DVD player recommendation?

[evilkat]

Hi guys...I'm a bit flummoxed by this next purchase decision! It's unusual for me, because of the specific requirements in order of importance:

1. Be a universal (region free) DVD player
2. Be under $100 in price
3. Progressive/Upconversion optional but nice to have
4. HDMI/DVI out optional but nice to have

Under any other circumstance I would go for an Oppo...but the price is the deciding factor here. This DVD player is actually for my parents, not for myself, so these reqs are not very flexibile!

Anyway would appreciate any advice you can give me!

 

[vinaykagarwal]

One option is Philips DVP5960
It is region free, has HDMI output, progressive scan etc, under $100.

I had bought one last year but got pushed out by my brand new Blu-ray player. If you don't mind used player that works like new, I can sell it to you.

 

[EJ1]

Does it have to be new?

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?homevdeo&1234128465&/Oppo-DV-980h-dvd/cd/-sacd-play

 

[PENG]

Hi guys...I'm a bit flummoxed by this next purchase decision! It's unusual for me, because of the specific requirements in order of importance:

1. Be a universal (region free) DVD player
2. Be under $100 in price
3. Progressive/Upconversion optional but nice to have
4. HDMI/DVI out optional but nice to have

Under any other circumstance I would go for an Oppo...but the price is the deciding factor here. This DVD player is actually for my parents, not for myself, so these reqs are not very flexibile!

Anyway would appreciate any advice you can give me!

By universal (region free) do you mean both universal and region free? Typically we refer to players that can play DVD, CD, DVD-A, SACD as universal players, but they may not be region free.

On the other hand a region free player is not necessarily a universal player.

I am not aware of any universal player that sells for less than $100 new. There are many choices for a region free DVD player. The new Toshiba XDE model is going for under $100 and it can be made region free very easily. It does upconvert and I think it offers the best picture quality at the <$100 price point. It is a DVD player but not a universal player.

 

[allargon]

I am not aware of any universal player that sells for less than $100 new. There are many choices for a region free DVD player. The new Toshiba XDE model is going for under $100 and it can be made region free very easily. It does upconvert and I think it offers the best picture quality at the <$100 price point. It is a DVD player but not a universal player.

Pioneer makes one. However, I believe it will only output two channel SACD over HDMI. I read about some bug where it has that limitation. I could be wrong on that. I'm not sure about region free hacks. (No tier 0/1 manufacturer will openly sell a region free player out of the box. There's usually some easy to medium hack involved.)

One can easily find the DV-48AV for $99 online (Hint: Vann's!).

 

[evilkat]

Thanks for explaining the subtleties of Universal Vs Region free! I think Region free is the most important factor. I'll take a look at the Toshiba, Pioneer and the Phillips one.

Also if there are no region free players out of the box, within the same price range, what's the best player to get in order to apply a region free hack to it? And by best, I mean the player that is most consistently and reliably 'converted' to region free

 

[allargon]

For inexpensive, go with that Philips or an Oppo off E-bay. You can also look for a Toshiba HD-A2 (E-bay, Craigslist, pawn shops, etc.) and apply a region free hack to it as well. As a bonus it plays HD DVD's, too.

 

[PENG]

Thanks for explaining the subtleties of Universal Vs Region free! I think Region free is the most important factor. I'll take a look at the Toshiba, Pioneer and the Phillips one.

Also if there are no region free players out of the box, within the same price range, what's the best player to get in order to apply a region free hack to it? And by best, I mean the player that is most consistently and reliably 'converted' to region free

I bought the Philips DVP3982/37 from Costco and it came region free. The box says it is region 1 but it is in fact region free without any hack. Even if it needs hack you can do it in a few seconds.

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-DVP3982-DVD-Player-Progressive/dp/B001EN8XW4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1229227029&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-XD-E500-Upconverting-Extended-Detail/dp/B001D9IWIY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1229227200&sr=1-1#

The $79 Toshiba XD-E500 does cost more but it definitely offers better picture quality than the Philips DVP3982. I know because I have both. The Toshiba need hack but it also only takes a couple seconds to do it.