Does Philips BDP3406/F7 play PAL DVDs on NTSC TV?

[whachano]

The Philips BDP3406/F7 can be made DVD region free.
But does it play PAL DVDs on an NTSC tv?

Anyone try it?

[jman98]

I've never seen or heard of a Philips DVD player that didn't support PAL and NTSC video output as a selectable option. If this player doesn't have that it would be a first. Do note that once you make the player region free that if you apply firmware updates to it later those updates may break the region free mode.

[hech54]

Isn't that a Blu Ray player?

[whachano]

Isn't that a Blu Ray player?

Yes its a BluRay player. Also plays DVDs.
I'm concerned with the DVD aspect since I have alot of PAL DVDs and my TV is an NTSC

I've never seen or heard of a Philips DVD player that didn't support PAL and NTSC video output as a selectable option. If this player doesn't have that it would be a first. Do note that once you make the player region free that if you apply firmware updates to it later those updates may break the region free mode.

And thank you jman98. You unknowing answered a questioned I hadn't asked. That being about applying future firmware updates. I had a feeling that was the case.

But back to the topic of PAL DVDs on an NTSC TV with this player, I looked through the owners manual online and I can't see anywhere that mentions selectable signal output (NTSC/PAL).
I own Philips DVD players and know that in the menu they have a choice to select what video signal (PAL or NTSC) to output. I cant find that option in the BDP3406.

Would love to hear if someone has some first hand experience with playing PAL DVDs on an NTSC TV with this player.

Thanks.

[jagabo]

For the last several years Philips DVD players sold in the USA only output NTSC signals. They convert PAL discs to NTSC output. They maintain the proper aspect ratio for both the analog and digital outputs and do a good job scaling and frame rate conversion. I don't know about their Blu-ray players though. My guess is they work just as well. But it's much harder to get all region Blu-ray players so you may not be able to make it region free.

[whachano]

I don't know about their Blu-ray players though. My guess is they work just as well. But it's much harder to get all region Blu-ray players so you may not be able to make it region free.

The BluRay portion is definitely NOT region free at this moment. Hack only works on DVD side of the player.

[turk690]

The Philips BDP3406/F7 can be made DVD region free.
But does it play PAL DVDs on an NTSC tv?

Anyone try it?

Yes, this Philips BD player (bought here in Canada) does play PAL DVDs, outputting them as NTSC, and displaying them properly on an NTSC-only TV. I didn't believe this until a friend said it played the PAL DVD+Rs I shot, edited, and authored when I was in the Middle East. Observing this, I inserted a commercial PAL concert DVD, which it also played, but maybe because it was region free. True to form, on inserting a true region 2 DVD, the red banner came up saying it wasn't region 1 and playback is not permitted. Conclusion: what will stop you from playing a DVD is not that it's PAL but that it's region 2. Since most PAL commercial DVDs are also region 2, then tough. BTW, it also played my own authored BD-Rs which were sourced from 50i AVCHD, displayed properly on an NTSC TV. Similarly, since the majority of current commercial BDs are 24p, the only thing that will stop you is again if the BD is region B (I have an 'Avatar' region B which did NOT play).

[jagabo]

what will stop you from playing a DVD is not that it's PAL but that it's region 2.

But there's a DVD region free code for the player here:
https://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks/philips-bdp3406/11515

[whachano]

The Philips BDP3406/F7 can be made DVD region free.
But does it play PAL DVDs on an NTSC tv?

Anyone try it?

Well to answer my own question:

No, it will not convert a PAL DVD to play on an NTSC TV.
It will output the PAL DVD in PAL
There is no way to adjust that.

[hockley91]

I bought one the other day. It plays the .avi NTSC files just fine, the PAL one's are in black and white...through RCA jacks and not HDMI...

[jman98]

I bought one the other day. It plays the .avi NTSC files just fine, the PAL one's are in black and white...through RCA jacks and not HDMI...

That confirms what whachano said then. It is NOT a converting player.

[hockley91]

If I apply the hack, do you all think the PAL and NTSC .avi files would display correctly? I've never modified a DVD player before...

[georgejefferson]

I bought mine in the US and hacked it to region 0. Someone posted that they got theirs to play Russian PALs, but I couldn't get mine to play PAL Region 2 or PAL Region 4. Looking for a cheap player in the US that can be hacked to play PAL Region 2 & 4....can anyone point me in the right direction?

[jman98]

georgejefferson - I bought a Philips DVP3560/F7 in August from Best Buy and it could still be hacked with the information available under the DVD Players list link in the column on the left. Do note that if you ever upgrade the firmware it may break the hack. Also note that the DVP3560/F7 is a DVD player only. But it is a converting player. I have tested various PAL sources on it and it played them all. It sells for a just a shade under $40.

