Philips DVP5140 questions (XviD, region-free, etc.)

[MrFriendly]

Hello,

I am eagerly anticipating the purchase of my very first DVD player and before I rush off to the store, I am hoping to get answers to these questions. I have searched high and low beforehand, but for whatever reason, I found it near-impossible to get any info whatsoever.

1. Model differences. In the stores, the player is labeled "DVP5140," but apparently there are different version of the models around. The Romanian Philips site (you can switch the language from the top menu and download the English manual) lists it as "DVP5140K/51" and one of the stores has "microphone" under the feature list, so supposedly, all Romanian stores are selling that particular model. I know it has added karaoke support, but does anyone know if it also has the features of the other 5140's or is it somehow inferior?
2. XviD playback. This model can handle XviD movies, right? I see many people claiming so under Lists\DVD Players, but I see no mention of it in the PDF manual.
3. Region-free. Does this player really have a built-in way to turn it region-free? I really don't want to resort to third party firmware or any hacks that would void the warranty.
4. Disc loading mechanism. I was horrified to hear that the 5100 uses slot loading. The manual for the 5140 clearly says 'tray,' so it really does use a tray-loading mechanism, right?
5. Quality. I've got a Philips 24PW8504 TV, which is an older 16:9 model with NTSC and PAL support, but no progressive scanning. I also don't have the money or the space for a separate speaker system. Can I expect good picture and sound quality? I'm not talking over-the-top fantastic cinematic experience here, but good quality.

Are there any issues that I should be aware of? I'm particulary interested in any XviD, DivX or region playback issues. These are some concerns raised by other people that I've read:

1. Playback issues with packed bitstreams in XviD movies. I have no clue what that means. I guess I'll just have to cross my fingers and hope I don't have any of those files.
2. No DTS support. This shouldn't concern me since DTS audio on DVDs is apparently so rare.
3. Finicky remote control. The beam doesn't bounce off the walls?? That's an actual issue?! That sounds like nitpicking to me.

Thanks in advance for reading my lengthy post (and hopefully posting a helpful reply ).

[jagabo]

http://home.wi.rr.com/ntngod/dvp642_vs_dvp5140/

https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=301153&highlight=dvp5140

https://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks.php?select=Philips+DVP+5140

[MrFriendly]

Thank you for the reply.

I'm sorry to say I couldn't find anything useful in the first link. The second one was very confusing, but somewhat helpful (the thread centered around the 642, 5190 and DivX encoding methods and the 5140 was just mentioned in passing). As for the region hack, I guess it applies to all 5140 models.

1. Model differences. I still can't find anything on this. Googling gets me a ton of Russian pages, which BabelFish turns into gibberish. I also heard back from the stores and one sells the 5140/12 and the other says DVP5140 is as specific as the model name gets on the package. But since it's got a mic input, it has to be the 5140K/51. So I guess I should go for the latter, since in theory bugs in the previous model might have been fixed.
2. XviD playback. Apparently so. Hopefully it's omitted from the manual only because of licensing issues.
3. Region-free. I guess the hack for the other 5140s should work. Can using that hack cause any problems? I don't think I can convert all of my non-zone2 DVDs
4. Disc loading mechanism. Tray, thankfully.
5. Quality. I guess it should be good. Everyone's talking about the quality in relation to their space age TV sets and throwing specs around. That's all Greek to me

I didn't spot any severe issues. From what I understand, I can expect SRT/SUB subtitle problems when dealing with AC3 audio and I may have to burn the discs again if they're not using the strict Joliet format.

Thanks again, jagabo. If anyone has anything to add, feel free to do so

[jagabo]

You might find some of the information in this link useful:

http://www.jarnot.com/twiki/bin/view/Public/DVP642LisaBsAVIGuide

Although it is aimed at the DVP-642 some of the issues are common to many Divx/DVD players. If nothing else the discussion of MPEG4Modifier and GSpot should be of help.

[handyguy]

https://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers

By the way, why don't you get a 5960 instead? I have seen it cheaper than a 5140 at Circuit City sometimes.

[MrFriendly]

Thanks, jagabo. I've bookmarked the link for reference. I took the pluge on Friday and I've got no qualms with the player. I was just a little ticked off that it turned out to be a 5140/12 instead of 5140K/52, that the salesman was a patronizing little git and that the player's so overpriced compared to other countries.

The 5960 may be listed on the Philips site, but I couldn't find it in any store. It also doesn't make sense to pay extra for HDMI since my TV doesn't support it.

I'm perfectly content with the DVP5140/12. The only problem I've run into was that it won't display subtitles for files with AC3 audio. It doesn't really bug me enough to burn the file again.

[SDF.Monoxide]

Won't play PAL DVDs even with the hack. just says loading....

from what I read about this player it supported playing PAL DVD's on a NTSC TV...

if it really does support this with the region free code then I should return this player/

if thsi really dont work, what one does that ia around teh same price.

[FulciLives]

Won't play PAL DVDs even with the hack. just says loading....

from what I read about this player it supported playing PAL DVD's on a NTSC TV...

if it really does support this with the region free code then I should return this player/

if thsi really dont work, what one does that ia around teh same price.

As I said in another thread you didn't burn it correctly or used bad media.

It does do PAL to NTSC.

Please stop talking nonsense.

The last line you typed doesn't even remotely make any sense.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Johanna]

I have Philips DVP5140/37....I have firmware upgrade from http://www.p4c.philips.com/files/d/dvp5140_37/ and "dvp5140_37_fus_eng.zip".


two things: dvp5145_37 and dvp5140s_37...what is dvp5145s to "s" letter??? what is different?

thanks

[MJA]

The 5960 may be listed on the Philips site, but I couldn't find it in any store. It also doesn't make sense to pay extra for HDMI since my TV doesn't support it.

here in the US the price of ther 5140 is $50(or $44 )and Philips DVP5982 like $63 on amazon.com

[RabidDog]

S=silver K=Black (dont ask me, I dont know why either?)
I think the big difference with the 5140 and 5960 is that the 5140 is better with audio, better S/N ratio whereas the 5980 has 1080p upscaling and divx ultra.

[jagabo]

S=silver K=Black (dont ask me, I dont know why either?)

It's common to use K for black because B is normally used for blue (although not much A/V equipment comes in blue).

[FulciLives]

S=silver K=Black (dont ask me, I dont know why either?)
I think the big difference with the 5140 and 5960 is that the 5140 is better with audio, better S/N ratio whereas the 5980 has 1080p upscaling and divx ultra.

The 5140 has no upscaling features but it does have Ultra DivX.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Tiger_Lion]

At the same price and region free capability, which one is better, Philips DVP5140 or LG LDA-830?
How to do firmware upgrade?
Thanks!

[RabidDog]

Ahh romanian pluge .. Its my favorite dish from the old country .. made from High quality corned Beef
You dont sound romanian "salesman was a patronizing little git"....

[Riki Chang]

This model does not have search on time on avi???
(go to timecode like in DVD-Video)
is It possible to correct this philips's Nonsense?