Info and forum posts by 'Inkfinger'

RE: A (Philips) DVD+RW disc cannot be played on certain DVD players (eg Minato)

I had trouble with this at first, but found that keeping the 2 button pressed longer, (till the disk menu is displayed) does the trick.

Hope that helps,

Inkfinger

Philips DVDR 880 Hack - Please Confirm

Hoping to get a Philips DVDR 880 or 890 soon and I`m finding the info about the multiregion hack a bit confusing. (Judging from this forum, others are too)

Could someone who has successfully hacked their 880 please confirm that the procedure I`ve listed below is correct?

Many thanks!

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Make sure recorder is Set to DVD Player not DVD Recorder in the menu and has no disk in the tray.

Start with OneForAll remote configured using the setup code 0539 ( OneForAll 6 or OneForAll 4 Digital should work)


1. Press the Magic button

2. Enter the code 085 ( display should show 11 spaces like this: `-----------` )


3. Using the number keys on the Philips remote, enter the code 121 212 005 255 ( last digit will not show on the display)

4. Press the Play button on Philips remote control

5. The onscreen display should now show the words No Disc

6. Power off DVD player, wait 10 seconds and then power back on

RE: Anyone bought the Philips DVDR880 Multi-region recently

How much do Video stabilisers cost & where can I get one?

RE: will dvd REALLY completely replace vhs???

I can definately see DVD replacing VHS for pre recorded stuff, but I think VHS will be around for a long time to come for recording purposes and playback of old tape collections. (Not everyone will be able to afford, or want, to replace all their old tapes all at once!)

As for TIVo & the like, well personally I`m in no rush to have a box with a noisy PC hard drive & fan in it screaming away under my telly while I`m trying to watch something thanks!

Cheers!

Inkfinger

RE: Mailbag :Complaints

Remember that it isn`t just cheap machines that can be caught out by new software. Wasn`t one of the machines that tripped up over the Matrix an £800 Namagutchi machine?

RE: Ariston DVD 2000 Problems.

Hi Lee,

I had what could be the same problem with 13th Warrior (R2), an effect rather like when a comedian pretends his microphone is faulty.

I put it down to a faulty disk and got a refund, but then I spotted a posting on an Internet newsgroup from someone who had found the same problem with 13th Warrior and a few other films including A Bugs Life. Like you, he had tried the disks on another breed of machine and they played fine. He got a replacement machine from Richer Sounds and it had the same problem as the original! I have since tried A Bugs Life on my own Ariston fully expecting trouble, only to have it play perfectly!!

So the big question is, is it solely the player at fault or is ther some problem with certain disks that some machines are better at coping with than others?

Aside from 13th Warrior and a couple of scenes in Dragonheart, I haven`t come across the problem with any other disk & that includes a few R1 titles.

I have discovered that the problem is not as bad when you listen through the headphones. So I`m using the headphone socket as the main audio output for the time being until a better solution can hopefully be found.

Anyway, I`ll be very interested to hear how you get on.

Regards,

Steve.

Problem with 13th Warrior?

Anyone had any bother with the sound on this film?

On my Ariston it stutters all through the film, sort of like when a comedien pretends his microphone is faulty!

RE: How good is the Ariston DVD player?

Well, my Ariston DVD 2000 arived a few days ago and I’m quite pleased with it.

It isn’t going to win any prizes for looks, but it’s very sturdily built, moreso perhaps than some more expensive machines. Unfortunately, although it is easily strong enough to have a VCR or Digibox put on top of it, there is a ventilation slot along the top of the machine towards the back, which can’t be covered up. This has meant that I’ve had to reshuffle my gear a bit to fit everything in. The remote is rather boring, but does the job well enough.

The multi region hack is a doddle, with the drive tray empty or open, simply type 7 7 Enter on the remote and a hidden menu appears where you can change the region coding to 13. This seems to disable the region code alltogether the machine quite happily plays region 1 or 2 discs (and I assume others) without having to change it again. The nice thing is it seems to stick even when the machine is unplugged.

Incidently the multi region hack isn’t mentioned in the manual, which is a very basic affair to say the least! It tells you how to set the machine up and what the basic controls do and that’s about it.

It plays The Matrix (R2) fine and also the two R1 disks I have caused no problems. I have however hit a snag with the sound on 13th Warrior (R2). It may be a dodgy disc rather than the player but there was a definate stutter, for want of a better way of putting it, all through the film. Strangely It was less of a problem when listening through the head phones , but it still wasn’t right. Fortunately I was able to return the disk for a refund. I’ll be watching the newsgroups and forums with interest in the future to see if anyone else has had a similar problem with this disc. Apart from that disk, the Ariston’ sound output seems fine to me but since my old TV doesn’t have stereo I’m hardly the best judge! It sounds fine to me through the Ariston’s headphones though. The picture quality also seems very good, but since the aforementioned TV is only a 15inch job I’m not the best judge of that either!

Generally speaking I’d say that for anyone who just wants to “test the waters” of DVD without spending too much money, then The Ariston is well worth a look. The region hack couldn’t be easier, and if like me you don’t have a stereo TV yet then the headphone socket is a real plus. (Not many cheap DVD players seem to have them)

RE: How good is the Ariston DVD player?

Mine should be arriving any day now.
I`ll let you know how it goes.