Info and forum posts by 'AlteredReality'

RE: Wharfedale 750 and RCE - The Facts

the 328C will play all region one discs, including The Patriot.

just goto the region hack section of this site: http://www.dvd.reviewer.co.uk/info/multiregion/ should be there.

RE: RCE - does it affect the Wharfdale 750s?

" I`d try to return any that don`e have the region specific hack for one that does."

err, why? even when set to region free they play the patriot fine, and the one without region specific hack is newer firmware (which is what you want, as obviously it fixes something).

RE: Just ordered the Patriot from US to test on the newest 750S

"take your dvd player back and get a x wave dvd player they play the latest dvds .....even wipes the macrovision -"

Or don`t.. if I was going to spend more than £50 over the price of the wharfedale, i`d rather get a cheap branded make, a pioneer or something on sale..

RE: How DVD Recorders Work

"Lucky ol` you!"

not luck at all, just properly configured.

eg;

W95osr2.1 not win98/2k/me.
CDRwin, Nero and VideoPack4 burning software, no need to clutter with junk.
use quality scsi CD-R (and CD-Rom) drives, Plextor are about the best,
along with quality SCSI card.
set your caching up properly, ESPECIALLY in Win98.

RE: How DVD Recorders Work

"I`m amazed that the machine burns direct to DVD. Having seen CD burners in action and what with charming little problems like buffer underrun, I`d have thought the HDD intermediate stage would have been a good idea."

well to burn in realtime it`d have to be equivilant to a 2x burner, i have a p200 burner box that has NEVER had a buffer underrun in 3yrs burning at 4x (SCSI btw, not evil ide.. :) ) so i`m sure doing on the fly to the disc isnt that hard..

also, we have Burnproof now, which makes it almost impossible to have a buffer underrun, and if they give it a 8meg buffer, i doubt you could EVER make a coaster.. :)

RE: How DVD Recorders Work

hrm, big ugly wintel under my tv, or a small standalone recorder which doesnt crash halfway thru recording..?

I know which i`d choose.. :)

RE: How DVD Recorders Work

sort`ve related in a roundabout way

http://twocom.net/dvdvcdmp3/vdr2000.html

it`s a VCD and SVCD recorder, it records to VCD or SVCD in realtime from any input, either to CD-R or CD-RW.

RE: Wharfedale 750 and RCE - The Facts

sorry i`m not local, i`m from just outside of manchester..

i`ll hopefully be borrowing a copy of patriot by end of weekend to test, and if it works i`ll try to get the s/w dumped.. :)

RE: Wharfedale 750 and RCE - The Facts

and what if it says

"Wharfedale DVD750
CS=328C"

this is an interim 750 bought a few weeks back, not tried it with the patriot yet.. also not tried making it multi-region, as vcd`s don`t have a region.. :)

RE: Whafedale 750s - CD audio hiccups

i`m guessing, but it sounds like it is adhering to the ISO standard of 2second pregaps before every audio track, AFAIK discs with no pregaps arent 100% standard discs (altho they are accepted).

RE: Wharefdale 750s stutters video & audio on region 1

will do tomorrow, will find the mailshot, it came with last weeks local paper, so should be around somewhere..

RE: DVD re-Recorders....

1) being some type of obscure BB, i must admit to not knowing the commands, neither quote not code works, how i miss UBB.. :/

2) as for LD, it was the price of the software (as with dvd) that put people off, along with it being something obscure, and very rarely advertised, i know very few `normal` people who have heard of it.

3) I don`t deny the studio`s are keen on pushing it, but they seem to think pushing it entails sticking on a couple (or lot) of crappy extra`s that will never be watched by `normal` people, and charging way over the odds for it. i`ll have to include a little of your text next, but it`ll be quoted;

"I mean, yer average geezer will cop hold of one from Dixons for £60 now - it might be a crap player but it still sells, right ? Same rule applies to budget DVD players mate..."

the thing here is, A) a the price difference between cd and tape is minimal, and B) CD is well established, 18yrs established in fact, unlike dvd.

