[LMB] AKICTOT:L Dvd players (was If civilization fell)

[Mark Allums]

Katrina Knight wrote:
> At 11:39 PM 2/6/2008 Mark Allums wrote:
>> Do you know how to convert a Philips DVD recorder?  I have 
>> model DVDR3400/17.
> 
> The instructions that worked on mine are as follows. There's a 
> lot of variation between models though, so I wouldn't count on 
> the same thing working for yours.
> The site I've used to find instuctions and information is 
> <http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks>. There are a number of other 
> sites that offer to sell you the information to make various 
> players region free, but this one is free and useful.

Thanks, Katrina.  The site had instructions for my recorder, which 
*were* different from the ones for yours.  I have printed them out, for 
safekeeping.  I followed them, and:

I can confirm that the Philips DVDR3400 can be converted to a Region 0 
player (All Regions) with nothing but key presses on the remote.  It 
plays both Region 1 and 2 videos with no further fiddling, and can be 
set back to the original Region 1 setting if desired.  I don't know if 
there is a limit to the number of times this can be done (like with 
computer DVD drives), but by setting it to Region 0, the recorder can 
play a disc from any Region, so it might (or might not, see below) be 
pointless to set it back to 1.

The Recorder can already play back both PAL and NTSC discs, in their 
respective output modes.  I understand there is a hack to get it to 
(temporarily) play and record PAL discs in NTSC mode.  I don't know if 
this can be made permanent.

Caveat: While set on a Region other than 1, some of the setup menu 
options are not allowed.  For this reason, I would advise setting all 
the options to the desired setting *before* making the Region change.

I do advise, if you get this recorder, or a similar player/recorder made 
by Philips, to update to the most recent firmware.  The player comes 
with some instructions for doing this, but the real action is at the 
Philips web site.  Their you can find your particular model player, 
discover if there is a more recent firmware for your model, and download 
it.  You must the burn the files to a CD, of all things.  Insert the CD 
into the player and follow the instructions.  The Player will recognize 
the files on the CD as an update, and ask for permission to update. 
It's mostly automatic.  After it is complete, that pesky DVD that 
wouldn't play just might, now.  In my case, updating also made the 
player work faster, and the user interface more responsive.

Good luck!

--Mark Allums