panasonic sa-pm08. DVD player unlock required please!

[amandamcintosh3]

I have an old panasonic sa-pm08. It is still in good order and I can't afford to replace it.
Can it be hacked to play EVERYTHING (i.e. any region AND home made cd's & dvd's, svcd's, etc.)?

Thanks.

[jman98]

You have 2 separate issues.

1) Not all players can be made region free. Some can. Some can't. If you don't find an unlock code here in the DVD Players list (see the left column under "LISTS") and a web search turns up nothing, you are out of luck. Do NOT pay someone for "unlock codes". We had a recent post where a UK person did that and it was just a complete waste of money.
2) Firmware determines whether your player supports VCD/SVCD. Divx/Xvid playback is controlled by a chip that either you player has or it doesn't. Can't hack your way into supporting that. Whether your player supports consumer burnable discs depends on the way it was manufactured and the laser it uses. Some players, like some older Sony models, just did not support consumer burnable discs well if at all. A hack won't fix that problem.

Here in the USA, we can buy decent, play almost anything type players for $50-60 US. Surely you can really afford to buy a new player. Maybe you just haven't priced them in a long time and you just remember what you paid years ago for one.

[Jimbo1959]

I've tried this hack http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks/pa...c-dvd-s54/9374 but its confusing and seems to want me to use two different remotes. My player cost me $12.50 second hand (2 yrs old)!!!! , its just for the bedroom but it would be great to be able to play all DVDs. Ive just hacked a philips model in no time at all.