How to select PAL DVD/player, please help. Thank you. Would also like to be able to use the DVD to play CDs in as many formats as possible such as mp3, +/-r/rw, wav, etc.
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I am also looking for a way to play foreign DVDs on my American tv. Let me share with you some of what I have learned. First of all, if you purchased your Vizio here in the states it is probably NTSC format. That poses a problem because foreign DVDs are mostly in PAL format. Please note that this is different from the region coding issue. I have a region-free DVD player that I cannot use because my tv is not PAL compatible. You must have a DVD player that is both multi-system (PAL and NTSC) and region-free (0,1,2,3,4,5,6). Make sure that whatever player you choose will also play RCE DVDs. These are the enhanced discs Hollywood uses to prevent people in other regions from playing them on anything other than standard American DVD players. In other words, bear in mind when selecting your DVD player that you must still have a way to make your NTSC tv display the PAL movies--simply buying a region-free player is not sufficient. Some websites offer DVD players with built-in PAL to NTSC converters. With one of these, all you need to do is choose the proper cable to connect the DVD player to your Vizio. If you choose a DVD player that does NOT convert, you must buy an external converter to connect the DVD player to your tv or buy a PAL compatible tv. I have decided to purchase a multi-system region-free DVD player with a built-in converter. It seems the simplest solution. Supposedly reputable websites seem to all offer warranties of a year or more on their products and have technical support available to you after purchase. I have not actually used any of these sites yet so I cannot recommend one from personal experience. I would suggest you browse the internet to see what's out there, then use the contact information given on any website that has a product that seems to suit your needs to call the company and ask questions. Hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Or, better yet, that you have already solved your problem and are happily watching your DVDs right now.
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I think it shouldn´t matter since you are downloading into a PC. Then if you burn a DVD, a lot of DVD players in Europe play both NTSC and PAL
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Thanks for your reply Martin....I read that in the manual online also, but I think that section applies nto cd's not dvd's...how can it play each dvd withoyt accessing the menu on each dvd ???...I tried a Toshiba and a Samsung changer and neither worked with dvd's only cd's....
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If it plays PAL, does that mean that the region coding can be overridden? That I can finally buy DVDs from overseas without a hitch? Let me know. Thanks.
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Were you able to switch it back to Region 1, and did that solve the "disc error" problem? I unlocked my player and it worked well for three months, then -- bam! -- the same problem as you. So I guess the firmware has a bug in it or something?
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Wendy, you can play movie audio AND CDs with this player (properly set up you can also play movies from other parts of the world - most US DVD players are Region 1 (North America) only - with this you can use movies from ALL REGIONS, except Russia and affiliates - setup should be in one of my other posts, if you're interested.)
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hello,No, I haven't experienced anything funny in playing PAL discs. One question: are you playing original PAL dvds and not bootlegs? Bootlegs have a lower bitrate. If so, check your settings, PAL OUTPUT should be at 540p-560p@60hz.
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My unit plays all region DVDs. IT will play some Region 2 Blu-ray, but not other Region 2 Blu-ray. Anybody know why? Examples: it will play The Wicker Man region 2 Blu-ray, but not The Shout Region 2 Blu-ray. Please advise.
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PAL is European , right? The European DVDs will play, but NOT the blurays. It only plays blurays from the USA.
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As far as I know it is not possible to unlock the HD-A3 player. You are correct it will not play PAL disks. My stupid P.O.S. Toshiba that I bought 3 years ago for $40 will play PAL but it doesn't have an HDMI connection so it's pretty useless. The regions and the PAL/NTSC can be broken in about 30 seconds by real pirates. It is just us lowly consumers who suffer due to the industry's misplaced faith in technology that doesn't work!
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Thank you, Paul! I have the disc and the "Quick Setup Guide", but don't seem able to play certain DVD's.
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I second buying a second OPPO DVD player for standard DVD playback.It's a shame OPPO has locked down the region free option on their BD players. My OPPO 970 was a simple IR remote code entry to make it region free and works flawlessly on PAL discs.I can understand OPPO's position on FW hacks bricking units, but why could they not have made this the simple IR remote code entry functionality?
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Short answer: The unit is physically capable of playing PAL, but it will refuse because it is region-locked.I can't link to the manual from Amazon, but if you search for P10.1ES_EN_UM.PDF you should find it. Page 22-23 explain the following: The player is region-locked, though they apparently make players for all 6 regions. The USA is region 1, and NTSC is the format we use here, so it's unlikely you'll ever see a "normal" PAL dvd that is also region 1. If you do happen to have a region-free PAL DVD, it should play just fine.
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Hi. I don't know what PAL is? The DVD/VCR Combo that I purchased does play both DVD and VCR formats. However, the unit will not allow me to advance on the DVD format. Very disappointing.
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It only lists the following formats as playable: Multi-format playback: Capability now includes DVD-/+R, DVD-/+RW, VCD, SVCD, CD-R, CD-RW, and MP3 playback for flexible playback options.BD is not among them. I say that because, while I own one, I've never actually tried putting a blu-ray disc directly into the drive. As far as I know, it is strictly a DVD player. I use a PS3 for my blu-ray needs.I would opt for something else if you want blu-ray capabilities.
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Thank you very much, E. Soares - I appreciate the information you've provided, especially the link to the electronic copy of the player's manual. Although not the answer we would have liked to see, it's not at all a surprise, given the super-low price on this.If I may offer a little hint, I've had my eye on the Sherwood BDP-5004 - it's been verified by several reviewers on other Forums as being PAL/NTSC, Region-Free capable. It's the only Blu-Ray I've seen so far that has this important (to me, at least) capability. I play a lot of music DVDs that are from Europe, UK, Japan and Australia.It's about twice as expensive as this Sylvania, but the added abilities would be worth it.Thanks again!Leo Thank you very much, E. Soares - I appreciate the information you've provided, especially the link to the electronic copy of the player's manual. Although not the answer we would have liked to see, it's not at all a surprise, given the super-low price on this.If I may offer a little hint, I've had my eye on the Sherwood BDP-5004 - it's been verified by several reviewers on other Forums as being PAL/NTSC, Region-Free capable. It's the only Blu-Ray I've seen so far that has this important (to me, at least) capability. I play a lot of music DVDs that are from Europe, UK, Japan and... » Read More Thank you very much, E. Soares - I appreciate the information you've provided, especially the link to the electronic copy of the player's manual. Although not the answer we would have liked to see, it's not at all a surprise, given the super-low price on this.If I may offer a little hint, I've had my eye on the Sherwood BDP-5004 - it's been verified by several reviewers on other Forums as being PAL/NTSC, Region-Free capable. It's the only Blu-Ray I've seen so far that has this important (to me, at least) capability. I play a lot of music DVDs that are from Europe, UK, Japan and Australia.It's about twice as expensive as this Sylvania, but the added abilities would be worth it.Thanks again!Leo « Show Less
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i have had success with playing the DVD on various machines by using the FINALIZE disc option. use SETUP, then DISC EDIT, then FINALIZE and choose YES.