4) no, the next best thing for a gamer ISNT a dc and dvd, it`s a DC on its own.. this is also true for the retailer.

imagine, parent walks in, wants a ps2, are then told can`t have one, wants to know next best thing..

I say "Dreamcast, far from being next best thing, its better than the ps2 (true) altho it is older, and only £129.99" - I`m almost guaranteed a sale, its more than 50% off the price of a ps2.

now if i say "dreamcast and dvd player, 2 more boxes to stick under you t TV, and a snip at £299" they say, "hrm, so same price as ps2 but for an older machine, i`ll have to ask little johnny first" - which means in some cases I will get a sale, but in others i wont..


I know its not related, but the price is one of the things putting people off the ps2..

you see, when the Sega Saturn came out (the first real next-gen machine) it was £350-£400, then the psx came out at £300..

Two years later we got the N64, and people complained at the price (£250), so it was quickly reduced to £200..

then we got the DC, at a reasonable £200.. now i`m sure you can see whats happened heare, it`s lowered to a point that people expect..

then the ps2 and xbox were announced..

ps2 price ccame first, and it was a (in comparison) whopping £299, MS said they`d try to keep price around $199, which in the games world (and trading world in general) correlates to £199, then nintendo said the same with the showing of the nintendo game cube..

now the ps2 has sold reasonably well in japan, mostly has a DVD player as DVD isn`t very popular in japan at all, but software (games) sales are truly dire.

but over here where dvd is a little more popular (and the usa, where dvd is undeniably MUCH more popular) people are a lot less interested, people now expect a £200 price point of a new machine, and sony have fouled up on that, the most important "feature" of launch..


"Altered - it`s been a good debate. Let`s keep on rocking !!!"

it most definitely has, and i`m glad you`ve took it as that, a debate rather than someone just out insulting dvd.. I`m honestly not as anti-dvd as i sound, i just prefer a debate to be properly balanced, and with most people on this forum being heavily pro-dvd and unable to see what someone who`s just interested in seeing films i like, rather than being fanatical about them (i save that for games) does, who better than me.. :)

anyway, ttfn i need a good cuppa after typing all that.

RE: Wharefdale 750s stutters video & audio on region 1

Thank goodness we all have differing opinions otherwise life indeed would be dull.

indeed, as you`ll find i`ve just said in another thread.. :)


The reason I rent rather than buy is for a few reasons:

and all very good reasons, but i wasn`t questioning your choice to rent, thats entirely your perogative.. :)

i was just saying for me it`s not an ideal way, altho Plumbs do have a few bairgains at the moment, which even after the 18month lock-in still turn out quite reasonable.. :)

RE: DVD re-Recorders....

Altered - again, I`m glad our opinions differ.

as am I, what a boring world we`d live in if we all agreed, eh?

However, to hammer the point home read this :
"The DVD format is now officially the fastest growing format in Europe, according to...Screen Digest.

thats what i`m saying, it`s growing, but mostly to fanatics, can it sustain these sales through to the mass market? neither you or I can say catagerically yes or no, only time will tell..


"One of the key observations made in the report predicts that 30% of households throughout Europe will have a DVD player by the end of 2003.

sorry, i don`t deal in futures.. how many homes have one now? 12% ?


"Back in the UK the report highlights the meteoric rise of the DVD format WHICH HAS SURPASSED ALL INDUSTRY EXPECTATIONS. THE BIGGEST SELLING MARKET WITHIN EUROPE, SALES GREW BY A MASSIVE 1000% DURING THE PREVIOUS YEAR, FUELLED BY THE RAPID FALL IN PLAYER PRICES...the rise is
you`ll find no argument from me here. i even bought a DVD player this year, something i thought i`d never do, BUT i needed a new vcd player, and dvd players where around the same price..


likely to continue and is set to be spurred on by...DVD-compatible game consoles like Sony`s Playstation 2"
(Source: "DVD sales outstrip VCR" Home Entertainment magazine Issue 82 October 2000 p.5)


this i doubt.. public apathy towards the ps2 is overwhelming.. sure theres people who want or have one, including myself, but I`m a games fanatic so obviously I do, just like the film fanatics have a DVD player.. :)


