scan. (yet...)


If a region free US player could also play my reg. 2 PAL DVDs and send out a PAL signal, I would only need one DVD-player.


Thanks again, hob and marqueedehome!

 

[hob]

Tom L why don't you contact Sony they have coming out in August a progressive scan 300+1 DVD mega changer, I already own 2 CX860 300 and CX850D 200 DVD changers

the model number will be CX-875. Thank you for telling me my time was not wasted. I try to comply with poster and AVS forum regulations, it isn't easy but I will go the extra distance to satisfy both.

 

[Tomas L]

Thanks hob, but I don't have 300 DVDs...yet


More new Sony players: A replacement for the NS900 will come in September and will be called NS905. It will play MP3 and have 12 bit/108 MHz DACs. Does anybody know if Sony will release any DVD-recorders this year...?

 

[Brian Dickie]

TomasL,


I would have thought that you would be better off buying a pal player which is also able to play Region 1 discs and outputs ntsc. There are more region free players in Europe because there is a greater demand for them. In the US there is only a small requirement for R2 (Japan) or pal players so there aren't many available. Many US dvd players have NO capability to output a pal signal. Only players specifically labelled as multiregion will have pal outputs. That will limit your choice of US players considerably.


Similarly, the progressive output is only important if you have a display device which is able to handle a progressive signal. A progressive 'capable' display will cost you a lot more than a dvd player, so I wouldn't base any purchasing decision on that requirement.


Brian

 

[Rachael Bellomy]

Quote:

Originally posted by Tomas L Thanks hob, but I don't have 300 DVDs...yet More new Sony players: A replacement for the NS900 will come in September and will be called NS905. It will play MP3 and have 12 bit/108 MHz DACs. Does anybody know if Sony will release any DVD-recorders this year...?

I think that Sony as a software provider is in the we don't really like DVD recorders camp. That'll proably change later when they see a buck to be made? Best wishes!

 

[Tomas L]

Yes, Sony likes to make money so they won't miss an opportunity to make more...

Few believed that Sony DVD-players would ever read MP3 because of their involvement in the music business, but the latest generation players do read MP3.


BTW: Sony are already selling DVD-recorders in Japan... http://www.avland.co.uk/sony/rdra1/index.htm

 

[dwhite601]

My Apex AD 600A plays any DVD in either its native format, PAL, or NTSC based on user preference. Various APEX models have also been easy to make region assignable via a secret menu. Apex DVD players cost as little as $60!


My XBox plays PAL DVD's (region 1 or open region only) as NTSC (it does a really good job of conversion). Perhaps the European XBox would play NTSC discs as PAL. It's actually cheaper in Europe at the moment. I don't know if anyone has made XBox's code free yet.


Good luck.

 

[Tomas L]

Brian Dickie: I have a front projector, so P/S is no problem. Almost a necessity if the picture i six feet wide...

But you're right, it would be better to buy a reg. 1 player which is able to play Region 1 discs and outputs ntsc. It would be kinda fun though to have a US player and for $200, why not!?


In the near future we will have P/S capable TVs in Europe too, I have read that the next generation of Toshiba TVs will accept P/S input. Check www.avforums.com


dwhite601: Apex is interesting, has any model got progressive scan capabilities? Xbox, I will look into that, but I believe that "normal" player would be a better choice.

 

[Brian Dickie]

Hi Tomas,


If R1 dvds are your main source of movies then you might want to look at things from the other perspective and buy the best R1 player that you can afford. You could then buy a cheaper player for your R2 titles.

I wnt down this route a few years ago and decided to stick with Region 1 discs (importing dvds is MUCH cheaper than importing laserdiscs) as my main source of movies. I bought the best dvd player that I could afford at the time (a Sony 7000). Since then I've purchased a Skyworth dvd player to give me a progressive output to feed my projector. The Skyworth also gives ma a R2 capability and is progressive pal at the same time. Since the video input on my ecp 4501 isn't very clever, the Skyworth is doing most of the work playing dvds at the moment. However, the picture from the Sony (via a line doubler) is still pretty impressive and I'm still getting my 'moneys worth' out of it.


Brian.

 

[zoro]

What economical, player would u guys recomend for my system, with elite pro 710 hdtv, to play r2 and pal movies, possibally pal progressive will be a bonus!!? I do have a x box too, in USA, and would like to confirm if it does pal discs too, and if can possibly do r2 dvds that i really dont have a few only!!IMO x box does decent interlace images through component video for its price??

 

[DrJoe]

Unless the manufacturer specs specify it does, you can assume American DVD players do not play PAL discs. If you make an American player region free, it will play NTSC discs from other regions -- but not PAL discs from Europe. Remember, Japan Region 2 discs are NTSC, so they WILL play on American region-free DVD players.


I went the 2-player route. I bought a Panasonic RP91 for my regular, Region 1 NTSC disc use. For my F38310, a player with progressive scaling is a must. The RP91 is considered by many to be the best in its class.


For limited use with Region 2 PAL discs (I have two Simpsons Europe-release only) I bought an interlaced Apex clone DVD player from a Canadian company. It performs PAL to NTSC conversion and plays both Region 1 and 2 discs. It also has a microphone input for Karaoke, which my 12 year old stepdaughter enjoys.


I guess you really need to prioitize your viewing habits. I'll settle for interlaced video which the TV set scales for PAL, because I don't use it very much. For the vast majority of my viewing, I use the higher-end progressive scaling RP91.


The PAL player I got was a Curtis DVD 1030, reviewed HERE on the Nerd-out Forum. You can find it for ~$100 US.


Later


Joe

 

[dwhite601]

Quote:

Originally posted by Tomas L dwhite601: Apex is interesting, has any model got progressive scan capabilities? Xbox, I will look into that, but I believe that "normal" player would be a better choice.

I've heard that APEX does have a progressive scan model for about $200, but I don't know the model number.

Quote:

Originally posted by zoro I do have a x box too, in USA, and would like to confirm if it does pal discs too, and if can possibly do r2 dvds that i really dont have a few only!!IMO x box does decent interlace images through component video for its price??

I can confirm that my XBox plays PAL. It plays Mylene Farmer DVD's from France. It does, however, refuse to play DVD's specifically encoded for region 2 only. One interesting thing, however: I have several European DVD's that are referenced as being region 2, but are really open region. Perhaps this is the reason for some of the confusion concerning region 2 compatibility.


XBox images are very good. It can generate progressive scan video (for some games), but has been programed to NOT display progressive scan for DVD's.

 

[zoro]

So, I guess, I'll give my X BOX a try First!! If it works mor my extremely limited collection..BINGO, If not? then check..APEX? model #? any one PAL?NTSC capable, multi region?? Prog scan?? ANY ONE??

Thanks for ur help..GUYS!!

 

[DrJoe]

 The Nerd-out Forum is specifically for APex players -- has subforums for each Apex model.



Joe

 

[dwhite601]

I just saw at Frys the Apex AD-800 is the model with progressive scan output. They had it for $180.


Apex units are cheap because they don't have good quality control for their assembly. Units that work well at first are likely to remain working, but some Apex's don't work well out of the box.


Tomas L, if you decide to get an Apex player, try to test it for a few days before taking it home.

 

[H8nXTC]

The XBox mod chips should be hitting the streets any week now, and from what I understand it should make them region free (or is it only for games and not movies?). Check China Messiah and Engima-X, I think are the names...

 

[Matt_Stevens]

APEX does not play PAL properly when converted to NTSC.


I recommend a Malata N996. It will play PAL natively, or convert it to NTSC without distortion.