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WHSmith DVD Players - Good or Crap?


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Old 20-05-2000, 21:47
MythUK
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Hi, i'm in a bit of a dilema and i wondered if anyone out there could help me. basically the subject of this post says it all, are the LG DVD players in WHSmith (£180) any good? The thing is u c my g/f works there and can get 5 yrs free insurance as part of the deal BUT she leaves in just over a week so i need to make a decision fast.

Now in the past i've looked in mags at players and they go into increadable deatil about all the pic quality and the perfect amp etc etc. I am not a massive film buff, so basically what i'm saying is will any lack of quality in picture etc actually effect me. I'll be using it on a sony mini-widescreen TV in my bedroom (no, i'm not a kid i'm 18).

Anyway, can anyone help, to buy or not to buy, that is the question?

cheers, MythUK

PS oh yeah, does anyone know if i could get it to play region 1 discs?
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Old 20-05-2000, 22:35
Nikhil
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That's a tricky question. The LG player in WHSmith is a good BUDGET player so it won't be brilliant but it will have features and will be functional. Try www.dvdreview.co.uk and see if they have any reviews on that player.

On the region 1 request you'd probably have to send it to someone like Techtronics who would chip it for you but this would INVALIDATE the warrantee making the deal your girlfriend would get not look like such a great option. Think about it carefully

If you've got the cash by the Sony S-725d or the newer 735. I have the 725 and it is excellent but you'll now ahve to shell out about £400-£450 for a mutiregion player.

Good Luck!
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Old 20-05-2000, 23:12
MythUK
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Thanks 4 the link, i'll check it out.

I'm still too unsure as to how much i'm actually going to use the player to shell out too much for it so i think i'll stay with this one. In any case if i do end up using it lots then i can always reinvest in the future.

Also i may be getting a funky new pc soon with a dvd player so the multi region thing shouldn't be so much of an issue.

Thanks 4 your swift reply! MythUK
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Old 21-05-2000, 09:30
Paul Smith
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Alternatively get hold of the Samsung 709 (Richers plus many other dealers). It's Region 2 but with the use of an All for one remote you can put it into multiregion mode. It plays Pal, Secam, NTSC has a quasi Pal adapter so will play NTSC/Secam discs fine on a PAL system, oh the hack with the remote also disables the macrovision so you can do tape backups (if you really want to)of the original. I paid about 220, but i hear its going for much much less these days. email me on smithy@excite.co.uk if you get one and need the info on setting up for multiregion play (its too long to include here)
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Old 21-05-2000, 09:34
Paul Smith
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>Also i may be getting a funky new pc soon with a dvd player so the multi region thing shouldn't be so much of an issue.


Be careful here also as i know several people who went down this route only to find that the PC DVD player they got was also region specific. I'll find out which ones aren't (if you want) and get back to you.

Paul
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Old 21-05-2000, 17:27
MythUK
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OK thanks. A friend of mine got a new pc with dvd and he found that he could set his to play different regions only a certain number of times. It was on r2, he changed it to r1, changed it again and again. He then had to buy a r2 player to use his r2 discs bacause he could not change it again. I think it is a Hitatchi. Dunno though.

£220, really? That sounds good, but are you able to get it in the high street (perhaps a dumb question, but you never know)? I don't really understand most of the tech stuff u put there, but the rec 2 video stuff sounds good. As long as it can be bought in the hight street this sounds like it may be the one 2 go for.

Also, thankfully i just found out my isa has just turned instant access so the rush itn't quite so bad now. i have about a week until my g/f leaves smiths, so that takes the pressure off a bit!

I'll check back soon to see if there is any more advice!!

MythUK
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Old 21-05-2000, 22:21
Paul Smith
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Definately for sale through

Richer Sounds (They will most likely advise how to hack the player)http://www.richersounds.co.uk and follow the DVD links. It sells for 180 now!
Dixons
Currys
Scottish Power shops

Good Luck
Paul
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Old 21-05-2000, 23:03
Patrick
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OK, this is an extract from the Home Cinema Choice Year 2000 Awards Issue.

