I've been today to a Tesco Lotus (Rama III) and saw the following DVD models:

Pioneer DV-270 - THB 3,990

"---"---" DV-575K (w/karaoke) - THB 4,490

Philips DVP532K (w/karaoke) - THB 3,990

Unfortunately, the salesmen were not very helpful (with the exeption of karaoke)... they were unable to explain if their models are multi region, what media they are able to play, etc. Also the specs were in Thai only.

Hope, this is the place to get some sound advice.

I need it mainly for playing movies/cartoons for my 2 y.o. daughter, but having a karaoke could be useful as well.

Also, any recommendations on where is better/cheaper to buy one would be much appreciated.

Pretty much all DVD players in Thailand are multi-region (nobody would buy them if they weren't). If your only concern is your daughter's enjoyment, you don't need much. You can get one of the no-name soken/ninetech/aconatic/etc players, and they'd do the job well enough. Some can be found for around 2,000 baht.

For folks serious about their movies, you'd look into component output, DIVX compatibility, 5.1 decoding, progressive scan, optical output, etc. etc. etc.

I can't recall those brand names specs - are you talking about a dvd player for the computer or one to connect direct to the TV?

If it is for the TV Firefox is right I reckon - a cheaper make is probably better, if for the computer, a good make is better. I have a cheapo NIVEOUS dvd player that will open just about anything, even damaged discs, and cost 2000 baht. OK, the front trim fell off after 3 weeks, but it works just fine, and it has a socket on the back for plugging into a computer monitor which I would recommend as an important option, as you never know if you will need it. Many if not most have such a plug, so do check.

Some brand names cannot play discs burned by other machines - My friends Sony won't even try and open discs burned on a Pioneer computer dvd burner. Niveous opens them fine. I presume it is to do with the liscensing of brand specific features.

Pretty much all DVD players in Thailand are multi-region (nobody would buy them if they weren't).

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Actually videohelp says there's no region hack for the DV-250 or DV-260 (and the DV-270 wasn't expected to have a region hack either, so it might be only region 3). Where it says there is a hack for the Philips.

Generally players that are multi-region (or have a readily available region hack) are labelled multi-region in the store...

I would agree with Firefoxx on the DivX stuff though, as it definitely makes it easier to watch stuff you burn on your own PC.