Info and forum posts by 'AndyW'

RE: Sony 335 - Macrovision - Copying to VHS.

Sounds like the VCR is taking the composite video signal from the SCART lead instead of the RGB. Are you sure that your VCR supports the RGB and if so is it switched to use this?

RE: Advice Please

I have a SONY 335 player and have had no problems running it through my Yamaha amplifier. I`ve found that the layer changes have been a bit obvious on some discs otherwise I have been very pleased, especially with the quality of the sound. There are no multeregion hacks (to speak of) for sony players in general so a hardware mod will be required. I got mine already modified from Multiregion Magic for a reasonable price.

Andy

RE: Techtronics - Be warned!

Going throught the small claims court doesn`t cost a great deal, and as Techtronics are in the wrong they will be liable for any expenses that you incurr. Just the fact that they will have a county court summons landing on their door step is usually enough for things to be settled PDQ, but if things do go the full distance, they will end up with a count court judgment against them which won`t look to good on their part. You should be able to claim for ALL expenses you have incurred including postage costs.

Note if they do settle `out of court` then make sure that they refund you everything including the cost of submitting the claim.

Andy

This item was edited on Wednesday, 24th January 2001, 11:55

RE: Region 4 Discs From OZ

www.chaosmusic.com do some pretty good DVD prices too

Andy

RE: AIWA 370 and remotecontrol (YAMAHA RX-V496RDS)

Yamaha publish a list of codes in the back of the manual, unfortunately they don`l list one for Aiwa DVD players, so I suspect they don`t know. It`s worth a call to them I suppose.

>"NOT Aiwa..they won`t comment on someone else`s equipment) they might have a way or an upgrade."<

I can`t see how aiwa can object; the code is just som additional information for an item that has already been bought - again its worth an email or something whether anything comes of it or not.

Andy

RE: AIWA 370 and remotecontrol (YAMAHA RX-V496RDS)

Have you tried emailing them at: ofni[at]ku.oc.awia.nodnol ?

Andy

Alternatively, you could try them all, assuming 10 seconds per code, that would take you 27 hours, 46 mins, and 30 seconds!

... maybe it would be better to contact them!

- Jimbo might know though ...

This item was edited on Friday, 12nd January 2001, 12:38

RE: Sony DVP S336 Hack required, HELP PLEASE!!!!

I`ve never come across a hack for this player, I got mine chipped.

Andy

RE: Sony 735 @ Richer Sounds?

I bought a 335 from MMM, and was told that it did work with RCE disks, had auto/manual region setting and also disabled the macrovision. I noticed that they also did a cheaper mod that was auto only and no macrovision disable.

I`ve tried the R2 Patriot and that works OK (I know that the R1 Patriot was RCE, but don`t know about the R2 version - does anyone else know?)

When I contacted RS however, they told me that their mod for the 335 didn`t play RCE disks and didn`t disable the macrovision.

The only worry that I had with MMM was that there were blobs of solder all over the back of the player, and I was converned about the quality of the mod/bits of solder loose inside. I haven`t had any functional problems though.

Andy

RE: help urgent!

I bought a RXV596rds and have been very pleased with it. Can`t say about the speakers - no experience of them.

I got the amp from www.unbeatable.co.uk.

Their current price is £290.99
The speakers are £138 so I guess you`re getting a good buy for 400 notes

Andy

RE: Ok so its time to upgrade the tosh 100e

I`m inclined to suggest that if you want a good quality DVD player then buy DVD player, if you want a good quality CD player then buy a CD player ... good quality MP3 player buy a MP3 player!

A wise man once said:

`Jack of all trades, master of none.`

I think this will probably apply here! The choice is yours.

Anybody else got any thoughts on this?

AndyW

RE: FREE CHRISTMAS DVD/VIDEO HITS FOR ALL SCAN OWNERS.

Please note that if your unit is being returned due to a fault then SCAN are liable to reimburse you with any postage (or other) costs that you incur. See my posting in the Mailbag on this site.

AndyW

RE: Speakers

You may find that the amplifier in the TV is the limiting factor for quality, you`re probably much better off going for a dedicated AV amp. You then will have the benfit of fully DD5.1 sound and possibly DTS, although this will cost you a fair wedge.

If you do not have the budget for an AV amp, then get some cheaper speakers as a `stop gap` and then use them as your rears when you get a proper amp.

AndyW

RE: Techtronics, MultiregionMagic or Upgrade Heaven?

Got my Sony 335 from Multiregion Magic. No problems as yet!

AndyW

RE: Patriot R2 will it be RCE encoded?

I guess we`ll find out come Jan

AndyW

RE: Sony DVPS 535

see thread entitled: SONY DVPS336 hardware hack only?? below

AndyW

Patriot R2 will it be RCE encoded?

This DVD is due out at the beginning of January and I wondered whether if anyone knew if it will be RCE encoded like its R1 counterpart?

Cheers

AndyW

RE: SONY DVPS336 hardware hack only??

What is your basis for saying this? I would be interested to know as this is not what they told me!

I hope you are wrong

AndyW

---

I`ve just had a look on their web site, and they offer 2 different mods for the 335/6. One appears to be as you say non-macrovision disable and non-RCE complient, and the other which is £10 more expensive does.

