Info and forum posts by 'Kevin Fairhurst'

RE: Region hack needed for GVG DV-995

Additional: Took the player back to WHS, swapped it for another and that`s perfectly fine at closing the tray door.

RE: Region hack needed for GVG DV-995

I`ve found that mine doesn`t close the dvd drive properly when you watch something. Seems the spring isn`t strong enough or the door sticks or something. Will take it in to WH Smiths tomorrow for an exchange!

RE: Region hack needed for GVG DV-995

Well I have bought one of these players and tested it and I can confirm that 1) the menu options are horizontal and 2) the multi region codes work!

Are you 100% certain that your player is a 995? Unless it`s got a radically different firmware I don`t understand how two players could be so different! And from what I can see, it`s definitely made by GVG and not someone else...

RE: Region hack needed for GVG DV-995

It`s still further up the thread. Go to the preferences page then press 1 3 7 9.

RE: Region hack needed for GVG DV-995

Excellent stuff! I just hope WH Smiths have still got some in stock tomorrow!

Any chance you can give us a quick run down on the quality of the player? ;)

RE: Region hack needed for GVG DV-995

Well I emailed GVG and this is what they say needs to be done :-

1. Open the tray;
2. Press "SETUP" button on the remote control, then menu will pop up;
3. Press cursor button " > " on the remote control to choose "PREFERENCES PAGE";
4. Press the numeric key "1 3 7 9 from the remote control. Then the TV will show the region code menu;
5. Press the cursor button on the remote control to choose your favorite region.

I haven`t tested if this works yet (I wasn`t buying a player without knowing if it could be made multi region :) so if anyone has one and tries this then PLEASE let us know!!

Region hack needed for GVG DV-995

Does anyone know if there is a region hack for the GVG DV-995 player? It`s being sold by WH Smith for £50 and as well as having the usual features for a £50 player like (S)VCD and MP3, it`s pretty unique in that it has a karaoke function!

RE: Lenoxx Sound HT 500 Home Theatre System - £129 @ Safeway from 18th Dec

*bump*

I`ve seen loads in my local Safeway (at least a dozen) but they`ve gone up in price to £150...

RE: Lenoxx Sound HT 500 Home Theatre System - £129 @ Safeway from 18th Dec

Nope. Nada. Nothing!

And my initial thought of "Hey this isn`t affecting me" turned to blushes when I realised the DVD I was testing with doesn`t actually have macrovision on it ;)

Kev, wondering if this wins an award for longest running thread yet

RE: Lenoxx Sound HT 500 Home Theatre System - £129 @ Safeway from 18th Dec

Asad,

Just for reference, the amp within the Lenoxx is rated as 5* 25W and 35W for the subwoofer, so it should be MORE than able to drive the provided speakers to the max were you to wish to try it :)

Kev

RE: Lenoxx Sound HT 500 Home Theatre System - £129 @ Safeway from 18th Dec

1) Yes. Yes.

2) not applicable

3) Yes. The sat`s are 15w each, the sub is 25w passive. This is more than adequate for a normal sized lounge, unless you live in a detached house and are deaf ;)

4) No. I presume that fitting such parts would have pushed up the price. The system also has no LCD display...

5) 1.

6) When I was buying mine, the guy said "If you can`t make it multi-region, make sure you keep your reciept and all the packaging and we`ll accept it back with no problems."

Sounds like a no-hassle refund to me! :)

Kev

RE: Lenoxx Sound HT 500 Home Theatre System - £129 @ Safeway from 18th Dec

I tried this and I tried the "Language/Return" hack used to make the HT500 multi region, and neither of them gave me options in the thousands!

EDIT: Okay it turns out I was wrong earlier. I posted thinking that I didn`t have a macro-vision problem but it must have just been the disc I was watching! I tried again with another and the brightness keeps changing, although it is still fairly watchable...

Kev

This item was edited on Sunday, 19th January 2003, 16:08

RE: Lenoxx Sound HT 500 Home Theatre System - £129 @ Safeway from 18th Dec

Hey Thinker,

I haven`t found anything about a macrovision hack for the box yet. I never did get around to checking my box thru my VCR - i just trusted what other people had said about it not working!

Do the hacks you`ve found involve remote control button presses, or are they the more extreme type involving opening the box and wielding a soldering iron?

Kev

RE: UMAX/YAMADA 2100 FAULTY?????

