Meridian 596 region change?

M

meridian506

Guest
Hi, does anyone know if this machine is region hackable?

Don't really want to spend this sort of cash on a DVD player (the new Pioneer DV545 looks great value), but if it means I can reduce my stack by 1 box by getting rid of the Meridian CD player then great.

Cheers.
 
Welcome to the Forum

According to my Dealer the Meridian 596 can be made Multiregion. They download a few lines of modified software code to the 596 and viola!!

I've had a demo of a modified 596 and it played all the Region 1 & 2 Discs including Region 1 RCE, I could throw at it. No Problems. Brilliant Picture and sound. <br />(we're talking goosebumps) <img src="smile.gif" border="0"> <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

Furthermore the 596 made MP3 discs sound very good indeed. Needless to say I'm waiting on the Meridian 598 (DVD Audio).

Hope this answers your question

Del <img src="smile.gif" border="0">
 
Thanks - I'll have to go talk to my dealer now...

The thought of spending that sort of cash isn't nice!
 
David

&lt;&lt;The thought of spending that sort of cash isn't nice!&gt;&gt;

Ahh, I agree with the thought which is why I'm prepared to wait for the 598. The 596 may not be a wise buy at this time. The cost of upgrade from a (596) DVD CD Rom to a DVD-A may be hefty??

It will still be worth it as I'm sure that it'll be a few years before you upgrade again. Anything less and you'll be upgrading to or three times to get the quality of the Meridian.

Del <img src="smile.gif" border="0">
 
I have been lucky enough to own a 596 for about 6 months. The dealer made an adjustment (at no cost) so that the player is region free. So far no problems with R1 (including RCE), R2 or R4. It's a fantastic machine. I expected the sound to be better than my Pioneer 626 but I was amazed at the video improvement. Even Tartan DVDs look to have a good picture!

If you are really interested in DVD-A then the 598 may be the answer but my guess it will be a long wait
 
There is useful info on this matter on the Hitchhikers Guide to Meridian site( <a href="http://www.softronix.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi" target="_blank">http://www.softronix.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi</a> ), and I converted my 596 to multi-region using a laptop quite easily. It is great that it then becomes multi-region, and you don't have to fiddle with the remote every time you change to a different region disc.<br />As for the 568, I understand that the 800 player is having it's upgrade before work starts on the 500 series players. Whilst you could wait for the 598, the 596 is great, especially as a CD player.
 
Thanks for the info guys - I never knew about the Meridian forum, cheers.

Now for the hard part...spending cash!
 

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