CyberHome CH-DVD 300S Progressive-Scan DVD Player , Silver

• Progressive-scan video (480p) with 3:2 pulldown support renders flicker-free images on high-definition and HD-ready TVs
• Plays DVD-Video, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, SVCD, VCD, MP3, and JPEG picture CD
• Picture zoom, last-disc resume
• Dolby Digital an DTS 5.1-channel surround sound passthrough (coaxial digital-audio output)
• Plays PAL and NTSC discs

Don't be frightened by the small-name brand and tiny size. This player works just fine. Good picture and good performance. I bought mine primarily because it can be programmed to play discs from other regions than Region 1 (North America's DVD region, for those who do not pay attention to such things.) It does this to perfection! I have had no problem with color shifts or distortion with PAL discs on my NTSC television, but be sure that you use the manual when you go through the "Setup" menu you will need to make sure your player is set to NTSC, not PAL, if you live in North America and want PAL discs to play properly on your NTSC set.

Not familiar with the PAL/NTSC thing? It's like this if an American buys a DVD from England, for example, he or she will find that it will not play in the average North American Region 1, NTSC DVD player because in England, DVDs and players are Region 2 and PAL TV format (North America has NTSC format TV broadcasts). They are incompatible and will not play. This player will play both PAL and NTSC DVDs, and will play them from any region!

There is one minor caveat there are no instructions as to how to change regions included with the player (but can be found with an internet search).

Not to worry, though this is how you do it:

1. With no disc in the tray, push "Menu" "1" "9" (ignoring the "No" symbol that appears on the upper left-hand corner of the screen).

2. A menu will appear that shows in highlight the region it is set to (almost certainly Region 1). Push the "Enter" button and the region number will change. You can set it to any region (1 through 6) or to Region 0, which means it will play PAL or NTSC DVDs from all 6 DVD regions!

3. Push the "Open/Close" button to close the menu, and you're done!

Enjoy!

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When it comes to the price/value ratio, it doesn't get much better than this item. For a little more than 30 bucks you get a region free DVD player ! (Yes, you can play any DVD from any country on this machine.... however, it is not mentioned in the user manual. All you need to do is press 'menu' '1' '9' and select region code 0).

The picture quality is really good. I have a 500 dollar Philips DVD player but the difference to this 30 dollar machine is almost non existent. The size of the player is a big plus as well. It's nice and small and can easily be moved from one location to another. It is great in combination with a DVD recorder especially, since it has an S-Video output. Also, it plays all DVD formats (including DVD+RW or DVD-R etc.). The voltage is variable from 110 V to 220 V which is great, if you want to use it in Europe as well. You can chose NTSC or PAL as output again, this makes this player truly international.

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A great little machine. Quite incredible value for less than $40US. I bought it for its PAL/NTSC conversion ability and it surpassed all my expectations. The converted images are superb. When you first buy it, the out-of-the-box settings are configured so that the machine can only handle Region 1 discs (if you bought it in North America). It only requires a simple re-setting of the Region code, which can be done using the remote.

1. Switch player on, making sure that there's no disc in the tray.

2. Close tray.

3. Using the remote control, key in the following: MENU, 1, 9 (Note: just type in these three all in a row. Don't wait for anything to come up after just entering MENU because nothing will happen until you type in the 1 then the 9)

4. A menu will appear that shows the region option near the bottom of the screen. Arrow up or down to highlight the REGION title.

5. Press ENTER. The Region number setting will change to a blank entry "-"

6. Using the numbers keypad, type in the number 0 (this is the code for region free and will let you play discs from anywhere in the world without having to change the setting for each disc from a different region)

7. Press ENTER again to save the setting.

8. Press OPEN/CLOSE to switch off the menu. The door will open for you to put a disc in the tray.

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OK, here's the sneak peak on the Target CH-DVD 320S, which I assume is the same as the CH-DVD 300S that everybody else is selling, but with a different model number to protect those "low price guarantees". As you will see, the firmware for this unit clearly identifies itself as "300".

I hooked up the player with the S-video output (it also has component), and the coaxial digital audio (it does not have opticial).

First, "close tray", "menu", "1", "9", does lead you to the screen where you can set region coding. I don't know if it works or not, since I only have region 1 disks. Also on that screen is a complete run-down of the HW and FW. I would be interested in what a CH-DVD 300S reports here. The CH-DVD 320S reports this:

MPEG FW 300.B.20.A

MPEG HW DB-B2-V01

SERVO FW CB36260

SERVO HW D07V1.1_

VEND HYOP300U

VENDVER 208.F

I put Terminator II in, my standard dual layer test disk. Video quality seemed a tad poorer than I was used to, but not objectionable to this mere mortal. I saw very very occasional minor tearing of the video, and the audio seemed just slightly (but no objectionally) out of sync. It reminded me a lot of what I've seen from PC DVD players. Its going to be fine for the wife's bedroom TV.

Then I stuck a DVD-R that had been "backed up" using DVD XCopy. As Arnold says "No Problemo". I don't have any DVD+R blanks, so I was unable to try a DVD+R.

Then I grabbed a CD-R that I had made that contained an MPEG-1 video stream. Mind you, this CD-R is *not* in VCD format. Its just a ISO-9660 data disk with a file on it "dsdsads.mpg". The player gave me a file browser menu, and when I selected that file it played the video. AFAIK, this is great because its a lot harder to master a proper VCD than it is to just dump an MPG file onto a CD-R.

Then I grabbed a CD-R with some .mp3's on it that I got from a person on this list. Again, I got the file browser menu. But when I hit play, the audio played at 2X speed. The MP3's on this

disk were mastered at 64kbit/sec. So don't do that.

Then I grabbed a commercial MP3 CD that I bought from BooksOnTape where the MP3's were mastered at 128kbit/sec. No problemo.

Then I grabbed a homemade MP3 CD-R (Pink Floyd, the greatest band ever) where the MP3's were mastered at 128kbit/sec. No problemo. I didn't have a VBR MP3 disk handy, so I did not test that.

Then I grabbed a CD-R full of .JPG's. It gives you the file browser window and when you hit play it does a slideshow with those. Nice.

The manual does not mention DiVX/MPEG-4 support, and I didn't have a DiVX disk handy to see if its there as a secret feature.

I ran out of time, and had to wrap this thing back up since its an XMAS present.

The only real question on these is "how long before they go belly up"? I've had a high end Sony and a mid-range Philips DVD player die on me already (I was an early DVD adopter). I came to the conclusion that its stupid to pay big bucks for a player that won't last anyhow. If this one lasts 1 year, I will be happy.

Despite all the great features -multi-region capability, plays almost any disc, etc. -this unit has one fatal flaw. That is, when it's turned off, it continues to draw enough current that it stays warm to the touch. Initially, although I can't imagine why it should need to do so, I didn't think it was a big deal.

Then a few months later, the unit conked out. It powers up, but it no longer puts out a usable signal. Lots of snow, no color, rolling picture, etc.

I can only guess it's because something in the electronics overheated and failed.

So, if this unit appeals to you, I highly suggest plugging it into something that will cut power to it when you're not using it. Something such as a power strip or a switched outlet on your home theater receiver or cable box.

If you plug it into the wall or another always-on outlet, don't be surprised if a few months later you find it has baked itself into becoming a high-tech doorstop (like mine).