PAL/NTSC Region Free Players

[johnmiic]

Can anyone recommend what type machine is good? My friend suggested I just look and see what's on eBay and there are some cheap ones there but I hesitate to buy the cheapest one in case it turns out to be a bad machine. Take a look:

PAL NTSC DVD Player, Electronics, wii items on eBay.com

Can anyone recommend a brand or type?

[Mikey]

I'm interested in reading some replies too.

I'm always afraid to buy an NTSC/PAL player because I always think the seller is confusing NTSC/PAL with region coding.

Also,

I heard PAL is going to change very soon.

Will these players be able to play the new PAL format ?

[johnmiic]

I heard PAL is going to change very soon.

Will these players be able to play the new PAL format ?

DOH!!!!

[david_b]

I bought something similiar to this a few years back for my Space:1999 HiDef R2 boxset..:

Amazon.com: Coby DVD224 All Multi Region Code Free Multi-Zone DVD Player: Electronics

It was about $40 and had a dozen super reviews. Very, very portable, yet in the few times I played it, it worked great, both PAL and NTSC. The main point for most of the reviewers was that for that price, you really can't go wrong, even if it stops playing in a few years or so..

When I was over in Kuwait, I bought a multi-region Sony portable player (w/screen) for $99 that you can plug into your TV to view shows that way, so most multi-region players are very inexpensive. I knew I already had a player at home, but this one was for those road-trips and long plane flights (had a nice 4hr battery..).

david_b

[johnmiic]

That looks pretty good actually an the price is very low.

[cjefferys]

One brand I'd highly recommend is Oppo. They have a variety of models including upconverting players and most of them are all region and handle NTSC and PAL (some models can also play DVD Audio and SACDs). Oppo players have a pretty good reputation online.

I have a several year old Yamaha player and a cheap Lennox player that were both "remote hacked" to all region and can do NTSC/PAL, but when they crap out on me, I'll get an Oppo.

A lot of people like this model and it's gotten good reviews:

Amazon.com: OPPO DV-980H 1080p Up-Converting Universal DVD Player with HDMI and 7.1CH Audio: Electronics

It does a great job in upconverting and plays everything. Amazon doesn't mention all region or NTSC/PAL, but it can be made to play any region discs with a simple remote control code, and it does play NTSC and PAL discs.

[bobws]

i bought a cheap $40 one off ebay with anoth $30 for shipping and it plays great! i use it to watch region 2 Doctor Who before they release it over here.

[david_b]

Cheap players are the way to go ~ Again, after 3-4 years, just buy another one.

They're never going to go up in price...

david_b