I don`t have on of these, but there is a HUGE thread about this on the "Bargain forum" at www.thedvdforums.com - lots of people have bought this system and encountered the same problem. It appears the fault is with the DD decoder within the player, and discussions are ongoing there including info from Yamada IIRC.

The thread is titled "DVD player with DD decoder and 5:1 speakers £93.99" if you`re going looking for it...

Kev

RE: Safeways Lenoxx HT-500 even better deal - £125 from today (08/01/03)

Sean,

Any chance you can tell us exactly how you have everything wired up?

Kev

RE: Safeways Lenoxx HT-500 even better deal - £125 from today (08/01/03)

Whoever buys Safeways by law will HAVE to honour all contracts that are currently in place, and that includes the warrenty you get when buying a Lenoxx from them.








(I think)

RE: Safeways Lenoxx HT-500 even better deal - £125 from today (08/01/03)

For anyone still looking for one of these players, they had 14 in the St. Albans Safeway store yesterday, priced at £125 still!

Kev

RE: UMAX/YAMADA 2100 FAULTY?????

Excuse the pun, but it sounds faulty to me!

Kev

RE: Help - Lennox & Amp/Receiver

Kyzer,

As I think has already been said, you need to tell the HT500 not to use it`s own speakers and to instead "downmix" the sound to the left and right output channel. That way you`ll get your stereo sound through the Sony amp.

However, I think the Lenoxx is a bad buy if you`re going to be putting it through another amp, and you may be better returning it for a refund and getting something else! The Lenoxx is great as a cheap all-in home cinema system, but the DVD player hasn`t really been designed to output to other systems.

Kev

RE: Help - Lennox & Amp/Receiver

Am I right in understanding that you want to output from your Lenoxx DVD player to the Sony amp/reciever? If so, what is the problem? You should just be able to connect the two together, making sure you connect the cables to the correct output on the DVD player and input on the amp!

Kev

RE: Safeways Lenoxx HT-500 even better deal - £125 from today (08/01/03)

I Am Not A Lawyer, but I would expect that any company who buys Safeway would be legally responsible for products sold by Safeway. As long as you have the receipt you are entitled to a refund if it breaks down within the first year, whether it says Morrisons or Sainsbury`s on the front of your rebadged Safeway!

Kev

RE: Safeways Lenoxx HT-500 even better deal - £125 from today (08/01/03)

I bet the cheaper bedroom VCR`s haven`t been as well maintained though ;)

Things like DVD players are probably a "short term" investment, i.e. with a lfie-span of three years. In those situations, even if the manufacturer goes bust you have recourse with the shop thanks to the Trade Descriptions Act and goods needing to be "fit for service" or however they term it. It`s the same for ANYTHING you buy. If a TV dies after 13 months you don`t bin it and buy another! Just because the "warranty" has expired doesn`t mean the shop can fob you off. They have a legal obligation to sort things out. If the problem can be shown to be a manufacturing or design fault, the goods evidently were not suitable for use and thus not "fit for service" and you should be able to get a refund or replacement.

(I add here that I am not a lawyer, so don`t hold me to any of this ;)

Kev, wondering how many people wil lgo into Dixons this weekend quoting "a bloke on the internet says that..."

RE: Safeways Lenoxx HT-500 even better deal - £125 from today (08/01/03)

Forgot to add, they had 12 of these in Safeway in St. Albans ~6pm today :)

This item was edited on Thursday, 9th January 2003, 22:28

RE: Safeways Lenoxx HT-500 even better deal - £125 from today (08/01/03)

Hey Bigfan,

You said: "I tested out dozens of different set ups when I was choosing our kit and the branded stuff always sounded better and in my opinion this is no coincidence." Can I, in all seriousness, ask if you blind-tested these products? No offence, but it has been proven that if you expect a brand name to be "better" than a no-name, then it will be better EVEN IF THE TWO ARE EXACTLY THE SAME!

Many experiments have been done on this, but the most prominent is probably the cola "taste tests"... never mind the advertisements where Pepsi tastes better than Coke or vice versa. Basically they gave each participant two glasses of cola. Each time, the contents were identical, either a brand cola or a "cheap no-name" cola. When they were told one was branded and another was cheap, the participants rated the "branded" cola as better. When they had to decide for themselves, it was even.

I know this is slightly irrelevant, but all I am saying is this. If you know that a hifi you`re testing is a brand or a no-brand, you will subconciously change your opinion of it even if they`re identical.