I re-iterate, the "chumps" you so cruelly categorise HAVE been lured by bargain DVD players, and stockings will be player shaped this year.
Let`s face it, what are the parents gonna get now PS2 is limited to 250,000 lucky people this side of Chrissie ?

erm, from my experience, people who`ve been coming in asking when the ps2 is out, when told that they had to pre-order months ago, and that they couldn`t just walk into a retialers and pick one up have said "eff that, whats another good machine" OR "hrm, well it looks like a Dreamcast for little johnny jr then" simply because parents of games fans will NOY buy them a dvd player instead, as the ickle kiddies want games not films..

RE: DVD re-Recorders....

well, if dvd ever does catch on, i can`t see it being for any of the above reasons

You fail to mention that most british people are very idle, It`s real easy to put on and take off a DVD film and put it back in it`s case..
yes, about the same amount of time it takes to do the same with vhs


now Video on the other hand the thought of having to sit and wait for 20 mins to get to the start of a film,

20mins? maybe 2..


trying to track it in ( cos it`s on poor s*** tape),

you mean they make vcr`s without auto-tracking still?


finding that someone as taped last weeks Corri in the middle of an important part of the film,

i don`t know about your area, but when you buy a video from the shop around here, it has the protection tab removed so that you CANT do this (without re-covering it), besides most people can tell the difference between a blank tape and a pre-recorded vhs tape


( try that on DVD )having to wait 10mins for it to re-wind at the end,
not many people rewind at the end, why do you think most rental stores charge for non-rewinding, because theres a fortune to be made in it..

besides, you said at the beginning you have to rewind for 20 mins BEFORE watching the film, which clearly wouldnt be the case fi you rewind AFTER watching the film..


not to mention having to build big sheves to put there oversized little black boxes on....

and same can be said for DVD, i much prefer CD sized jewel cases, makes my shelves even smaller still..

the reasons you have stated why dvd will take off can be applied to vcd or laserdisc (as we know joe public isn`t interested in super hi-pic quality) but they never did..


LOL

ROFLMAOWMKSO

RE: DVD re-Recorders....

Altered - You say DVD hasn`t taken off ? You certainly do live up to your name, mate, it`s the fastest selling audio/video format

fastest selling you say, as in a lot of units selling to fanatics in short spaces of time (5yrs), can it stand the test of time? i seriously doubt it. the problem is, for people in the poorest parts of britain, they are happy to setlle for a cheapy sub £100 vcr and pirate films for £2..

when it comes to middle england, a nice £400 vcr and sensibly priced £10, £12 maybe £15 films.

its clearly not selling to the non-techno heads (well it is, but very slowly), these are the same people who you yourself said keep tv`s for 8-10yrs, most of them can`t even tell the difference between mono and nicam. they really don`t care for dvd, it`s just another "overpriced electric thingymjig that plays films"



When the hardware first came out it was about £500 for the cheapest player. Now mainstream places like Woolies (Proline), WHS (CyberHome) and Argos (Alba/Bush) have brought it to the masses, who may not be so audio/visual-fanatical as our good selves.

very true, and with the exception of tesco`s, most of these products hardly leave the shelves.


"Rent it on video" adverts have become dual purpose "...or buy it on DVD" adverts.

yes, the distributors are pushing it as much as they can, which is why more people have heard about / seen dvd`s than Laserdisc, but many are still reluctant to buy into it with high software prices

RE: DVD re-Recorders....

too expensive you say?

£1100 for a standalone or £2000 for a pc dvd-r

now, £1100 is what it will cost you for a Good VCR (not decent, as you can get a dcent vcr for £300-£500)..

£1100 for the convenience of digital media? i think not

BUT i agree, it won`t take off, and neither will any other similar format..

