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Swan_Knight
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« on: 19:06:47, 26-08-2007 » |
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And while I'm in an enquiring mood, can anyone gives me any heads-up about a good multi-region DVD player. The BBC have seen fit to release an Ibsen box set, but have seen fit to do so only in the USA. A strange decision indeed, but I feel duty-bound to acquire and watch it.....
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Stanley Stewart
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« Reply #1 on: 22:29:47, 26-08-2007 » |
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S_K I acquired a Sony DVD RDR-GX3 universal recorder in 2003 which provides a good picture and sound. In all probability, this model will have been updated by now. And, yes, R1 also offers a wider choice as is the case with the Ibsen selection.
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Swan_Knight
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« Reply #2 on: 22:54:51, 26-08-2007 » |
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Thanks, Stanley, I shall give it a look.  |
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TimR-J
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« Reply #3 on: 10:20:45, 27-08-2007 » |
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If you already own a DVD player, SK, it might be worth asking your retailer if it can be 'chipped' to play multi-region discs. The last player that I bought (from Richer Sounds) wasn't a multi-region player, but Richer Sounds offered a service to tweak the electronics to make it multi-region for a small fee (completely legitimate, I assure you). Certainly cheaper than buying a whole new player if you can do it.
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oliver sudden
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« Reply #4 on: 10:26:48, 27-08-2007 » |
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I believe that in Australia the consumer commission banned region encoding: players sold there have to be 'region-free'. Quite right too.
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richard barrett
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« Reply #5 on: 10:28:23, 27-08-2007 » |
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When I bought my DVD player I was asked by the sales assistant whether I wanted to put it in multi-region mode and of course I said yes; he gave me a printout of some rather complicated instructions which included scrolling beyond the bottom of menus, ignoring warnings like "checking this box can cause irreparable damage to the product" and so on, since which "Mission: Impossible"-style procedure it has happily played any DVD I've tried in it.
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« Last Edit: 10:42:41, 27-08-2007 by richard barrett »
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Swan_Knight
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« Reply #6 on: 10:38:11, 27-08-2007 » |
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The DVD player I have is a cheap but very reliable Phillips model, which I bought from Tesco. But their electronics department is not exactly renowned for its technical know-how, so I'm not sure if they'd be able to offer me encoding advice.
This Region 1/2 thing is a scam, isn't it? What's the justification for it, anyway?
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TimR-J
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« Reply #8 on: 11:04:46, 27-08-2007 » |
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The DVD player I have is a cheap but very reliable Phillips model, which I bought from Tesco. But their electronics department is not exactly renowned for its technical know-how, so I'm not sure if they'd be able to offer me encoding advice. Ah, perhaps not then! This Region 1/2 thing is a scam, isn't it? What's the justification for it, anyway?
Much the same thinking behind the technology that means your iTunes purchases will only play on your iPod. Greed, thinly veiled as 'anti piracy measures', passed on to the consumer as expense and inconvenience. |
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Swan_Knight
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« Reply #9 on: 11:28:40, 27-08-2007 » |
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I don't make i-Tunes purchases, Tim, for that very reason.
And, veering off topic, what exactly is the point of i-Tunes? Their prices aren't competitve: the Solti Parsifal from them is only a couple of quid cheaper than the cheapest etailer's price - and you don't, of course, get the libretto or booklet essay (or the rather spendid cover!)
It might be OK for people who only want individual tracks at 79p a throw (when it should be more like 30p, I'd say), but what use is i-Tunes to the 'serious' music lover?
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Stanley Stewart
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« Reply #10 on: 13:28:50, 27-08-2007 » |
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The original pressure for regional coding, S_K, came from the major film studios, terrified of wholesale piracy. although the ruse in the Middle and Far East seems to be the acquisition of a film print from which a DVD print can be made of pristine quality - and multiples thereafter.
I, of course, make off-air transfers for my own use (well, perhaps a degree of latitude for one or two importunate friends). Commercial DVDs are copy protected but, using the smartlink facilities on my Sony equipment, if I wish to do a transfer from an off-air DVD, I use L2 to go from DVD master to video; changeover to L1 and reverse the procedure for a good DVD copy. Last night, I transferred my video of Max Ophuls "La Ronde" (1950) from video to DVD with a much improved picture and sound quality. Strictly for mine own use, of course! I'm chuckling as I write as I'm practically techo-illiterate.
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Il Grande Inquisitor
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« Reply #11 on: 13:41:20, 27-08-2007 » |
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And, veering off topic, what exactly is the point of i-Tunes? Their prices aren't competitve: the Solti Parsifal from them is only a couple of quid cheaper than the cheapest etailer's price - and you don't, of course, get the libretto or booklet essay (or the rather spendid cover!)
It might be OK for people who only want individual tracks at 79p a throw (when it should be more like 30p, I'd say), but what use is i-Tunes to the 'serious' music lover?
SK, I don't purchase a great deal from iTunes, but the potential is there for recordings to be available long after companies delete them. For example, I recently downloaded the Decca Gardelli recording of Verdi's Macbeth. It cost me £14.99, which I think is reasonably competitive. Searching for it online, I found it available from Amazon marketplace sellers from £39.98 in the UK, $149.94 in the US and EUR 120,37 in France. OK, there's no libretto, but I can access that from other recordings I own. |
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Our chief weapon is surprise...surprise and fear...fear and surprise.... Our two weapons are fear and surprise...and ruthless efficiency
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Swan_Knight
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« Reply #12 on: 15:12:15, 27-08-2007 » |
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Fair enough, I_G_I! I wasn't aware that they stocked deletions.....will give them another look, in that case.
I suppose £14.99 is reasonable.....however, if you're cost-conscious, you'd expect to pay no more than £7-10 for the same recording, if it was issued as a Double Decca. I think there is a good case for prices being brought down!
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Bryn
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« Reply #13 on: 18:50:33, 27-08-2007 » |
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A possible alternative to using a region free DVD player, is to investigate the potentional of "DVD Shrink", which is freeware. I have used it to back up several Region 1 DVDs I have purchased, to Region free DVD recordables, (for my own private use, of course).
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