Movies You've Watched Most Recently

[kovacs01]

What did you have to do to make them multi region?  And has firmware updating caused any issues with that?

[brude]

I haven't seen many Korean movies lately, just Dragon Wars and The Host, both of which I enjoyed.  The Host is particularly cool, blending horror and humor with some of the coolest monster-on-the-rampage footage I've ever seen.  I picked up the US one sheet and would love to get a tip on some of the Japanese paper if one of our friends out in the Pacific finds any.  If you haven't yet seen this movie, it's a trip.

Dragon Wars is a better-than-average 'B' movie with a lot of American involvement.  It's also worth a watch,

     

[kovacs01]

I am pretty sure I have seen a Japanese B1 for The Host (not 100% though), but it has been a couple of years.

[paul waines]

 ( What did you have to do to make them multi region?  And has firmware updating caused any issues with that? )

The first one I bought I asked if it was possible to make it multi region, they said yes and took it into a room out back, and within 2 minutes what ever they did was done. I have had it for about 2 years or more with no problems.

The other one I bought mainly for the front room as I was getting quite a lot of blu discs, it was already multi-region, It even had stickers on the box stating so.

So unlike my other dvd players which I hacked via the remote, I did nothing to them. The last player I bought 7 or 8 months ago and have had no problems at all with either.

[Dr Hackenbush]

It is a Korean disc with english subtitles.  I dont care much about region though because my Oppo player is region free.  Most people havent heard of Oppo, but they make high quality players.  They have the best chipsets (superior upsacling) in the business, and their customer service is second to none.

There are more issues regarding region coding with blu-ray.  Sony, wary of the drawbacks they saw with the hacking of region coding on DVD players will pull the contract of any manufacturer that makes a region free player or a player that can be made region free with a simple service menu remote hack.  They have denied at least one BD contract based on this and pulled another one (it was a Momitsu I believe).  Once Sony cuts them off, the flow of firmware updates for the player stops shortly thereafter.  Oppo sneakily got around this by essentially making their firmware open source.  The region free hack for their player is one that was developed by a user and is uploaded via USB or disc.  I am glad because region free ability was one of the main characteristics I was looking for.  Mostly, I wanted the ability for my DVD's since I have 200+ that are not region 1.  To my knowledge, the Oppo is the only quality player that allows multiregion capability. 

A few years a go I bought a Philips DVP642 because it was cheap, produced a good picture, and could be made region free with the input of a code.  What more could you ask for 

[Carson]

Glad you got yours working region free Paul and Dr. HB. Funny, Schan (Kovacs) once recommended an Oppo 83 in an old thread around the time I was in the market for one so I gave it a shot. Many months later I can honestly report it's the best money I've ever managed to spend on any home video component; have never been happier with an electronics buy. I use it with a projector as well, Paul, and looks great.

Going to go with Taegukgi and Time to sample some of the Korean films you all are describing. Thanks for the reccomends.

[kovacs01]

I have horrible luck with DVD players.  A bought 3 of those easily hacked bargain basement players, a Philips, Panasonic, and a Magnavox.  None of them lasted more than a year.  Then, I bought the Samsung dual format (BD/HD-DVD) player for $650 which also crapped out in less than a year.  I had always heard great things about Oppo so I went with them when the BD player came out.  It has made it past a year, and appears to be the answer.

Edit: I agree with Carson, the Oppo 83 is the best money I have ever spent on an theater component.  Its quality through and through, almost having a "hand built" feel.

[kovacs01]

Did you ever get to watch those 2 films, Carson, and what did you think?  It looks like another marathon weekend for me.  5 new blu rays rolled in today........

Tropa de Elite
Outlander
Flame and Citron
Rogue
Run Lola Run

Schan

[kovacs01]

Glad you got yours working region free Paul and Dr. HB. Funny, Schan (Kovacs) once recommended an Oppo 83 in an old thread around the time I was in the market for one so I gave it a shot. Many months later I can honestly report it's the best money I've ever managed to spend on any home video component; have never been happier with an electronics buy.

Well, I am sorry to say that with the new firmware upgrade, the all region blu ray capability of my Oppo has gone away.  I is still all region capable for DVDs.  There is not an all region BD firmware hack available that works with the latest version, although I am sure one is coming.  Instead, I have ordered a hardware mod, which essentially amounts to changing out a ribbon cable.  I do not want to have to worry every time I install the latest firmware whether a quarter of my BD collection will be come unwatchable.  $60 well spent I think.

[brude]

Hey, Schan.  I've seen Outlander (pretty cool) and Run Lola Run (excellent).  I'm curious about Rogue by Greg Mclean.  Looks like it might be as nerve-wracking as Wolf Creek.  Looking forward to your reviews.