I’m not sure where you live, but if you have them, try going to a Bryn Mawr electronics store or some other middle to high end place. You don’t need to buy anything there, but they can explain all the different features (just beware that occasionally some of them are blowing hot air as well). They also probably have different configurations hooked up so that you can see exactly what the differences are.
By ‘high-end electronics store’, I’m really talking about stereo and home-theater shops (you know – the places that sell the 72-inch HDTVs with the $10,000 speakers)
It’s actually quite a technical feat to convert PAL to NTSC. PAL is 25 frames per second (fsp) (50 interlaced scanlines) while NTSC is 30 fps (60 scanlines). (Most) feature films are 24 fps. Do the math.
Then also factor in what Scooby mentioned about Anamorphic formats and increased vertical resolution.
Bless the Internet and low noise forums like this one.
Make sure the player can handle “The Matrix”.
Very few players on the market play it without issue. Not Sony, not Toshiba, not Panasonic. (Their customer service usually offer ‘upgrades’ to ‘fix’ this probablem.
The best bet is a Philips/Magnavox. They claims it plays PAL/NTSC DVDS (in the same format as the disc). I have played NTSC DVDS in NTSC and PAL VideoCDs in PAL.
Haven’t had any PAL DVDs to try though, and there might be a ‘region-coding’ issue.
Besides this is the only player with significant features that can play ‘Matrix’ and an open box cost only $150, so you can have money left to buy a second PAL and a third SECAM, if you encounter any problems.
It is also the only software upgradable model (825-AT). You pop-in a DVD and it upgrades itself with new features. At least in theory. I haven’t seen any upgrades declared yet.
Huh? My 18-month-old Sony player plays The Matrix without a hitch…what’s the problem supposed to be?