Posted by P.V. on 01/13/08 20:52

<Mamadu.Bwana@gmail.com> kirjoitti
viestiss�:f411e541-34fd-4fb1-9526-1d960eee6941@c23g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...
> Dear friends,
>
> I recently moved to the USA form Europe and I might move to Canada or
> back to Europe in the future. I am looking for your advice concerning
> the purchase of a DVD player which would allow me to play any DVD in
> any country on any TV. However, I do not really understand the
> technical issues (such as the difference between region-free vs multi-
> system for example).
>
> I found a website which offers *region free* players:
>
> http://www.dvdoverseas.com/store/index.html?loadfile=catalog86_0.html
>
> and *multi-system* players:
>
> http://www.dvdoverseas.com/store/index.html?loadfile=catalog87_0.html
>
> Which is better?
>
> Also, on Amazon, I found this player:
>
> http://www.amazon.com/PHILIPS-DVP5960-REGION-PLAYER-UPSCALING/dp/B000N3C0C0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1200251979&sr=8-1
>
> Which gets good reviews, is not expensive and offers "1080i
> Upsampling" though I have no idea what that really does.
>
> My TV is a rather modest POLAROID FLM-1911 (http://www.amazon.com/
> Polaroid-FLM-1911-19-HD-ready-LCD/dp/B000FOE052). Lastly, I should
> probably add that I never watch TV programs, only rented or purchased
> DVDs, but that I have pleny of videos on my computer in *.avi and
> *.mp4 formats.
>
> I also watch a lot of DVD purchased in Russia.
>
> Could you please point me towards the right DVD player for such needs?
>
> Many thanks in advance,
>
> Mamadu

I'm not sure about multi-system, but I would guess it means that the
player can convert PAL material for NTSC tv and vice versa. The players
behind your multi-system link also seem to accept different voltages, so
you could use such even if you'll need to move again. Most modern TV's
seem to accept both NTSC and PAL video without problems, but if you're
not sure about your TV, it would be a good idea to choose a player that
can do the conversion.

Region-free simply means that the player is set to play DVD's of any
region (USA and Canada 1, Europe 2, Russia 4). I would recommend such
player unless there were some problematic DVD's with Regional Coding
Enhancement (RCE), at least in region 1. They first check if the player
would play discs of any other region by pretending to be a disc of all
other regions one by one. If the player starts playing the disc before
the disc finally checks for intended region, the disc will only show a
message that it is only intended for region so-and-so.

As far as I know this feature is used only in some region 1 discs, while
all(?) discs of other regions would play fine in a region-free player.
Unless someone has other info, I would recommend having two DVD players:
one for region 1 only, and one region free for all other regions.

1080i Upsampling means that the player can rescale the original material
on DVD into TV's resolution, which nowadays is usually much higher that
resolution on DVD. If the player doesn't perform this conversion, the TV
can do it also just fine. Having the player to do the upsampling is
preferrable only if you know that the player you're using does better
job upsampling than your TV. Besides, upsampling-capable players usually
only output in resolutions 1280x720 or 1920x1080 (well, also in SDTV
resolutions 720x480 or 720x576), and I believe your TV's resolution
isn't any of those, so the TV would have to rescale the video anyway.
That's why I doubt if this feature would be worth of paying extra for
such player.

P.V.

[Back to original message]