Recommend a DVD player

[Nestle]

I am looking for a not very expencive, but good DVD-ROM Drive. It doesn't have to be the fastest, but it should be able to play DVDs from any region and without any copyright protection things build in.
Any recommendations?

 

[brianp34]

i don't think you'll be able to easily buy one with no region limitations. you can buy one and flash the firmware to make it region free. i like the toshiba 16x dvd player, one of the best all around drives i've used.

brian

 

[Bucksnort]

Yep, Toshiba SD-M1612

 

[ripthesystem]

I vowed when I replaced my DVD-ROM drive that it would be region free. I HATED and LOATHED the fact that all these great DVD's from overseas wouldn't play on my old Compaq DVD drive... no more I swore.

Much to my dismay it seems that these things are one of the hardest things on earth to come by.. and it seemd my only other option was a new drive and flash the firmware. Who wants to shell out the $$ for a new drive only to cross your fingers and start flashing firmware? often with firmware from totally different manufacturers?

I don't have that kind of $$ to risk.
My solution was the 16x Lite-On. Same one they sell at Newegg & Dell for around $50. Has great reviews everywhere, it's cheap, etc etc.
Here's where it gets good. It IS a region 1 drive but you can change it 5 times(standard) and then you can reset the drive switching 4 more times for a total of 20 switches without any hassle. That's pretty good since most dirves just give you the 5.

Next up.. there is a simple freeware utility for the drive that allows you to swtich to region-free, and back again or reset the switches times infinity. Now we're talking. Only drawback is it's a DOS utility.. but it's one simple command line with easy to follow instructions.. and you're on your way to watching the Japanese DVD of Eraserhead or whatever you're into

hth
ripthesystem

 

[Nestle]

I don't really mind flashing the firmware if doing such thing is tried and worked for everybody.
I am not sure if I can run DOS programs though since my OS is XP ... or I can?
Also, I checked the specs of the Toshiba drive and it said "2X DVD-RAM playback". So DVD players will play recorded DVDs at lower speeds? I didn't know that !!