---------------------------------------------
BEST BUDGET DVD PLAYER 2000.
Winner: Wharfdale DVD-S750 (£180)

Available at a checkout near you, Wharfdale's debut into DVD has had punters rioting in the aisles since its launch. Following the disappointing perfomace of other budget players, which capitulated and collapsed the moment a difficult disc came along, we were wary of the DVD-750 when it first arrived on the doormat.
But, months later, we've still only heard good reviews of this sub-£200 marvel and we continue to recommend it as the best entry-lever player currently on the market.
Its out-of-the-box multi region capability abviously makes it a huge draw at this price, but the 750 has more up its sleeve than just regional versaility. The fascia is appealing, it's Dolby Digital compatible and, although the operating system is quite basic, the onscreen menus are easilty navigatable. Feature-wise, there's a parental lock, multi-angle and A/B repeat as well as Zoom and scan speeds. And just to please anyone who is seeking for a DVD deck with multiple uses, CD playback is fine and even compatible with CD-R and Video-CD discs.
Even the HCC test bench held no demons for this player, as it scored very well for frequency response, signal - to - noise and jitter. Our only niggle about the package, is the small remote control unit, which is quite fiddly, but with the high standard of the picture and sound quality, you aren't likely to be complaining for long.

Review Feb: '00
Nominated: LG DV-2330 (asp £250)
---------------------------------------------
I think its great for £180 + ITS OUT OF THE BOX Region free ability - you can't top it!

The actual review of it back in Feb is here

Regards

Patrick.
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Old 22-05-2000, 19:21
TVman
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The new Samsung 709s are no longer region 1 hackable! I have a Sony 725, and a friend of mine has a wharfedale 750, for basic viewing the 750 is just as good, it's a class machine form what I've seen!
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Old 22-05-2000, 21:18
rupert
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PC Region free.

You can reset the region 5 times as standard on any PC dvd player, prob is, as mentioned above, you will be stuck with the last region setting. Your mate could have saved on bomb if he'd dug about a bit and got DVDGenie from www.7thzone.com, this is a region crack prog that works for most software dvdplayers and costs zilch, it enables multiple region changes as often as required and also disables macrovision so you can "BACK UP" thos r1 films not yet released in the UK.

Bit late for the geezer who went out and bought a r2 player though eh.

Also if you is gonna buy a dvd enabled pc system, ensure that the graphics card has a tvout facility otherwis it's pretty pointless. Yo will also need a scart to multiple phono lead, audio l/r, video out etc. L/R phono into a single small jack adapter to go in your sound card, speaker out socket, then wang it all in the back of a video/tv scart and bobs ya uncle.

BLAH BLAH.

Rupert {:O)
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Old 23-05-2000, 08:37
brassd
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If you can stretch to 290 quid, www.techtronics.com will sell you a Pioneer 525 with built in multimod. This player is excellent, multiregion (automatic - no arseing about with the remote), has macrovision disable, has a built in PAL converter in case you telly can't cope with NTSC and it will play CDR discs. Also the picture and sound qaulity is excellent, and I have never had ANY picture skip due to DVD layer change, unlike other players.

Dave
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Old 23-05-2000, 16:56
Nikhil
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Can i ask how many of you watch CDR's on your dvd player.
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Old 24-05-2000, 07:47
brassd
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CDR functionality is essential for two things;

1) Playing duplicated audio CD's.
b) Playing video CD's created on your PC from Digital Video camera's. Completely removes the need for VHS. Now that has to be a good thing!

Dave
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Old 24-05-2000, 16:07
TVman
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.

[This message has been edited by TVman (edited 24 May 2000).]
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Old 24-05-2000, 20:19
MythUK
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Arg!! Well thanks for all the tips and ideas guys they've been a real help!! But here's what I've decided to do after much deliberating!!

1) I'm going with the LG machine. I can get at it on monday, get £90 worth of free insurance via the WHSMith employee deal, and for £200 you get Blade, Pleasantville and that comedy jackie chan file, i forget the name!

2) I really can't afford much else

3) It's my birthday soon and with the money I'm saving my parent's have agreed to let me pay for the installation while they pay for a Sky Digital subscription. So for £240 I get a dvd player, 3 films and Sky digital for a year all for my room! Can't be bad.

But on the Wharfdale DVD-S750 thing, I may just step into tesco to have a look before i buy the LG . . .

Cheers MythUK
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Old 29-05-2000, 11:59
Paul Smith
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Sorry TVman but you are wrong the new 709's (V3.29) ARE still hackable.
In fact it looks like Samsung have gone back to the old original hack. see www.709online.com for more info.

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Old 29-05-2000, 22:23
hennenoe
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You could always change the firmware yourself anyway, be it by reprogramming the chip yourself (if you have the equipment) or purchase a chip of the net.

Noel Hennessy
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