Info and forum posts by 'Acolyte'

RE: Were Techtronics telling me porky pies?

The 3350 is shipped capable of multi-region playback but any remote hacks that may have to be applied (as in the case of the 3350) aren`t done for you. The nice instructions that came with the unit tell you how to do it yourself. As you will no doubt have discovered it isn`t hard to apply but occassionally you may have to alter the region settings so it`s best to get some practice in.
When I received my 3350 it was set to R2 and I had to apply the hack to get my R1 disks going.

kelkoo.com

I have found that for quick price only comparisons on specific titles then you can`t go too far wrong with using www.kelkoo.com, they compare against a good range of decent retailers (better than the ones used by uk.shopsmart.com), it can save you a few quid here and there

RE: play247 GONE??

I am shocked at the problems you all seem to have had with Play. My own experiences have been nothing but excellent. They have never taken payment before despatch and I have never had to wait more 5 days for delivery, even through the period they were `flooded`. The only thing I don`t like about Play is that they print the value of the contents on the outside of the envelope and where I live that sort of information could seriously tempt someone into `borrowing` a package, I know they have to do that for customs etc. but that is the only thing I can moan about. Either I am very lucky or I`m just ordering the right R1`s.
If you aren`t happy, try kelkoo.com they do a good price comparison to help with shopping around.

RE: What player do you have, so I can work out the which players have sold the most.

LG3350 for me
LG3200 for my director
Hitachi 303 for one of my colleagues

RE: OK, SERIOUS

On a more serious note Jimbo. I think that it would be no different for you than Nilesh from Scan who gives the supplier point of view in these forums.
As one of the regular`s in here you know already what we want from suppliers and if you can tell us what you`ve got and at what price it saves us going to Techtronics or Multiregionmagic I suppose.
Go fer it Jimbo, but what you post will be at the expense of your own conscience. If we don`t like it you`ll soon find out!

RE: A thought on the opinions on DVD players in this forum

If Microstar is so amazingly successful and is single handedly supporting the British economy why is he buying a budget DVD player?
Come to think of it how come he knows how much we all earn?
I very much doubt he pays as much tax as my annual salary (not without fiddling his books). And private medical insurance is nothing special, I got it free with my job as do most of my colleagues!
It`s not the working class who moan, it`s the self-important middle-classes who drag everyone down. But they don`t know this because they`re too important to condescend to this forum!
And why doesn`t it surprise me that you subscribe to the "American Dream"

RE: A thought on the opinions on DVD players in this forum

"Neither do some of the abusive characters who post on here - judging by the volume and timings of their postings."

Obviously you are one of the lucky people who don`t have to work late or do overtime to cope with their work demands. Also it is amazing how many things you can do almost at the same time using the Alt-Tab keys!

Wake up and drink some coffee MicroStar :P

RE: LG3350 Macro

I know this may be a contender for dosy question of the year but wrt macro disable on the 3350, has anyone tried the following the hack used on the 3200 as described so succinctly on the techtronics comment`s section?
The 3200 uses the same multi-region hack as the 3350 (I`ve tried it on a virgin machine bought from Comet by a colleague) so maybe, just maybe?

This item was edited on Sunday, 7th January 2001, 11:17

RE: Techtronics` response on LG 3350E Macrovision query

The revelation of the macrovision disable is raising getting me all sweaty of palms it is the missing piece of the puzzle.
I can not believe that the hack will be that hard to apply, after all it is only a £20 mark-up at Techtronics. If it was really tricky to do they would surely be asking for more, look at the Sony hacks which are tricky hardware mods as an example. Methinks they are trying it on a little.

RE: Is a Dabs.com LG3350 multi region hackable.

I have been led to believe that the remote hack for the 3350 does not require any tinkering with the innards for it to work. There have been other threads discussing this in the past and I am sure if you look you will find it. :) you shouldn`t have to download any software or anything to apply the hack, upgrading may be a different issue at a laer date. The URL below will take you troll`s excellent pages on the 3350, similarly Jimbo`s Aiwa pages aren`t too bad, the same hack applies, can`t remember the URL sorry.

http://members.tripod.co.uk/ittroll

Good luck
Acolyte

This item was edited on Thursday, 21st December 2000, 16:24

RE: My 505 goes back tommorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The path of the Laser God is beset on all sides by the tyranny of Hitachi players and the delusions of their owners.
Blessed is he who follows this path for he shall truly never have to return his player or fiddle with awkward fixes.

In the beginning there was the word. And the word was LG.

Dukey may prefer them young and tender but my name is not Peter. It is the realm of the defeated to first resort to personal insults.

En passent mon brave!

RE: Some advice needed on £200 players please

If you follow these threads regularly you will note a few trends about which are the "better" players.
IMOH I would not entertain anything less than the LG or at a push the Aiwa. I have an LG myself and have been nothing but impressed with it. It doesn`t have macrovision disable on it but an in-line decoder can sort that out (they are available from most electrical specialists) for about £30.
Don`t let Dukey blag you about the Hitashit 505, I`ve had bad experiences with that player.

The picture quality on the LG is outstanding, I have not found any evidence of pixelation or anti-aliasing on any of the discs I`ve played, irrespective of region. The hack is a doddle as well and is the same for the Aiwa!
Respect for the Laser Guru!

