# Can I build my own DVD player? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 7, 2005, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-build-my-own-dvd-player/311448 "2005-07-07T13:22:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Thinktank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Thinktank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thinktank)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-build-my-own-dvd-player/311448/1 "2005-07-07T13:22:17Z")
Well, what I’m frustrated by, is the fact that when my wife’s students or friends (both foreign) give us “good movies” to watch I _can’t_, cuz it’s a different region code or the latest one was a “Archival back-up” which our player again crapped-out on. So what happens is I end-up watching the movie on my or my wife’s computer (oh yeah, a very relaxing cinematic experience :rolleyes: ) So other than buying a regionless dvd player, is it possible to “implant” a computer DVD player into a “common” DVD player or _scratches head_…well, i don’t really know- that’s what I’m here for. Other than outputting the sound and image (aka- buy a new video card) to the TVfrom my computer, I’ve got no clue what I could possibly do to avoid paying extreme prices for a regionless DVD player. Ideas welcome here 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-build-my-own-dvd-player/311448/2 "2005-07-07T13:58:53Z")
You can always try hacking the DVD player to allow it to play other region DVDs. [http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks.php](http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks.php) There are other sites as well that have these DVD hacks. a google search such turn up most of them. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-build-my-own-dvd-player/311448/3 "2005-07-07T14:15:12Z")
I don’t think replacing the drive unit (even if it were easily possible) with one from a computer would help. What you could do is to build or buy a media centre-style PC - a machine with TV in and out, a multi-region DVD drive etc and use this as a DVD player, among other things. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-build-my-own-dvd-player/311448/4 "2005-07-07T14:24:16Z")
What’s this bellyaching about extreme prices? I have an el cheapo Phillips DVD player - ran me about $65. A simple entry on the remote control makes it region free. The hacks site will show you how to do this. You might be able to hack your own player. ---
**Author:** ![Thinktank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Thinktank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thinktank)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-build-my-own-dvd-player/311448/5 "2005-07-07T15:42:20Z")
_bellyache_ :rolleyes: …sorry haven’t found anything very nice for the number you provided, but hey maybe a player just for region-free stuff wouldn’t be so bad… I’ll keep telling myself this is efficient & logical and maybe I’ll start to believe it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Thinktank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Thinktank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thinktank)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-build-my-own-dvd-player/311448/6 "2005-07-07T15:57:52Z")
Ya Know, It’s come to my attention that I don’t know how to hack DVD players… I own a RCA DRC350N… not a very expensive player- for what I use it for I guess it works until now… Anyway, I did a search on the above listed DVD player site and found one post with a “prom” list of numbers… exactly how am I supposed to input this stuff? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-build-my-own-dvd-player/311448/7 "2005-07-07T16:47:56Z")
This looks like a hardware hack - basically, a swapout of a computer chip. Some hacks are much easier than this. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-build-my-own-dvd-player/311448/8 "2005-07-07T17:06:59Z")
In a previous thread on DVD players, someone recommended the Philips DVP 642. It costs less than $100, and is region-free out of the box and can play PAL discs as well. I’ve already got a Sony DVD player but am thinking of buying this one to replace it. There are some UK-only DVDs I want to get. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-build-my-own-dvd-player/311448/9 "2005-07-07T17:20:51Z")
I’m a bit surprised that the OP’s wife’s computer is region-free. Most DVD drives and playback software recognize region codes, and only allow you to change it a few times before it’s locked. Though there are hacks for some software and drives. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-build-my-own-dvd-player/311448/10 "2005-07-07T17:31:33Z")
I’ve done some more reading and the Philips DVD player I mentioned isn’t region-free out of the box, but a hack is apparently easily available. It does do PAL-to-NTSC conversions, so it would be useful for someone like me who wants to play UK DVDs. Some of the [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) reviewers did complain about quality issues with this unit, though. Still I may buy and hack it. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-build-my-own-dvd-player/311448/11 "2005-07-08T03:01:02Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > In a previous thread on DVD players, someone recommended the Philips DVP 642. It costs less than $100, and is region-free out of the box and can play PAL discs as well. I’ve already got a Sony DVD player but am thinking of buying this one to replace it. There are some UK-only DVDs I want to get. I have one of these… it was about $60 at Wal-Mart. I bought it because it plays DivX files (and other MPEG4 formats like XviD). The user interface isn’t very intuitive, but hey, for $60 you can afford to spend some time figuring out which button to push for slow motion or how to show the elapsed time. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-build-my-own-dvd-player/311448/12 "2005-07-08T03:36:36Z")
I bought it earlier today. One question. Can you play PAL format DVDs on it? The manual said it can only play PAL format VCDs, but I heard otherwise on the internet. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2005, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-build-my-own-dvd-player/311448/13 "2005-07-08T03:57:04Z")
I believe so… I don’t have any PAL DVDs, but I can play an NTSC DVD in PAL mode, so I assume the opposite works too. The manual probably didn’t mention PAL DVDs because they’re not region 1, and changing the player’s region code is an undocumented feature.