DVD Player Recommendations?

[usually_quiet]

I'll testdrive the latest LG BP220 since it's available locally and cheap.
Looks like USA Sony & Panny bluray wont play Ntsc/Pal standard dvds (a feature which should be nominal at this point) unless the units are either hacked or imported (not sure which). If imported, then I'd probably be stuck with the same black level issue I have with the imported Pioneer.
It's always something.

The regular LG BP220 won't play PAL DVDs and convert the signal to NTSC. I was not aware of that requirement when I suggested it. You would need a modified version to play PAL DVDs on an NTSC TV. http://www.world-import.com/lg-bp-220-region-free-dvd-region-a-blu-ray-player-works-on-any-tv.htm However, I don't know if black levels would be correct.

[orsetto]

Looks like USA Sony & Panny bluray wont play Ntsc/Pal standard dvds (a feature which should be nominal at this point0

Bear in mind the BluRay player specs were intentionally designed by Sony to thwart every conceivable hack that people were doing with DVD players. LG is running against the herd with its "region-free" BD/DVD models, tho the BD playback remains locked to Region A despite the DVD functionality being hacked for multi-region. Check the model descriptions very carefully on dealer websites.

[spiritgumm]

The regular LG BP220 won't play PAL DVDs and convert the signal to NTSC. I was not aware of that requirement when I suggested it. You would need a modified version to play PAL DVDs on an NTSC TV. http://www.world-import.com/lg-bp-220-region-free-dvd-region-a-blu-ray-player-works-on-any-tv.htm However, I don't know if black levels would be correct.

Pal wasnt the highest priority in my list of preferences, so I didnt want that criterion to weed out whatever suggestions people had. But I figure if I go Bluray, it would be nice to have. Odd that the BP220 specs says it plays both Pal and Ntsc, and orsetto says LG is region-free, so it sounds like it should work. They removed the picture Zoom feature, though.
http://www.lg.com/us/blu-ray-players/lg-BP220-blu-ray-dvd-player/technical-specifications
I wouldnt trust World Exports as already stated (incorrect color/black level for USA TV).

On the Philips site, I was looking at the manual for one of the models that came after the 3560 (only found two reviews for one, both negative), and it suggested changing the TV system to accept Pal color. I dont think my Sony HDTV will do that, but an interesting solution to my import Pioneer problem.

[usually_quiet]

The regular LG BP220 won't play PAL DVDs and convert the signal to NTSC. I was not aware of that requirement when I suggested it. You would need a modified version to play PAL DVDs on an NTSC TV. http://www.world-import.com/lg-bp-220-region-free-dvd-region-a-blu-ray-player-works-on-any-tv.htm However, I don't know if black levels would be correct.

Pal wasnt the highest priority in my list of preferences, so I didnt want that criterion to weed out whatever suggestions people had. But I figure if I go Bluray, it would be nice to have. Odd that the BP220 specs says it plays both Pal and Ntsc, and orsetto says LG is region-free, so it sounds like it should work. They removed the picture Zoom feature, though.
http://www.lg.com/us/blu-ray-players/lg-BP220-blu-ray-dvd-player/technical-specifications
I wouldnt trust World Exports as already stated (incorrect color/black level for USA TV).

On the Philips site, I was looking at the manual for one of the models that came after the 3560 (only found two reviews for one, both negative), and it suggested changing the TV system to accept Pal color. I dont think my Sony HDTV will do that, but an interesting solution to my import Pioneer problem.

The link I gave is for a BP220 with custom firmware, not the normal US version of the BP220. You could bring an all-region PAL DVD to the showroom for testing, but there is nothing in BP220's specs at LG's US website or in the product manual that says it will play PAL DVDs and convert them to NTSC. The nomal US version of the BP220 only plays region 1 or region 0 DVDs and I found no published hacks to make the player region free for DVDs.

In other words, if you want all-region and PAL to NTSC conversion for DVDs, you had best get the modified version. However even the modified version only plays region A and all-region Blu-Ray discs.

[spiritgumm]

yes, I know your link was to World Import (I mistakenly referred to as World Export). If you check my link to LG (USA), expand the first category (Disc Playback) it lists both Pal and Ntsc for DVD playback. Since the model is for USA, that means it will output both types to a USA TV.

I picked up a model at Walmart, and it does indeed play region-free Pal dvds. Ntsc dvd, region-free Pal dvd, and a Bluray (from Twilight Zone TVseries) all loaded with no unusual delay and played normally. Dark scenes looked fine. The unit's menus are straight forward and uncomplicated. The USB 2.0 input makes scanning thru divx (back/FF) on a thumb drive much better than USB 1.1 on my Pioneer (and probably the Philips).