RE: PLEASE VOTE! your opinions count..time to let the Aiwa rest

"Because dixons are the biggest in the uk so they buy big clown:P"

The bigger buyers will always be one step behind the smaller retailers in some areas purely because of the amount of capital that they tie up in buying in large quantities. In much the same way as a speedboat can change direction quicker than a supertanker. If Leviathan retailers begin to push a particular model it is generally because they over forecast demand, have an excess of stock and need to clear the inventory to a - get a return on the capital and b - make space for something which sell quicker. Groups like Dixons would not survive long if didn`t shift the stock they carry as quickly as possible. Also because of their size their overheads are far higher and so must pass that overhead on to the consumer, hence artificially inflated prices (e.g. it costs more to import 1000 than say 800 units, more to store etc. and bulk discounts tend to level off at the larger quantities these guys look at, the savings aren`t that great, believe me).
If a group like Dixons starts to promote a particular model then I generally tend to run a mile because it indicates the death-knell for that model and that there are an excess of "obsolete" units sitting in stock.
I know this is because the 705 is replacing the 505 but the Dixons ad indicates that the 505 was not as popular as anticipated, which I feel shows consumer unease with 505 as a whole :P

Hmm, turning into my old economics lecturer here but quit while I`m still behind!

RE: PLEASE VOTE! your opinions count..time to let the Aiwa rest

I find that I must bow to your superior anorakism`s :))

It is undisputed that the guts of both machines are truly exceptional. They are the Daddy over Tha Chit :P (not a brilliant anagram but I`m not going to spend ages trying to come up with something really clever)

It would seem that Dixons have got a big stock on of 505`s, otherwise why are they trying to shift them at a discount.

As far as I found, the LG and Aiwa`s are becoming very hard to buy as everyone seems to want one, and that`s without being advertised on national telly :))))

Pay homage to the Laser God 3350 and let the Aiwa Rock!

RE: PLEASE VOTE! your opinions count..time to let the Aiwa rest

I can see no real reason why you should drop the tag, you bought a box you like and wanna tell everyone, I feel the same way about the LG3350 I bought, which is the newer version of the Aiwa and only has slight differences in spec (for the better obviously). I personally think the LG is the Daddy here and lose no sleep over the fact that there`s no easy hack to play VCD, I would rather have the enhanced sound quality of the built in decoder!
Keep the tag, I will not be distracted from the Laser God.
And LG did make the Aiwa in it`s own image.......

RE: I`m loosing it here.... Samsung 909, LG 3551, Pioneer 535, Toshiba SD100E, Aiwa 370 or Harman Ka

Got to admit if your budget will stretch to it. The Sony 336 can be got with all the toys (except MP3) from multiregionmagic for a whisper over £300.
However, I am the very proud owner of an LG3350 and have not been disappointed. I have it plugged into a 32" Widescreen TV and I have no quibbles over the quality of playback, the multiregion hack is an absolute doddle and it`s quite a nice looking box with really tight build quality. At £230 delivered from techtronics it is a good deal. If Macrovision disable is really important to you then there is a little box of tricks that will set you back £40 that you can get from most decent electrical suppliers (e.g. Maplin`s) that will do that for ANY DVD player.
The Aiwa is an older version of the LG so make your own mind up on that one....:0)

RE: hitachi 505 vital info

It does show an alarming variation in their quality control, whilst I am sure that when you get a gooddun` it`s "la testic du chien", but the same claim could be laid at the door of the infamous Mico and Yelo, it isn`t good enough if only or two in the batch work properly. At £300 build should be better. After all for the same money(ish) I nearly went for the Sony 336.

Viva LG!!!! The Acolyte has seen the Light!

RE: LG3350 not shipped due tochangeover period for product revisisions & technical product problems

Can`t understand why. I ordered a second LG3350 on 26th and it was shipped on 29th from Techtronics. I got it today, even though I was told it wouldn`t be available until 15th Dec...Maybe Dabs having problem getting supplies.

RE: hitachi 505 vital info

I think I have been a recipient of 2 decidedly non-rocking Hitachi 505`s. Both units I had the misfortune to obtain were a pile of the proverbial donkey dung. Picture quality was apalling, pixelation and artifacts were so bad it was unwatchable. The replacement unit had what can only be described as a temperamental loading tray.When changing layers the tray would decide to eject the disk, this was amazingly annoying so back it went. After receiving much grief from my nearest and dearest for buying such pretty heap of junk, I was persuaded to save a bit of wedge and buy what my better half thought was quite a "sexy" looking LG3350. Reluctantly I let her judgment ride and I am now a very proud owner of the LG beast. It has so far been everything that the Hitachi was not, picture quality superb, no interesting or unexpected "characteristics". IMOH a far better machine in that the quality of build is better and more consistant.

LG3350 breaks a rat in the face of Hitachi 505

RE: One for the Ironduke

No toasters for me, checked out the url, distressing lack of spec`s or actual product images, have decided multiregionmagic now have my c/c details and I will take delivery of a rocking deck.

the 505 will indeed ROCK, ROLL and play with your aunties fancy!!!!

If anyone cares the Mico a980 is the DVD equivalent of Anne Widdicombe!!

RE: HITACHI 505 STINKS !!!!!! Official

Would this be the same mag`s that reckon the Yelo and Mico are decent quality machines? IMOH I wouldn`t trust either machine to pop a slice of bread let alone a DVD. I have owned both machines for all but brief periods time and feel myself worse off for the experience. Of course I might just be awaiting delivery of a pristene new 505 and be inclined to disagree with your opinions.....slightly :P

One for the Ironduke

I am looking to buy the player that rocks. Have had all the Mico problems, (Carrot, nothing will ever get me to buy a cheap asian import again) :(
the 505 does indeed appear to be the player for me.(also it is silver which will match the telly nicely)
Wanting a good deal and reliable service, unbeatable DEFINITELY out of the question. recommendations for reliable place to obtain one.
Current shortlist:
techtronics - no MP3 and no macrovision disable
multiregionmagic - MP3 and macrovision disabled £20 extra. plus delivery

Any other vendors IYOH which would be best. I will join the "few" in the battle against the heathen unbelievers