Why? for the same reason DVD isn`t taking off, people (joe public, johnny punter) don`t see why they should, when they can get a goodmans vcr for £80 and films for £5-£10, whereas a dvd costs on average £15-£20, all for what, a few poxy "extras" that they`ll never view..

IMO dvd`s need to lose the `extras` and come down a few quid in price, nobody but the fanboys are really interested in them and it may help dvd take off if the price is reduced by a few £ as a result.

and please, nobody be offended, just trying to start intelligent debate here.. :)

RE: DVD re-Recorders....

well, standalone dvd-r`s are already available (pioneer)..

as for PC systems, theres DVD-R`s for them too (NOT DVD-Ram)..

also noticed some cheap DVD-R discs today, £16, TDK compatible with DVD-Rom and DVD Video drives..

Still cheaper to get a disc pressed, but give it 18months and they`ll be down to £5 a disc..

RE: Wharfedale 750s-SVCD lip-sync problems?!

www.vcdhelper.com

or

www.doom9.org should have what you need

RE: Wharefdale 750s stutters video & audio on region 1

Altered, I`ve got an original Bush 1970s portable black and white telly - I don`t think that does NTSC/PAL60 ? I may be mistaken.... (it still works amazingly !). The old `uns are the best.

hehe, i doubt if that would do NTSC, never know tho.. :)


Besides, a lot of tellies were very well made in the late 80s/early 90s (it was getting rid of valves that did it) so I know a lot of people would say if it ain`t broke don`t fix it. Not all of us can afford to buy a replacement telly every five years, nor should we need to.

but you consider, save just £12.50 a week and you CAN afford a new half-decent TV every Five tears.. :)


That`s why I rent my telly - foolproof upgrading.

Well, not something i`d do myself, but if it suits you....

actually, do you mind if i ask how much a week you rent for? as i`ve said above, save £12.50 a week over five years and you can OWN the TV, i know rental is generally a little cheaper per week, but the TV is NEVER yours, plus if you`ve bought the TV, you can then sell it when you geet your new one, say ~£150UKP, meaning you can get a slightly better TV next time.. :)


I`m also intrigued why you don`t like widescreen. Did you know (omigod Clayts is off on one again) that it is actually more natural for the human eye to watch a 16:9 picture, rather than a 4:3. All in the shape you see.

well, i like taller picture rather than wider pic.. :)
seriously, i like perfectly square TV`s, i can`t even stand standard tv`s that are (or look) a lot wider than they are high.. With my Sony it looks almost perfectly square.. not many TV`s like that nowadays, WS is taking over.. :/

So, looks like I`ll be going Bang & Aloufsen next time, they still have a large selection of standard TV`s.. :)

Plus DVDs look great on a widescreen and bloody annoying on a 4:3....

hrmm, I suppose we`ll have to agree to disagree, besides that, i barely ever watch DVD, i like VCD (yes originals, £5 from kuala lumpur, generally come out same time as DVD in usa, occasionally a bit before).

RE: Wharefdale 750s stutters video & audio on region 1

i find it hard to beleive that any tv made in the last five years can`t handle NTSC (why pal60 is needed i don`t know)..

i personally own a 2yr old sony 29" (4:3, i can`t stand widescreen, and 29" is the biggest i could fit into the attic, not a very big hole see :) ) and it handles NTSC perfectly, wether thru the RGB SCART socket, S-Video socket or the RCA socket, (and even the RF socket if used with a broadband RF Playstation :) )..

also used a protable Daewoo 14" tv, around 3yrs old that plays back NTSC no problem thru RGB Scart..

even the in-laws manky Goodmans (ergh) TV plays NTSC back thru the RGB scart socket (but not thru RCA)..

I`m intrigued to know what make of TV doesn`t handle NTSC (other than some 5yr+ philips models).

