Pioneer 444 and DTS,DD decoder

[iparout]

Hi there,

1) I'm planning on buying the Pioneer 444-K and as far as I know it doesn't have DD (Dolby Digital) and DTS decoders. All I wanna ask is this : If in the future I want to have DD or DTS sound, are there any standalone DD and DTS decoders out there that can be attached to the DVD player ? What's their cost ?

2) Can I make the 444 region free and macrovision free ? I know it requires hardware changes.. Are they easy ? Can any mulfunction or loss in picture quality occur when making those changes ? (Someone who has hacked his Pioneer could provide some valuable piece of information here)

3) Which are the most easy DVD players to be made region and macrovision free ?

BTW, how is the Pioneer 444-K as a DVD player ? Is it worth it ? Any other recommendations perhaps ?

Thx in advance.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: iparout on 2001-08-29 16:29:54 ]</font>

[next]

The Apex 703 is a three disk player that can be made macrovision and region free with a simple CDR hack that takes less than 3 minutes to accomplish. It also has a built in decoder.

Some argue that it is a jack of all trades but master of none. I have found that it is a master of many. I don't think a master of all exists at this point in time.

[Dauid]

1)Yes there are decoders but it´s more common to buy a receiver with built-in DTS and DD support. If you buy a decoder you have to have a receiver that you can hook it up to.

2)Yes, most all dvdplayers i know of can be modified for this, Pioneer especially. I live in Sweden and there´s a company here selling the pioneer 444s macrov. and codefree. If I know my pioneer right the 444k would be the same only with karaoke function.
And NO, no picture loss or anything.

3)Pioneer is one of them from what I hear.

[Ceboom]

HI,

Im also looking for a Pioneer DVD Player that has the capability to play CD-R, CD-RW, MP3, VCD, SVCD, Karaoke, and more. Do you know where to buy the Pioneer DV-444K here in USA?

thanks,
mike