The Lenoxx IS a cheap player, and isn`t as good as the system I paid close to a grand for, but it does everything you could hope for with 15wpc output. Due to it being in a terraced house, I can only have my £1000 system using ~10wpc before I get the neighbours complaining! So until I can afford a detached house, it looks like my Lenoxx player will be playing as loud as my full kit & caboodle!!

Kev

RE: Safeways Lenoxx HT-500 even better deal - £125 from today (08/01/03)

Hi all,

Why not read the rather extensive thread on this player further down the list before throwing accusations? :)

The R1 player you see on the American website doesn`t have a scart socket. You`re right. The R2 player you buy from Safeway DOES have a scart socket. ;) Oh, and the 5 sat. speakers are 15w RMS each, and the sub is 25w - however the player will provide up to 5x20w and 35w on the relevant channels.

The player does multi-region and RCE and DTS and MP3 and VCD and SVCD and CD-R and DVD-R and Jpeg and comes with everything you need to get up and running for home cinema (other than DVDs and a TV :) all for £125. Yes, it is a "cheap" brand name. Yes, it isn`t a "loud" system. But not everyone is stone deaf and sits at the back of the lounge 10ft from the TV!!

This player makes an excellent starter kit for someone who wants to make the first step on the road to home cinema. And for people like me that already have the whole kit & caboodle, it makes an excellent - and cheap - second kit for the bedroom/spare room/kitchen!

If you`d rather spend another £750 kitting out the bedroom just so you can watch your import DVDs in bed, then that`s your choice! :)

Kev

RE: Lenoxx Sound HT 500 Home Theatre System - £129 @ Safeway from 18th Dec

I just tried my Small Soldiers with DTS and that works too! It plays the "Digital Experience" bit (like the THX thing in the cinema) with no problems and the soundtrack of the movie fine. Wow.

Kev, even more impressed now!

RE: Lenoxx Sound HT 500 Home Theatre System - £129 @ Safeway from 18th Dec

For those who were kicking themselves over missing out on one (or more) of these players, I`ve got the new Safeway leaflet through today and it seems that from Wednesday they will be selling them again for £125! I`m not sure if they`ve still got stock in now from the last batch, or if it is a new batch, but if you`re after one try phoning your local store now!

BTW this leaflet (according to the back) is only for the St. Albans and Welwyn Garden City stores, so I don`t know if this area is being used to off-load excess stock or if they`ll be on sale throughout the country...

Kev

RE: Lenoxx Sound HT 500 Home Theatre System - £129 @ Safeway from 18th Dec

Steve,

I`m won`t get chance to test the macrovision stuff myself for about ten days (at the gf`s atm and off to the parent`s for a week or so tomorrow) but when I get back home I`m gonna give it a bash (fnarr). I need to rewire everythign anyway so that I have the TV/VCR sound going through the player too. And maybe find better locations for the speakers. Unfortunately the sub is a bit too loud to have on in my flat, and I don`t think you can independantly drop the volume of that channel...

Anyway it seems very strange that you don`t get a distorted picture when you try and record it. I would think that if you get the logo on the tape, it`s because that is what is output to the TV. Were you doing this with scart, S-VHS or the yellow RCA connector?

I can well believe people selling the systems on Ebay for a lot more than they paid - when I went in to my local Safeways (in St. Albans) they had a dozen or so systems. I wish I`d bought another one, if only to keep the gf quiet or for me to use while I`m at her place and she`s at work. And then another three or so that I can sell online to muppets who don`t know what they`re doing and get auction fever and pay WAY above the odds for cheap tat so that the profit from those sales makes the two I`d bought for my own use become effectively free. Or something.

Kev, a bit verbose today

Multi-region hack required for JVC TH-A5R

Does anyone know how to make one of these multi-region? I`ve heard of a remote control you can rent for £40, but it only works once and isn`t permanent! If this can make the system multi-region, then surely there`s a remote hack that can do it?

And before anyone says "Why didn`t you buy from Techtronics" it isn`t my player! My girlfriend has three friends who all bought one of these systems, and all of them want me to make them multi-region! And none of them want to pay £85 for a Techtronics chip - you can buy a new DVD player for less than that!!

Kev

RE: Safeway Lenoxx ht 500 Help Needed....

Too late for the 20% off - sorry but I didn`t have chance to read this at the weekend!

Anyway, the Lenoxx DVD player has an AUX and a VCR audio input. So you can put the TV audio through the DVD player, and get surround sound from that! I haven`t tried this myself yet (due to lack of cables) but I don`t see why this won`t work!

Kev