Region Free/Macrovision off DVD Player for ~$169

[Atrac]

Compgeeks.com just recently added the Genica Kalua DVD Player for $169 plus shipping (and tax if you are a California Resident). It plays DVD's, CD's, S/VCD's, and mp3's. I cannot confirm the quality of it, but I have read that it does all of these things better than the infamous "Apex" (that I know and love).

It also has been "reported" that this DVD player can be made region free and macrovision (copy protection) can be disabled. I hesitate to post how, as this forum has some strict rules. (If it's allowed, let me know and I'll gladly do so).

The player apparently uses the same components as DVD Players made by Lasonic. Yes, we in America usually associate Lasonic with extremely *cheap* electronics, but Lasonic DVD Players apparently have a very good reputation in Europe.

At any rate, ~$169 for a player with "these" features is a very good price. The DVD Player (believe it or not) also has 2 built in games (Tetris and Othello).

Here's the link: Kalua DVD

I believe we've determined that the Genica MP3 CD player is crap, but I think this DVD Player is clearly not really made by them, so I think this one is worth a shot!

Compgeeks also has a 10% coupon code right now if you use a Mastercard with the code. Of course, I can't post that here either.

Also, Compgeeks does not advertise or endorse that this is a "special" DVD Player, so I wouldn't mention it to them (as it will ruin it for the rest of us!).

 

[JACKHAMMER]

iF YOU CAN'T POST IT, WOULD YOU PLEASE EMAIL OR PM IT TO ME? THNX IN ADVANCE

 

[pete777]

hi could you tell me how to make it region free?
thank you

 

[ETLA]

post it in another forum and link it

 

[Atrac]

Here ya go:

Hack That Kalua!

Many thanks to the geeks over at Nerd-Out as they did all of the hard work in figuring this out.

(And "geek" is meant in the nicest way!!!)

 

[eLuminati]

Thanks for the tip Atrac. I love my two Pioneer 525's I bought for $88 bucks each through Value America over a ywar ago, but it has macrovision enabled. How's the video quality?

Btw, ecount.com gives you a mastercard number so you might be able to get the discount if you don't already have the mc card (1 dollar charge to add money). Could someone send me the coupon number?

eLuminati@altavista.com

 

[Atrac]

I have ordered one, but have not received it yet, so I don't know how the quality is. Users in the Nerd-Out forum says it's better than the Apex (which I am very fond of, pixelized picture and all), so I'm sure I'll like this even more.


Incidentally, I did try to call compgeeks today with a question about my order, and their phone was busy ALL day. They are apparently a *very* busy company, so if you like immediate Customer Service, you may have some difficulties.

 

[Steve0]

More Info about the Genica Kalua deal.

Steve

 

[eLuminati]

just got off the phone with a friend who owns this unit. he got it on sale for 119 and change in cc b&m a while back. i also went through the special codes with him and no luck (at least for macrovision, he didn't have a region 2 dvd to test). i think i'll hold off on this until i get more info, esp. since you can get name brand dvd players for cheap nowadays. still might be a good deal depening on your luck with the codes.

 

[AndrewR]

A word of warning for you region-free people. New movies being released by movie studios (The Patriot, for example) have some sort of encoding which REQUIRES region 1 setting on a player (assuming movie is region 1, obviously) and will NOT play on region-free players. I haven't looked at that hack to know if it's reversible easily or not, but it's something to consider for the future, since that will probably become the norm unfortunately.

FYI.

 

[Holycrap]

As long as we're on the topic - can anyone provide input on this Dulux DVD 8050 which supposedly does all the things mentioned here out of the box, and also includes a built in Sega Master System (8 bit) emulator.
This system purports to get around the problem Andrew mentions:


<< The Dulux has 2 ways for you to be sure you can view a DVD from ALL Regions including the NEW Region 0.
This player may be set on AUTO where it will auto-detect what Region the DVD is in the trey.
(Player can only auto-detect Regions 1-6)
The second method is MANUAL selection.
In this mode you will have your choice of selecting which Region you want to use. (Regions 1-6)
Manual selection (Region 1) is the required setting to view movies that are Region 0 DVDs.
>>

 

[Atrac]

Every reference I have heard to the Dulux 8050 is that it is a Web Scam. I cannot confirm that at all though.

