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March 2002, Week 1

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From:
LLTI-Editor <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 7 Mar 2002 16:48:04 EST
Content-Type:
text/plain
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--- Forwarded Message from Fernando Sanchez-Gutierrez <[log in to unmask]> ---

>Date: Wed, 06 Mar 2002 09:42:57 -0600
>To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum    <[log in to unmask]>
>From: Fernando Sanchez-Gutierrez <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: #6562 even more DVD questions
>In-Reply-To: <[log in to unmask]>

------------------
Dear Carine,

Some software driven players (I believe powerdvd among them) can play PAL 
dvd in your computer. Some of them allow you to output a signal (if you 
have the right dvd-rom and video card, for example "creative labs" offers 
that function http://www.americas.creative.com) on a tv set and they 
convert the signal from PAL to NTSC if necessary.
PowerDVD does not ignore the regional code because this regional code is 
encoded in the actual dvd drive. If your dvd drives are first or second 
generation chances are that it doesn't have any code (and therefore you can 
change regions as many times as you want), if your drive is third 
generation and later, you can only change the region code 5 times. Of 
course there are ways to "flash" the memory of your dvdrom drive, but I'm 
not sure it's legal (and it will void the warranty). You can get more info 
on this topic on: http://www.firmware.fr.st/ They will give you detailed 
description of the steps to follow.
Regarding your question about a dvd player, I just got from e-bay a Daewoo 
DVD5700 and it works great. It's really easy to use and you don't have to 
worry about regions (if you have a modified unit). I got it for $150 and 
I'm very happy with it. The only problem is that it will not play 
anamorphic PAL dvds on a letterboxed format (unless you have a widescreen 
tv), but that is something common in all players that convert PAL to NTSC. 
I have a more expensive signal converter between my player and my tv so I 
can watch those movies as widescreen and not as full frame, I guess I'm a 
purist...

Hope this helps,
Fernando Sanchez
Illinois State University


I've collected the make/model of several DVD players that are
region-free, play PAL and NTSC, and output an NTSC
signal.  Now it comes down to price and ease of use/learning curve.
Assuming we can afford the price (big assumption, I know), what can you
tell me about ease of use?  I'm interested in high faculty adopt-ability
and use factor rather than high geek factor.  Is the remote control easy
to understand and use?  Are the buttons on the panel easy to get to?
Secondary questions:
If you use software to play DVDs:
1) Do software driven DVD players play PAL DVDs (I don't have any to
test with yet)?
2) We have PowerDVD installed all over campus.  My lab tech tells me
that it ignores region codes so that I won't even
have to worry about a software decoder or a hack to get it to work more
than 5 times with non-region 1 DVDs.  Does
anyone out there have experience with this?


At 09:06 AM 3/6/02 -0500, you wrote:
>--- Forwarded Message from Carine Ullom <[log in to unmask]> ---
>
> >Date: Tue, 05 Mar 2002 14:06:50 -0500
> >From: Carine Ullom <[log in to unmask]>
> >Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
> >To: [log in to unmask]
> >Subject: even more DVD questions
>
>Hello,
>I've been following the DVD discussions on this list (both those of
>February '02 and Nov '00-April '01) and have
>learned a great deal from many of you.  However, I have a few more
>questions that I haven't seen addressed and for
>which I hope some of you have experiences that you can share.
>
>Background: We have 4 classrooms with instructor's stations (computers
>w/DVD drives) and ceiling mounted data
>projectors capable of playing PAL or NTSC.
>
>Fundamental question: Should we buy stand-alone DVD players or should we
>use software players?  Other than the
>obvious additional cost of the stand-alone players, what are the pros
>and cons?  What do your faculty prefer and why?
>
>Secondary questions:
>If you use software to play DVDs:
>1) Do software driven DVD players play PAL DVDs (I don't have any to
>test with yet)?
>1a) If yes, does it detect the format automatically or will the
>instructor have to change a setting?
>2) We have PowerDVD installed all over campus.  My lab tech tells me
>that it ignores region codes so that I won't even
>have to worry about a software decoder or a hack to get it to work more
>than 5 times with non-region 1 DVDs.  Does
>anyone out there have experience with this?
>If you have a stand-alone player:
>I've collected the make/model of several DVD players that are
>region-free, play PAL and NTSC, and output an NTSC
>signal.  Now it comes down to price and ease of use/learning curve.
>Assuming we can afford the price (big assumption, I know), what can you
>tell me about ease of use?  I'm interested in high faculty adopt-ability
>and use factor rather than high geek factor.  Is the remote control easy
>to understand and use?  Are the buttons on the panel easy to get to?
>See?  Understand?
>
>Thanks in advance.  I so appreciate the breadth and depth of knowledge
>on this list and the fact that so many are willing to take the time to
>share what they know.
>
>Regards,
>Carine Ullom
>Director, Language Resource Center/
>Instructional Technology Specialist
>Department of Modern Languages & Literatures
>St. Lawrence University
>Canton, NY 13617
>[log in to unmask]
>315-229-5857 (tel)

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