RE: U.S. Videomaker needs UK Advice

well you have a few choices

Wharfedale DVD-750 & 750s - both play vcd / svcd from cd-r www.tesco.co.uk £179.99

Scan / Daewoo - same as above, both play vcd / svcd, but not quite as good pic quality www.scan.co.uk / www.argos.co.uk £174.99 / £179.99

Shinco (various models) - all latest models play vcd / svcd (and megadrive games :) ) www.lik-sang.com (HK company) £various

hope thats some help to you, there are others, but in budget range they are the best imho

RE: The chat room idea revisited

Oh well, I prolly wouldn`t of been around at same time as everyone else anyway.. :/

RE: The chat room idea revisited

well, it depends what you mean by "chat room" i`m asuming most of you mean a WWW based thing, which imho would be a bad idea, a much better solution would be a irc chan on any irc network (irc.net or ef.net prolly best).

that way theres a lot more control AND it means those of us ho wont run nasty java / javascript websites that slow everything down to a crawl can join in too.. :-)

RE: hack causes jittery picture

yes, switch Output from PAL to NTSC for Region One titles..

RE: Which Scart ?

I actually have an S-Video lead for my PSX, which is better than the standard composite Scart (but not RGB), so I use this.

You can only get these in the states though...



---

not true, a S-vid lead is available from any half decent shop, even EB, and will cost you about the same as a RGB scart, about £3+.

I have a S-vid lead for my non-rgb modded n64 and for my DC for games that arent RGB compatible.

This item was edited on Wednesday, 18th October 2000, 17:36

RE: Is there an anti-RCE Wharfy 750 chip available?

"WARNERS SUCK C#CK!!"

undoubtedly most of there films do, but you can`t blame there business model, just because it affects you, they are only protecting there own profit margins, if as a business they didn`t, i`d be VERY worried


"If this statement was true warner sales would go through the roof:P"

Which Statement?


"Tesco`s Massive sales of the Warfdale was partially due to it being multiregion, the fact that it will not play the patriot will get through to Tesco (probably already has) and they will have something done about it.
You will just have to wait and see...."

well, theres not exactly a lot they can do, other than offer te 750s in all stores, and quickly phase out the 750..

as for "wait and see", i`m not exactly a wait and see type of person, what good would waiting do me, when i can go out and get a 750s now. how does waiting make any difference?


"HITACHI 505 ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

well you see, it`s too cheap to be a proper player, and too expensive to be a budget player, so it`s stuck in a limbo, with most people who see it for sale thinking either;

A: May as well save a few quid and get a budget player
or
B: May as well spend a few quid more and get myself a proper (usually sony) player..

:p

RE: Is there an anti-RCE Wharfy 750 chip available?

well, if you read the news off this very site, you`ll see the exact opposite.. :)

patriot doesn`t work with the 750.. :/

doesn`t mention the 750s, but i`d expect it will be ok, as it can be set to single region..

pity really, i prefer the 750 (updated) to the 750s.

also, they are VERY worried about us in UK importing..

warner title i want, Pokemon the movie 2k;

USA DVD release date : 13th Nov
UK Cinema Release Date : begining of Dec

thats going to be a LOT of lost cinema viewings, due to people buying the DVD.

thats something they want to cut as much as possible, and the whole reason behind RCE.

Sony done a similar thing with the psx in Japan and the USA, anti-mod.. If your psx was chipped, the game wouldn`t run, forcing people to use a cracked pirate copy. same thing will happen here, people will just get a cheap pirate copy of the DVD (thats identical to the original), with the RCE check removed so it never checks.

RE: The deed is done - my fate is sealed

unit is silent in operation except for when playing a vcd and using the GOTO: function to skip from, say 00:05:00 mins upto 0:55:00 mins, then it makes a slight whirr, but as you aren`t actually watching the film as your skipping, it`s not offputting in the slightest.. :)

as for the post before , yes the picture on the 750s isn`t quite as `nice` as the updated 750, BUT it looks like i`ll be getting a 750s this week, as one of the few DVD`s i want (well, she wants) is Pokemon the Movie 2000, a warner movie.. :/

can`t blame warner for protecting there interests, but is irritating..

RE: What Wharfdale have I got ???

sounds like a updated 750, check if its only got one scart socket, if so, it`s definitely a updated 750.. :)