Page 1 of Please Help! I gotta new DVD player . . . .

I just got a (dont laugh im a student on a budget) Alba DVD108 player (Argos £69.99). It plays DVD`s(r2)\MP3\CDR\RW lovely but it wont play VCD`s or SVCD`s - It comes up with `incorrect format disc` then ejects it.
I can find nothing about any info at all for this player, I`m sure there must be some hacks for it.

I know it plays VCD`s and SVCD`s beautifully because I can trick it into playing them!!!! When I put a vcd/svcd in it begins to spin up the disc - in this time and before it actually starts to read the disc I press menu and left keys together, then let go of them and press 1 key and hold it down and it will play anything (all this needs to be done in the second or so that it spins up the disc - needs good timing an a bit of practice but i got it to a tee now)!

Anyways.. Im quite sure that this player is not multi-reg out of box but can be hacked along with the (s)vcd features.
Does anyone have any ideas/links/info/HACKS on this? it is all much appreciated. I can open the player to find out any chip details ppl might need.

Thanks for your time!

Hi Jay,

Does this really work? I received a free Alba 108 with a Mobile phone offer, in the hope that as well as being multiregion and apparently playing MP3 CDs it would play VCD and SVCDs as well...

I`m now going to go and try it... fingers crossed...

Anyone else know of a way of getting this player to play VCDs and SVCDs?

Thanks

Just wanted to say I finally got home and tried this and it works...

It`s really fiddly and takes time and patience, but I have tried a VCD and SVCD and both work (even having the disc type icons on the OSD)...

So, we know they can play them - there must be an easier way to do it though, but for now I`m ecstatic :o)

cheers, i was on the verge of taking the thing back when i saw your trick, and it worked perfectly, i have also tried several r1disks and i have had no trouble what so ever. r u sure yours wont play them?

Hi

Im glad this works for everyone!

About the region playing, I think it is region unlocked out of the box but if u look on the back it has got an r2 logo, so maybe it will lock to a specific region after so many plays? time will tell.

Cheers JayUk, worked. I`ve managed to get VCDs and SVCDs on a number of different CDR makes to work, it`s a bit fiddly but like u said, once you get the timing right then it`s easy.

Hope a permanent hack is found though or the Menu and Left Arrow buttons are gonna wear out on the remote! lol

the hack also works by just pressing just the menu key and then 1, this makes it a little easier, but lets hope someone comes up with a more permanent solution soon.
i have now tried several different cdrs including 99min infinity, they all play fine.

Hi Synn
I am interested in the mobile phone offer, could you please give any details. It would be very much appreciated.

Thank you

Hi Bazzza,

I got the offer through email from ipoints, which pointed me at http://www.crazymobiles.com

It`s a free phone on T-mobile, on a specific tariff, but if you sign up the offer at the time (and I think still is) you can claim a free DVD player if you send your first months bill back to them...

I was slightly dubious, but lo and behold, my DVD player arrived and it`s fantastic :o) (I`ve just checked and it`s currently Deal 6 on the top deals, top of page 2)

I don`t think there`s any permanent hack for playing VCDs, (as yet anyway). However, the three 108`s I`ve tried were all multi-region out of the box. If yours isn`t I`d get it swapped.