Modded DVD players

[leggy]

Hello all,

I'm looking for a site that sells modded DVD players. In otherwords R2 players that have been modded to multi region including RCE discs.

I know about techtronics.com but am trying to avoid them due to problems in the past (and present).

Anyhelp is appreciated.

Thanks

Leggy

 

[Vae]

Whats wrong with buying a multi region DVD player? Are there still some DVD's it won't play?

 

[Damini]

http://www.dvdtalk.com/rce.html

Is that any help?

 

[Tom]

Whats wrong with buying a multi region DVD player? Are there still some DVD's it won't play?

Some of the older ones wouldn't play Gladiator discs and other such titles, I'm not sure if that still applies. I bought my DVD a few years back (Pioneer 515), and had it modded by the shop for £50.

 

[Xavier]

If you're just after a multiregion DVD player, then give the KISS DP-450 a look, it's DIVX and XVID capable now too and is a third of it's original price - a bargain at a little over £100. They're not multiregion as standard, but converting mine just meant a firmware update, after which the region can be changed via the setup menus, or set to 'region free' - which works with every disc I've thrown at it thus far including some of the known RCE-enabled discs.

If you've slightly more to spend, give the DP-508 a look too, with DVD+-rw capability and a built-in 80Gb harddisc.

Xav

 

[nath]

www.richersounds.co.uk for all your region free dvd needs!

The main diff in region free gubbins is, as Xav said, either Region 0 which will play all discs happily, or ones that you can specify the region. A pain, but guaranteed to work for all discs because the player effectively becomes the region the disc wants to be played in. I've got a Toshiba 520e which only does Region 0, but so far I've had no problems with any discs, and it is the mutts nuts (530 is the current model I believe).

 

[Arya]

I have Thomson DTH 195 e, could make that codefree by pressing some buttons on my flicker, worked nicely. Just have to press the buttons quite fast

http://shopping.lycos.co.uk/2074en134910.html

Not too expensive either.

 

[leggy]

Thanks guys. Actually the divx and xvid features would be the daddy. Saves me VCDing all my downloads.

 

[nath]

TBH, get an xbox then.. multi region dvd player, plays games and plays mewvies.. all formats. Hook it up to the network and it'll stream vids perfectly. It really is a great media station. Honestly, I don't wanna be fanboyesque but there's no better thing for playing all formats. Priv me/message me on quakenet if you need more info.

 

[Xavier]

An XBox costs more though, doesn't offer basic DVD player features such as S-Video out, 5.1 sound (optical and coaxial) or even a remote without buying the advanced AV and DVD packs, and needs modification to even run as a media player currently. Modifications which will likely prevent you using XBox Live, which, with games such as Gotham2, would be one of the more compelling reasons to own the console, for me at least.

Compared to the KISS players it's a pretty shabby offering as a dvd player, imho.

Incidentally, the DP-500 has network streaming features too. Just a matter of picking the KISS player which best suits your setup.

 

[leggy]

You got a decent link to those KISS players?

Any comment on the quality of DVD playback? Although I'm certain at 100 quid it probably isn't that hot. Better then the ps2 i'm using atm though.

 

[nath]

You're right about the advanced av thing, but it will play dvd's fine if you mod it. It will prevent you from playing xbox live (unless you mount a switch to your mod chip and turn it off when you go online) but that's not the end of the world. I play PGR2 on XBConnect, it's tunneling software that works like gamespy arcade.. much fun to be had there. The software supports any xbox game that supports system link which is quite a few.

The xbox may well be more expensive than the KISS player but you get a whole lot more with it, and if you ask me it's much better value.

 

[RedVenom]

^ Oh snap.

An XBox costs more though, doesn't offer basic DVD player features such as S-Video out, 5.1 sound (optical and coaxial) or even a remote without buying the advanced AV and DVD packs, and needs modification to even run as a media player currently. Modifications which will likely prevent you using XBox Live, which, with games such as Gotham2, would be one of the more compelling reasons to own the console, for me at least.