Note that some Russian DVDs are not region coded and are actually region 0. I spent quite a bit of time in Ukraine and I used to buy Russian DVDs on a regular basis.

[bergmanesque]

Well, I'm a little confused.

I bought the Philips BDP3406 because of this hack:

To check the current region
1.Power on with no disc inside
2.Press HOME
3.Enter 8520
1.Power on with no disc in tray
2.Press HOME
3.Enter 1389310
DVD Region Code: 0

Posted here:

https://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks/philips-bdp3406/11515

and tried to apply the hack tonight. I tried several times. But it does not work. Perhaps the hack isn't specific enough. After I enter the numbers, do I push enter or OK or play or what? Because nothing happens, and the region code doesn't change. The hack doesn't say it only works for the DVD side; it is assumes to work for both the DVD and BD sides.

Who can sort this out?

Many thanks.

Richard

[jagabo]

I don't know anything about the Philips BDP3406, but very few Blu-ray players can be hacked region free for Blu-ray. The hacks given here are almost always for DVD only.

[jman98]

bergmanesque - Good questions. I don't have your model so I can't try out the hack but you could try pushing OK after you enter the numbers. We've had people post hacks here but leave out critical pieces of information like you have to push OK before entering the numbers or after entering the numbers and the hacks won't work without doing that. Do note too that it could unfortunately also be that Philips has updated the firmware on your model and the hack no longer works as a result. I don't recommend trying to find older firmware and installing it but if you are sure you can return the player if that fails and it gets bricked as a result, go ahead. Finally, note that the hack most definitely ONLY effects DVD playback and does NOT make this player region free for BluRay playback. And since it's not a converting player and displays all PAL DVDs as PAL video output only, the usefulness of making it region free is significantly reduced for a lot of people. If you own a Samsung HDTV like I do and bought it in the USA or Canada, it will NEVER be able to correctly display PAL video.

[popsickle]

if you applied the firware update before the hack, it is possible that the code has been removed or changed.

[ryanxxx]

In the hack section for this player, someone states: "Using a USA unit and trying play PAL formatted video is only possible through HDMI on this device. The Composite output (Yellow RCA port), will output a PAL signal with PAL discs, which is not compatible with NTSC (USA) TV's. The HDMI Output is already converted to an HD signal, when using DVD's, because of the Up-conversion. HD signals are neither NTSC or PAL, therefore it works."

I am assuming that the poster I quoted above is referring to HDTV's when stating that PAL discs are not compatible with NTSC TV's, in that, since HDTV's have HDMI and most would connect Blu-ray players in this way, the HDTV itself does not have the ability or need to handle PAL. And, since these TV's don't have that PAL capability, the playback of PAL DVD's with a composite connection wouldn't be possible. However, I have a tube-style TV, and tube TV's obviously don't have HDMI connectivity, but most (mine included) do have composite connectivity.

While looking at cheap DVD players, to replace my recently deceased hacked DVD player, I found a couple that had region hacks (both about the same price), but then I saw this Blu-ray for about $10 more, which, along with HDMI, has composite connectivity. Despite not having an HDTV, my goal is to find an inexpensive player that can be made region free for regular DVD's, and for an extra ten bucks I may as well get the current technology (why go backwards?), with the added bonus of being able to view Blu-ray discs (at lower quality, of course. I also don't care whether or not it is region free for Blu-ray discs), as well as being able to stream Netflix, and connect it to my network and stream video from my server to my TV.

As far as I understand, with tube TV's, both the player and the TV have to be able to handle the PAL format. Obviously, if this is the case, my TV does, since my now dead hacked DVD player (and another before that) connected to my TV with a composite connection and played and displayed non-region 1 PAL formatted discs without issue.

So, before I buy this player, my question is: When connected via a composite connection to a tube-style TV (that can handle PAL), in conjunction with the hack, will this player play regular non-region 1 DVD discs that are in PAL format?

[popsickle]

Yes, I play region 2 DVDs with a PAL to NTSC converter. But the hack doesn't unlock Blu-ray disks.

[ryanxxx]

@popsickle: Thanks for the reply, but that still doesn't really answer my question. How is your Blu-ray connected and to what type of TV? If it's connected to a tube TV via a composite connection, do you require a PAL to NTSC converter because your TV isn't PAL capable, or it is but the player requires this device to work with tube TV's, regardless?

[popsickle]

My bluray is connected with composite. I have a tube NTSC TV without support for PAL, so I had to buy an extra device that makes the conversion.

[ryanxxx]

Thanks popsickle.

Just to confirm, I bought the player and the hack works with a composite connection on a tube TV. Region 2 & 4 PAL format DVD's play fine (and in color.) So, as long as your tube TV supports PAL, (or, if it doesn't, you buy a PAL to NTSC converter adapter like popsickle mentioned) you're good to go with this player for a region free machine using a composite connection.