I want to buy a decent DVD player in the New Year. So far I am in a ridiculous circumstance;

I play English DVD's on my PC which is not great because it's only a 15 inch screen with limited sound.

I play some (very few) DVD's on my Sony PS2 because it is regional and NTSC or PAL or something.

What I want is a DVD player that will play ANY DVD : PAL/NTSC Any region and my old VCD's.

1. Can I buy such a player in the L.O.S. ?

2. How can I be sure the sales asst. is not just nodding Yes, Yes, Yes, when she means he/she does not know anything about what I want?

Any feedback, received with gratitude...Have a cool Yule.....All!!

Dude, just get up, go outside, get in a taxi, and go to the department store. When you get there go to the electronics section. At the electronics section DO NOT ask a salesperson for help. (As a matter of fact, you shouldn't ask a stranger on the internet for help either). Just browse the different brands and take a moment to read the little tags that explain the features. Obviously, the name brands will be your best brands. You will want a DVD player that plays DVD, SVCD, VCD, MP3, AVI, & I prefer one that will display picture discs, jpeg, gif, etc. Just remember that the more you get the more you pay. My Philips has 2 separate stereo inserts with independent volume for karaoke and some cheap reverb. Not bad for about B7,000.

Or, buy a kick-ass video card for your computer and run it to your TV. That way you can integrate your computer into a one-stop home entertainment system. then it's wireless keyboard and mouse to access from the couch for full size video gaming.

2. How can I be sure the sales asst. is not just nodding Yes, Yes, Yes, when she means he/she does not know anything about what I want?

Take one of your "other region" disks along Syd and insist that you watch it work first. Most DVD players will play VCD, SVCD, MP3 Blah blah blah...

To be honest with you I bought a Sony DVD surround unit whilst I was working in S'pore, multi region and all that and brought it back with me. When I went looking in LoS for comparison it turns out everything I saw was about twice the price I paid in S'pore. Don't know if that is true in the big cities but it certainly was for me.

good luck

I've got a bog-standard Sony DVD from Thailand. Seems to play all regions. English - Asian - USA discs.

The 'Viz' solution is to buy many separate DVD players from each region and bring them back here. This has the added advantage of the air miles you would collect.

Playstation 2 will not play UK DVDs.

I had the misfortune to buy a Kenwood DVD stereo system 22,000 baht from a big chain I was told it would play the lot, well it didn't, long story short.

I then bought a Soken stand alone 3,500 baht, just plug into the TV plays all regions,0,1,2 and 3 we have had no problems with it, the 22,000 baht one is excellent at collecting dust

I bought a Sony player at Emporium (in the Sony shop on 3rd floor). The sales guy asked me if I wanted zone 3 only (default) or all zones. He charged 3000 baht extra to unlock it for all zones.

the 22,000 baht one is excellent at collecting dust

Maerim, can you not play your DVDs on your Soken through an AUX input on your Kenwood and still get your stereo sound? you'd still have to dust your Kenwood from time to time of course but atleast it would get used.

I bought a Sony player at Emporium (in the Sony shop on 3rd floor). The sales guy asked me if I wanted zone 3 only (default) or all zones. He charged 3000 baht extra to unlock it for all zones.

Ka1234 would it be rude of me to ask how much it cost you all up? is this the sony that comes with the yellow and also grey speaker covers?

Syd sorry about stealing your thread, but maybe there is some info for you here too?

I play some (very few) DVD's on my Sony PS2 because it is regional and NTSC or PAL or something.

Take it to Pantip or equivelent and get it chipped. You will then be able to play all regions (and "back-up" games disks).

I bought a Sony player at Emporium (in the Sony shop on 3rd floor). The sales guy asked me if I wanted zone 3 only (default) or all zones. He charged 3000 baht extra to unlock it for all zones.

Sounds crazy to me that you had to pay to unzone your DVD player when this can be done in most of the case with the remote control!

Need to search on internet how.

What I want is a DVD player that will play ANY DVD : PAL/NTSC Any region and my old VCD's.

1. Can I buy such a player in the L.O.S. ?

2. How can I be sure the sales asst. is not just nodding Yes, Yes, Yes, when she means he/she does not know anything about what I want?

Any feedback, received with gratitude...Have a cool Yule.....All!!

The sales people are generally helpful as long as they can pick up the key words you're looking for... in this case you want a DVD player that plays 'all zones' (don't say zone free or they could think you're saying zone three!). Most DVD players here are NTSC/PAL, zone-free, and multi-voltage to boot.

I bought one for my father in the UK- it's a Pioneer model and set me back 4900 Baht- there were cheaper alternatives but I wanted component output.

Cheers!

take your disc to the shop and test them on the dvd player before buying although i thought nearly every dvd player sold here was multiregion.

Most of the full size machines are multi region - the most obvious way of checking is the manufacturers sticker on the front! It usually has 90% of the info you need about specs.

But some of the DVD Walkmans claim to be multi region but arent and cant be chipped / unlocked - a friend got caught like this. It was one of the no name cheapo brands, cant remember the name though.

If in doubt, ask to see the instruction manual and read it or take along some DVDs to test.

If you already have a DVD player or plan to get one, this may be of help;

http://www.dvdrhelp.com/dvdhacks.php