--- Forwarded Message from Betty Woerner <[log in to unmask]> ---

>Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2002 15:49:24 -0800 (PST)
>From: Betty Woerner <[log in to unmask]>
>To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum    <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: #6507 Code Free DVD Players
>In-Reply-To: <[log in to unmask]>

------------------
At Reed, we actually use these quite a bit.
Betty Woerner

On Thu, 7 Feb 2002, LLTI-Editor wrote:

> --- Forwarded Message from Daniel Tom <[log in to unmask]> ---
>
> >Date: Wed, 06 Feb 2002 11:17:27 -1000 (HST)
> >From: Daniel Tom <[log in to unmask]>
> >Subject: Code Free DVD Players
> >To: [log in to unmask]
>
> I know the problem of DVD region codes has been discussed previously on
> LLTI, specifically with regard to buying code free players and being
> locked into a region on Mac DVD players after several switches.  My
> question is slightly different.
>
> We are looking into purchasing a DVD player as we are increasingly
> receiving requests from instructors.  The various language departments
> also offer several film courses and the instructors would like to switch
> to using DVDs rather than videos.  However, I suspect that the DVDs for
> the foreign films they use are available in the US and are region 1
> encoded.
>
> Nevertheless, it was suggested that we get a code free DVD player in case
> faculty members go to Europe or Asia during the summer or for a conference
> and come back with DVDs that they purchased in those countries and want to
> use them in their classes.  In your experience how often have you had this
> kind of request from your faculty?  Has the demand been enough to warrant
> the purchase of a code free DVD player which of course is more expensive
> and in our case in Hawaii not available from a local vendor?  In addition
> to the region code problem there is also the problem of PAL DVDs so you
> would also have to purchase a code free DVD player that is also capable of
> playing PAL DVDs on an NTSC monitor or an expensive video converter.
>
> I have consulted with our campus-wide instructional support unit and also
> with the audio-visual section of our undergraduate library.  Each has a
> different viewpoint with regard to this question.  Because US DVDs are or
> will be released with RCE (Regional Code Enhancing) as standard to prevent
> them from being played on code free players, the campus-wide instructional
> support unit has decided to purchase only region 1 DVD players.  The
> library audio-visual department, however, has already purchased a few code
> free DVD players as well as several region 1 players.  In other words the
> library is hedging it's bets so to speak by purchasing both and if indeed
> the US DVDs encoded with RCE will not play on the code free players then
> they still can be played on the region 1 players.
>
> As with everything else we are faced with budget constraints and may not
> have the luxury of buying one region 1 player and one code free player
> though it may come down to that.  Two models I looked at on the web,
> Daewoo DVD-5700 and Sampo DVE-611, at the following site,
> http://www.220giftcenter.com, claim that they are "guaranteed to play all
> old, current and future DVD movies including DVDs that are RCE coded."
> How reliable this guarantee is is not known.  These models are also
> supposed to play PAL movies on an NTSC TV.
>
> I would appreciate any comments and recommendations from those of you who
> have already dealt with these issues.
>
> Daniel Tom
> Language Telecommunications, Resource & Learning Center
> University of Hawaii
> E-mail:  [log in to unmask]
> FAX:     808-956-5134
> Voice:   808-956-5118
>