[Matteo]

As another post indicated, I'm looking for a player no more than 150 quid that has good picture quality, can play NTSC and can be remote hacked to be multi region.

So, after much research and digging around these forums, I've narrowed down my choice to:

- Toshiba SD-350E
- Pioneer DV 380

However, I've come across some problems...

There seems to be some confusion as to whether the Toshiba is hackable "out of the box". Some sites say it CANNOT be remote hacked until it is already modified, others say it needs no mods, you just:

1. Open tray
2. Enter: 2 4 0 3 9 6 0
3. Press "Enter" and select "9" by continuely pressing "Enter"
4. Close the tray
5. Power off
6. Power on

Can anyone confirm this please?

As for the Pioneer, elsewhere here a poster mentions a "Pioneer/Sony incompatibility" (at least with the 365(?) Pionner DVD) experiencing a moving horizontal line on his Sony tv.

I have a Sony KV29 LS 35B tv so would like to avoid any potential problems.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

Finally, assuming the Toshiba is remote (non-mod) hackable and the Pioneer and Sony are compatible, any thoughts on the Toshiba vs Pioneer would be appreciated

[Matteo]

Aaagghhh...

Now I've found info that says the Pioneer can't be remote hacked either without it first being modified

Is there anyone out there who can shed some light on this?

Thanks!

[Lunar Humps]

Matteo, this is the one to go for.

http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/p...roduct_ID/2353

[BilboBaggins]

I cam across this for the 380 on another website.

Download firmware:

http://board.softpedia.com/index.php?showtopic=2217

Burn CD follwing instructions:

Start Nero burning software and choose CD-ROM (iso) new compilation,
1 Check No multisession.
2 Uncheck Joliet
3 Create a volume label PIONEER
4 Press new
5 Drag and drop BIN file to the new compilation.
6 Start burning

Insert CD into player. It will report UPGRADE CD detected. Press Play to Upgrade. Player will be upgraded to new fw version.
DO NOT turn power off during upgrade! Let system finish and re-boot by itself.

Resetting the player (if needed)
Use this procedure to reset all the player
settings to the factory default (if needed).
1) Switch the player into standby.
2) Using the front panel buttons, hold down the stop button
and press STANDBY/ON to switch the player back on.
All the players settings are now reset.

[Matteo]

Sulphur Man thanks for the pointer but does this mean the Pioneer is already multi-region (and I just need to remote hack) or has the company modified it? If it's the latter then it's no good to me as I'm not in the UK (living in Beligium).

Bilbo Wow that site is waaaay too techy for me on first reading. I'm going to have to read through the posts VERY carefully before I "get it".

Am I right in thinking that the firmware upgrades make the player region free without the need for a remote hack? (and a whole bunch of other stuff at the same time).

Only thing concerning me is that the firmware hacks seem to cause other problems.

Thanks guys guess this means you'd choose the Pioneer over the Toshiba?

[Lunar Humps]

Pioneer is multi-region out of the box from that link. No further modification required. Just start watching!

Originally Posted by Sulphur Man

Matteo, this is the one to go for.

http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/p...roduct_ID/2353

What does the DV585 give you over the DV380? How is the Xvid support?