Compared to the KISS players it's a pretty shabby offering as a dvd player, imho.

Incidentally, the DP-500 has network streaming features too. Just a matter of picking the KISS player which best suits your setup.

I think you're missing the fact that it plays games too. And not just Xbox games at that. And it will play 'LIVE' games too.

 

[Xavier]

You got a decent link to those KISS players?

Any comment on the quality of DVD playback? Although I'm certain at 100 quid it probably isn't that hot. Better then the ps2 i'm using atm though.

http://www.kiss-technology.com/?p=products&v=company

They're excellent players for the money, believe me.

 

[Doomy]

Another predictable vote for xbox. Latest media players for the brick are mindblowing.

 

[Doomy]

An XBox costs more though, doesn't offer basic DVD player features such as S-Video out, 5.1 sound (optical and coaxial) or even a remote without buying the advanced AV and DVD packs, and needs modification to even run as a media player currently. Modifications which will likely prevent you using XBox Live, which, with games such as Gotham2, would be one of the more compelling reasons to own the console, for me at least.

Compared to the KISS players it's a pretty shabby offering as a dvd player, imho.

Incidentally, the DP-500 has network streaming features too. Just a matter of picking the KISS player which best suits your setup.

S video is supported with a cable.

Xbox supports 5.1 sound (with toslink amp link up managable with advanced scart or 3rd party cable)

The chip allows online play (executor 2.2 and upwards) with a switch and negates the need for remote, use the pad .

Picture quality is at least as good as most £150 players i have seen.

Oh and .wmv, all the .mpegs, divx, basically what ever codec u can ram on it.

Oh and then there is the small matter of being able to store all your mp3s on it with a hdd suited to your size of collection.

As a decent media player, nothing touches the Xbox. Really.

And it plays a few games too.

 

[Trem]

Try This Leggy.

 

[Xavier]

I'm just comparing what you'd get in the KISS compared to the XBox option. And I'm not going to count gaming aspects because Leggy asked for a DVD player, the below looks at AV capabilities only...

On top of the cost of the console itself (£129.99)

S-Video and Toslink come care of the advanced AV pack. (£19.99)

DVD remote + sensor would also be needed, unless you're using it in your bedroom or something maybe. (£19.99)

Plus a modchip. (~£30?)

Throw in a decent sided harddisc (80Gb for ~£60)


So, about £260, not including any installatioon/soldering if necessary, and that of course is ignoring the pre-modified XBox option which obviously costs even more (a shave over £300 for a unit with the same size drive, inc the above accessories). With the above you still won't have PVR capability seeing as the XBox has no video-in, tv tuner, or for that matter the ability to record to DVD. You could of course hook up an HTPC but that kind of defeats the object.

I own the KISS alongside another DVD-player (and PS2, XBox), and personally think it's an excellent piece of kit. Zero modding, or bodging required, and just to play media from discs significantly cheaper than the XBox option. DVD playback is excellent for a player of it's class, using a dedicated Hollywood decoder chip, and it's progressive-scan capable (something not natively supported on the XBox because of an incompatibility between the Microsoft reference implementation of PS and Macrovision - it's only possible on the console at all if you're using XBMP2.4 and above).

When we first tested the Kiss, we did compare it to the two consoles and a couple of reference DVD players, and found picture-wise it was pretty close to the Harman/Kardon DVD25 which is plenty nicer than either console can manage.


Xav

 

[Trebz]

Throw in a decent sided harddisc (80Gb for ~£60)
Xav

If we ain't talking games then you dont need a bigger harddisc, as it has one, so we're talking £200. And lets face it, a £100 dvd player aint gonna have fantastic picture quality anyway regardless of what cable you use, so its fairly comparable to the xbox. The only real necessities are the chip and 5.1 cable, so you're talking £180, hardly gonna break the bank... And i'm still excluding the games and the emulation.