AndyW

This item was edited on Thursday, 21st December 2000, 09:57

RE: Oh come on, and give us your best.

1) Blues Brothers (R1) Fantastic music
2) Blues Brothers 2000 (R2) ditto (Great in DTS)
3) Contact (R2)
4) Matrix (R2)
5) Hunt for Red October (R2)

AndyW

RE: SONY DVPS336 hardware hack only??

I believe that the chips supplied by multiregion magic are both RCE complient and also disable macrovision.

AndyW

RE: Ball park figures for R1 upgrade

Have a look at MRM`s web site, they publish all their prices there:

www.multiregionmagic.co.uk

I`m pleased with the upgrade they did for me on my Sony - seems to be better than those offered at Richer Sounds

AndyW

This item was edited on Tuesday, 19th December 2000, 14:47

RE: Bush 2000 plays region 1 disks in black and white

You may have some success by connecting your DVD player to you TV with a fully wired SCART connector. Both your DVD player and your TV must support RGB. (you may have to specifically set the output on your DVD player to RGB)

Hope this helps

AndyW

This item was edited on Tuesday, 19th December 2000, 14:48

RE: Sorry to be off Topic.

I`ve had no problems with my Yamaha RX-V596RDS amp which is the same as the DSP-A5 but with a tuner. The Yamahas are reasonably priced (as Av amps go) and seem to be good quality but you`ll have to buy all the speakers separately. I believe that there is a review of the A5 on this site in the Hardware Reviews section.

AndyW

RE: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SCAN OWNERS THIS CHRISTMAS.

It may be quite funny to you, but not quite so funny to those people to whom it applies eh

RE: RGB scart question

If both your telly and DVD both support RGB SCART then you could connect the two successfully but if you are already using s-video, then I`m not sure that you will see much of an improvement:

SCART connctors come in two formats. One is S-video conpatible and the other is RGB. The 4-pin s-video lead that you have is not RGB, but carries two signals: Luminance and Chrominance.

I don`t know how the quality of the two formats compares, but I do know that s-video is frequently used in the professional video industry, and so I would expect the quality to be as good, it not better that the RGB.

Hope this is some help

Andy

RE: Wharfedale 750s

OK

As I`m sure you`re aware, your stereo amp has two channels, one for the left speaker and one for the right. Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS surround sound have a total of six independent channels. These channels are encoded digitally on the DVD and are (normally) output from your DVD player by a single cable in digital format. This means however that it has to be decoded at the other end ie with an AV amp.

So in answer to your original question, it isn`t just a case of hanging another couple of speakers off of your existing amplifier, you`ll need a special amp that has a digital decoder build into it. This amp will have 5 independent channels for Front Left and Right, Rear Left and Right and Center. The other 6th channel is the subwoofer channel, and requies a subwoofer unit with an amplifier built in.

I would recomend the Yamaha DSP-A5 (I believe there is a review on this site somewhere) or the RX-V596 (same as the A5 but with a tuner built in).

Hope this helps

Andy

RE: Sony 536

It is a hardware modification to the unit where the chip that restricts the unit to it`s particular region is replaced by one that bypasses this feature. By all account the Sony requires quite a complicated mod so you may not be able to do it yourself.

Also to be aware is there are different quality replacement chips, for example, the ones supplied in the Richer Sounds multiregion players don`t support RCE discs and do not disable macrovision, but the ones from Multiregion Magic (www.multiregionmagic.co.uk) do.

Multiregion magic provide a pick up/drop off service (it`s about £90 for the Sonys from memory) - that is where I had mine done and it seems to work OK, although I was a bit worried when I first got it as there were blobs of solder all over the outside of the unit. I hope there are none on the inside!

Hope this helps

Andy

This item was edited on Thursday, 14th December 2000, 13:16

RE: More Scan Woes

I`ve recently sent my sc2000 back to scan for a refund, and once again, Nilesh (nelley) was the only reason that I was given a refund within a reasonable amount of time, however, they only refunded the cost of the player and not the postage! I think this is a bit off considering the player was faulty. I have since emailed the guy who sorted me out with the refund (Ian Morrison) and have had no reply. I guess I`m in for the long haul afterall until I get this sorted out!

RE: Wharfedale 750s

When you say that you are using a Hi-Fi, is this a normal stereo amplifier or is it specifically an AV amplifier?

RE: Dropout on sound have scan 2000 and new phillips w/s 28 tv

I had the same problem with my SC2000. I tried it with a number of different 5.1 decoders and a number of different disks (none of which had any problems on other DVD players). I also had a problem using DTS, and found that I had to switch it off before it would even consider playing a DTS soundtrack.

I figured that this it was a fault and ended up sending my unit back. SCAN didn`t seem to object (once I managed to get them to talk to me) and gave me a full refund (well not quite, they didn`t refund the postage which I thought was a bit off!)

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

If your AIWA rocks, it is probably because you`ve lost one of the feet off the bottom. This is easily fixed by cutting a rubber to a suitable size and sticking it on with super glue. Alternatively, you could sent it back to the shop and get your money back - that is what I would do!