Please help -- shopping for a visual entertainment system

[capri0mni]

Currently, my V.E.S. consists of one 13-inch TV with a VCR built in. And the VCR bit is broken. It plays tapes just fine, but chews them to pieces when I rewind. I suspect it would cost more to fix than to replace, and besides, I think VHS is going to be obsolete. So I want a DVD player... And multi-region, too, natch. The TV has one three jacks in the front: one marked "audio," one "video" and one "headphone" -- I think that's for cable. Doesn't look like anything I've seen to plug a DVD player into...

So -- that means getting a whole system.

But I don't know where to start. Give me advice, here, folks! And in detail. I'd really like to take you all on a raid around the local electronics stores (dressed in viking helmets and neon-colored furs, of course!), but as I can't do that, I'll print out what you tell me, and study that in advance... if there are links to pictures of what all these things look like, that would be great, too.

Frankly, I trust you guys more than I do the store salesmen, and I want to go in armed with as much information as possible (I don't think they'd let me through the door with a battle ax, anyway).

Thanks in advance...

Comments

[antiwesley.livejournal.com]

Believe it or not, I picked up the cheap $30 DVD player at Sam's Club and I easily found the 'hack' to make it regionless and it plays my burned DVD's without any problems.

I can't for the life of me, remember the brand, but it's been a welcome addition to my setup. :)

[trinalin.livejournal.com]

Cyberhome, probably.

I really like my Philips DVP642 - it's easily made region free and has a much better PAL->NTSC conversion than my Cyberhome.

As for total entertainment system, I have an RCA surround sound system which wasn't terribly expensive but does a good job. I mostly got it cuz I have far too many things to hook onto my TV and this allows you to hook several things to it. Plus it's got kickass sound. :-) I can look up the details later if interested.

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

I'm interested in everything! ^_^

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

Bear in mind: All I know about DVD's is from rumor and hearsay. And my dad, who will be the one installing the thing while I read the instructions, is still not quite clear about how a dvd is different from a video tape. So: I easily found the 'hack' to make it regionless needs to be translated and spelled out step by step.

Thanks!

[alryssa.livejournal.com]

Are the jacks coloured red, white and yellow? Because if so, your TV is fine. The DVD player connects to the TV with a cable that uses two of those jacks.

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

No... the two jacks labled "audio" and "video" are on the far left, and they are both white. The jack labled "headphones" is on the far right, and is black, and it's a slightly different shape.

The tv is going on 8 years in my house, and it may have been a late model when Dad bought it. I think, at the time, DVD's were just a glimmer on the horizen.

[lizziebelle.livejournal.com]

Most of the new DVD players are multi-region compatible. Check out Best Buy's website; you can read & compare features. Same with Walmart, 'though they are the Evil Empire.

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'd rather buy from some place other than Walmart, all else being equal, as I don't think they act according to Kant's Catagorical Imperitive (Do as you would hope would be done universally).

The thing is, though, I'm not sure which features are 'must haves', and which are 'don't bothers'.

hmmm... guess it's time for a hunting trip...

[clamnebula.livejournal.com]

If you have and audio and video input jacks on your current TV (and it sounds like you do), then you should be able to plug a DVD player straight in thru there. I think eventually tho, that you'll start to feel that a 13" screen is a bit too small, because since many DVDs are letterboxed, it'll make the screen height seem even shorter than it is.

Lots of DVD players can be converted to be multi-region, and info about doing that can be found here - http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks/. Usually, it's the cheaper, off-brand players that are hackable, whereas bigger names like Sony and Panasonic often aren't. I personally have a Daewoo player I got at Target a year ago for $60, and it appears to be hack-friendly (tho I haven't actually tried it yet), and several friends of mine have Cyberhome machines, which will play just about anything from anywhere (and are currently going for $29.95 at Best Buy!). Anyway, I'll be happy to answer any questions you have about this stuff, so feel free to drop me a line anytime.

-Neb
(video and film geek)

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Neb... I will! (BTW, if you get a chance, check out the new Doctor Who ... you know I've nudged you to check out the old version. Now that it's all new and shiny, I'll try again.) ;-)

BTW, that link above is dead... but I'll google for the info. (Why didn't I think of that before?).

[clamnebula.livejournal.com]

Ooops... sorry about the link... too many forward slashes... it should work like this - http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks

Btw, where can I see the new Doctor Who these days? I'm a bit cable impared at the moment, but usually I can convince a friend that does have cable to watch a show that sounds interesting.

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

It's not being aired in the u.s., at the mo', but there's a few pirated versions floating 'round the 'Net... Also, it will be aired in Canada on April 5th... maybe you could beg and borrow from friends of friends across the border?

In the meantime, check out the official Doctor Who Homepage (http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/index.shtml). There are clips there, and an overview of the original series. There are other websites, too. But that's a good place to start for a novice...

Meanwhile, I'll check out that repaired link. :-)