Big up the xbox, it rocks your socks!

 

[Doomy]

Even if you went to the effort of spending £260 its a fantastic bargain. The chip itself is so unbelievably easy to fit. I had it running in one of my xbox's sellotaped for a month and it worked.

I went to the effort of correcting your post because 50% of it was inaccurate. You can knock £££s off the price if you just shop around.

Also the cable for the xbox controllers is massive so unless bedroom was massive you would be ok.

And as for leggy just wanting a dvd player, i was merely offering my suggestion as to what I thought would be the best option. Hell you can even install games and films onto the hd itself so you dont even have to get out of bed for that

Also considering the xbox's waranty is invalidated when you open it up, buying a brand new Xbox would be silly, £75 i see them for in cash convertors.

Oh and also also also, xbox drives read cd-rw, memorex being the best brand, some drives play cdrs too but i forget which one this is. Baasically, the older the xbox is the better. Samsung drives iirc.

 

[Xavier]

If we ain't talking games then you dont need a bigger harddisc, as it has one, so we're talking £200. And lets face it, a £100 dvd player aint gonna have fantastic picture quality anyway regardless of what cable you use, so its fairly comparable to the xbox. The only real necessities are the chip and 5.1 cable, so you're talking £180, hardly gonna break the bank... And i'm still excluding the games and the emulation.

Big up the xbox, it rocks your socks!

If you're comparing spec for spec, then storage is a consideration.

 

[Xavier]

Oh and also also also, xbox drives read cd-rw,

my point was they don't write them.

Xav

 

[Trebz]

If you're comparing spec for spec, then storage is a consideration.

If you're comparing spec then include the games aswell then, as you were comparing "AV only" which imo, doesnt include hard-drives.

 

[Xtro]

I haven't read all of this thread but if you like surround sound I am flogging a Sherwood Amp (DTS, DD 5.1, loads of inputs) and 5:1 set of speakers (sub, front, front left, front right, rear left and right ofc). Boxed, instructions, mintola - all for LOW price due to leading up to me moving. Selling ridiculously cheap just to shift stuff.

PM for info

/edit: now read all the thread - I've got both a multi-region player from Richer Sounds (they do know their shit btw) and an Xbox. Xbox with Evo-X dash and all the shit on is fucking GREAT, and has been a godsend since I got it, recommend one mate.

 

[Doomy]

my point was they don't write them.

Xav

Thats what mah pc is for

 

[nath]

Need I remind people that you don't need a mod chip to mod an xbox. You can mod it without one, works a treat. My mate has about 3 xboxs modded without chips. So in effect, all you need is the xbox. Anything else you get is extra niceness such as an av cable and a remote. Not necessary though.

 

[Xavier]

If you're comparing spec then include the games aswell then, as you were comparing "AV only" which imo, doesnt include hard-drives.

PVR is an AV function matey.

 

[Doomy]

True true..... Unless you decide to go online.

 

[Xavier]

Thats what mah pc is for

TV program -> DVD

can an xbox do that? Or a PC for that matter? without buying a TV-card or AIW board?

 

[Doomy]

Sorry i mustve missed something in your previous posts, does the DivX player do that? If it does, cool, but as i said, my pc does all that.

I still believe the xbox is the best midpriced option, £ for £. It does a million and one things that would interest anyone with very little hassle. Even if someone didnt want emulation, maybe theyd want it later? Or whatever else it does? Shoutcasts, radio streaming (well lots of streaming), multi region, irc (lol), games, xbox live, emulation, karaoke p), and even if the fuss of chipping it or TSOP flashing it, Microsoft recently announced a media player for the xbox which will basically update the dashboard to be a fully versatile media suite. Unfortunately usenet abuse will prove fruitless with that, as somehow the removal of the windows secure dvd software wont be removed. AFAIK.