Hi all,
I would be grateful of some help.

I'm buying either the LG 3350E or the new Pioneer 340 as a cheap first player. Any advice as to which one I should go for ?

Also a few questions ;

1. Does a multi-region hack via the remote do exactly the same job as a permanent one from one of the many specialists, Techtronics for example? Is one way better than the other ?

2. Can Macrovision really be disabled by these specialists to allow reasonably good VCR recording.

Any help would be great !!

Thanks

I can definately recommend the LG 3350e its an excellent player and a great introduction to DVD.Ive had mine since Febuary and have had no problems with playback or audio and they are both striking considering the relative cheapness of the player.
Oh yes some region 2 discs have known problems with the firmware on LGs, Fight Club for example the promotional galleries dont seem to run on all LG dvd players there are other titles too with simalar problems but none affect the main feature.Interestingly all region 1 discs of the same known region 2 problem discs work fine with no problems at all (another reason why region 1 is always better)
I can asure you that the multi region hack works fine from the remote as long as the firmware is at least 1.2 which the 3350e is.I assume this handset hack is better than a chip, as your player isnt opened up there fore you are not losing your guarantee, itll probly save you some money too.
As fore the macrovision hack I am not aware off any available hack for the LG which will enable you to record from your video but there is a VCD hack which you can install with the remote as well.
LG are replacing the 3350e this year with a new model (basically a face lift)and all the remote hacks will still work on the new player.Hope this helps.

[Reiner]

I rekon you will do better with a cheap Toshiba player but keep in mind that not all modifications will disable the MV signal, depending on the company doing the modification and perhaps the player/model.
Also ensure the modification will be RCE compliant, a difficult one for Toshiba players.

And yes, most handset hacks to exactly the same as a hardware modification (which is required for all models where no hack is available).

Why not try a Pioneer 535
Richer Sounds still have them at £187 - multi region and I have been told that they are better than the 340.
The sound using both DVD & CD is great on the Pioneer which is more than can be said for most DVD players.

Thanks for the info guys.

Greatly appreciated