Major Con is the small remote; maybe a larger Universal would work.
Minor Cons (relative to Pioneer) are onscreen display okay but not quite as good, very limited "disc resume" feature (none for blu), no zoom, no USB button on the remote. Otherwise very impressive. Cant comment on streaming. The import Pioneer was region-free, but I wouldnt expect that from a USA Blu/Dvd player out of the box.

Inre to the Pioneer import, I was fiddling with the Sony TV's "black corrector" and "White balance" to see if that would help (didnt), when I noticed the picture presets (Cinema, Standard, Vivid) werent increasing the brightness. Turns out (duh) I just had to manually raise the TV brightness/color to improve dark scenes from the import Pioneer.
Of course now I'm tempted to keep the LG, considering the Pioneer brand is on the wane, and who knows what other features will be removed from future DVD/Blu players.

[usually_quiet]

Yes, I saw the bit about the BP220 playing PAL DVDs at the US website, but there was nothing that specifically said it could convert from PAL to NTSC. Good to see confirmation that it can convert as well as play them.

I hope it will prove acceptable . Making the player region free without using customized firmware may or may not be possible. A couple of searches revealed some requests for region-free hacks to the BP220, but I didn't see any answers.

[PowerFalcon]

Are there any other options besides the Philips 3680 or 3620, for under $100.00 that is good as a DVD player, and only a player ?

[spiritgumm]

The Philips 3560 is still available from Walmart online ($30, free shipping to your local store). Plays okay, and USB 2.0 (fast divx navigation) but kept stalling on one divx I had which played fine on my Pioneer. Dont really like the remote and onscreen menu, but for $30, it might be a good backup to have.

I phoned Philips to ask about the later models, 3680/3620, but they have no clue about them (or anything). The 3680 is orderable at Bestbuy ($40), but also gets 2 bad reviews there. Otherwise, there are no reviews anywhere, and no reputable retail/online sellers for those 2 models (except 3680 at Bestbuy). Philips online store is "temporarily" closed.

The LG blu player I got wouldnt play a Dvix until I changed the fourcc to "xvid." Dont know if the brand has discontinued "Divx" support (its not listed in playable formats of current models).

I'm still leaning on keeping the import Pioneer, but would like to know if there's typical settings I can use on my TV to match the foreign color output (rather than trust my own eye).

[warresg]

Anyone tried connecting DVD/blu ray player to a TV via a hdmi to component converter. Any issues? My current TV does not have hdmi slot.

[jman98]

warresg - Don't hijack threads. Just make a new thread for questions like this. Your HDMI specific question is irrelevant to spiritgumm's original post. Some DVD players still have component connections. The Philips 3560 does.

spiritgumm - I'd advise caution with the 3680 and 3620 based on what you said. Although 5+ years ago things were very different, now Philips actually does make models, at least for North America, that cannot be made region free. Some of their models are more problematic than others. The 3560, which you mentioned as did I, has done me well and I'm really happy with it but I would hesitate to buy one of their players if I couldn't find enough reviews to get a real sense of the player's reliability and whether it could be made region free or not.

Your foreign color question may take edDV to weigh in. You may need to contact him directly via IM as this thread may not be one he would normally look at.

[tonypeter]

I'm still leaning on keeping the import Pioneer, but would like to know if there's typical settings I can use on my TV to match the foreign color output (rather than trust my own eye).

The import Pioneer players and DVD recorders have settings to adjust black level. One has to go into setup to do it.

[spiritgumm]

The import Pioneer players and DVD recorders have settings to adjust black level. One has to go into setup to do it.

yeah, I tried that already (see back a page), doesnt work right:
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/346406-DVD-Player-Recommendations?p=2165582&viewful...=1#post2165582

jman98, I coincidentally PMed him last week, but he didnt reply. I'll send another PM.

I did buy the Philips 3680 at my local Bestbuy. Philips greatly simplified their software and remote alot, which was very interesting. They added FF/RW to the chapter buttons (the Arrow buttons will still do FF/RW). Added a Main Menu to select Dvd or USB, eliminating the remote USB button. Also eliminated the Key pad and Info button on the remote. Instead, there's a button for an Info menu - info shows minimal info top of screen which also acts as GoTo options. Unfortunately Info wont reliably show the elapsed/remaining time for chapters or movie - the POV of the time displayed keeps changing when you check info (buggy ware). An improvement is the picture is not zoomed in when checking info, as is on the 3560.
My biggest disappointment with the 3680, even to my untrained eye, is the picture quality is pretty bad. There seems to be alot of "noise" (I think that's what I'm seeing) in comparison with the 3560 HDMI, and RCA connection also worse in comparison.
I dont need region-free, but PAL-compatible would be nice.