Also, I would not be worried about the &quot;new&quot; Region Protection on DVD's. All you would need to do is change the player back to Region 1 before playing such DVD's (like &quot;The Patriot&quot. Then switch it back to multi-region.

Of course, if these codes really work!

Wouldn't it be funny if the two people posting in the Nerd-Out Forum were actually Comp Geeks employees trying to boost sales?

Actually it wouldn't be funny...it would royally suck.

 

[Atrac]

eLuminati: Actually, Circuit City never sold the Genica Kalua.

Do you mean you had your friend try these codes on an Apex?

If so, no wonder they didn't work! This Genica is entirely different from the Apex.

 

[RoadRuner]

You can post the &quot;MC EXCLUSIVES&quot; coupon, because it is publicly advertised, on WWW.MASTERCARD.COM , i believe that makes them allowable...

10% off, not all items will reflect the price, it will show up as a &quot;CREDIT&quot; on your billing statement as of the same date of the charge... (wont usually show up on the invoice online)


&quot;quoted from www.mastercard.com&quot;

Computer Geeks Discount Outlet, Inc.

10% discount on any Internet order
Shop ComputerGeeks.com for the hottest computer and consumer-electronics deals on the Internet. MasterCard cardholders will receive a 10% discount on any Internet order. Just enter MC Exclusives in the red Promotion Code field during the checkout process when placing your order online. Not applicable to items already marked as Special.
Offer available worldwide. Visit the site for details.

 

[AndrewR]

Ah, just read through the &quot;hack&quot; -- easy enough to do and it's not permanent. I was thinking of the firmware upgrades on DVD-ROM players, which while not permanent per se, are a pain in the butt to continually reverse. )

 

[DDamage]

so basically region free DVD players can play ANY DVDs?

 

[Mats122]

Region free DVD-players can play any region DVD's. The Patriot has a trick appearing to the DVD player as a multiregion DVD and if the player accepts multiregion a message shows up saying that this movie is only for Region 1 players etc...- To avoid this, you need to switch your DVD player to Region 1 and disable multiregion / auto-region. With DVD-Rom players (PC) there is no problem (using a region change program, disable auto-region and set region manually to R1 (confirm) prior to insert the DVD). Some stand-alone DVD players (code-free ones) will not be able to read this DVD as there is no possiblity to fix a certain Region. Sometimes it works while inserting a R1 DVD - ejecting and then inserting The Patriot DVD.
Re DVD-Rom firmware upgrades - you don't have to change the firmware once updated to a multi-region one. I have a Toshiba 1402 DVD Rom with upgraded firmware to a Region free one and using Region selector program called DVD-Genie I can watch The Patriot as well as Region 2 and 1 movies (have both so I know it works). The soft DVD player I use is WinDVD.

 

[Atrac]

I'm just curious...has anyone ordered it yet?

 

[bafuu]

A friend of mine just got that $67 oritron the 200 model from 800.com when they had the promo with msn. The player is playing DVD's macrovision free. The machine is hook up thru VCR.

I was just wondering whether it is the same for all Oritrons?

Also does anybody know how to stopping the oritron from outputing pal signals when playing a region 2 DVD?

 

[Sonu]

Has any new info turned up on the Genica GN-800 available at CompGeeks? Do the loophole menus work? How is the picture quality? How about the seamless disk problem with Apex - does this one have any problems?

Thanks.

 

[wasssup]

Wow, that oritron is macrovision free? Does it play CD-R/W? If so, i wished I got that over my new apex 660