Merged

Btw, I don't usually look for region free DVD players. You can just get a cheap one for $20 and then find a region hack for it on www.dvdrhelp.com

Cheap DVD players have a shelf life of about 1-2 years so when it does break down, then just cough up another $20

eltinator wrote:

Merged Btw, I don't usually look for region free DVD players. You can just get a cheap one for $20 and then find a region hack for it on www.dvdrhelp.com Cheap DVD players have a shelf life of about 1-2 years so when it does break down, then just cough up another $20

I'd rather spend a little more for a reliable player that you can hack... Nothing worse than a DVD player conking out at the wrong time.

gregsan wrote:

Yes and No. Per my post 1 or 2 up...I CAN view long filename subtitle files on CD-R, but haven't yet been able to view them on DVD media (though I've only burned one DVD with long filename subs)...so it may be as Groink suggested (above) a problem between UDF and ISO. If you have a CD-RW, you might want to test a file with long filenames and see if you can get it to work.

FYI...I just realized the other day from reading something else...that my sub file problem on DVD (as mentioned above) may be due to the fact that I tried them on DVD-R. I've noticed that the Philips doesn't OFFICIALLY support DVD-R/RW they only support DVD+R/RW. This might explain a lot since apparently this player is VERY finicky with DVD-R/RW media.

Having said that...I've only used DVD-R so far and haven't noticed any other problems (and can't be sure the subtitles is a due to that either). I'll try to burn a DVD+R disk and see if it helps.

After reading this thread, I went out and bought the DVP642. The region free hack does work. However I tried playing a Divx file. The subtitle displayed but there was no audio. Do you think I need to reencode it using a different codec? According to the poster, it is "Windows Media Audio V2 / DivX audio (WMA) / Alex AC3 Audio, 44100 Hz, 16 bit, 64,080 kbit/s, stereo"

dochira wrote:

After reading this thread, I went out and bought the DVP642. The region free hack does work. However I tried playing a Divx file. The subtitle displayed but there was no audio. Do you think I need to reencode it using a different codec? According to the poster, it is "Windows Media Audio V2 / DivX audio (WMA) / Alex AC3 Audio, 44100 Hz, 16 bit, 64,080 kbit/s, stereo"

That's interesting, I recently bought the Philips DVP 642 as well and have no trouble with DivX. The audio and subtitles play fine. Watched Itsumo Futari de the other week, all on DivX.

I can also confirm that the simple 7 8 9 0 remote control hack with the DVD tray open works, it turns it into a region-free DVD player.
-PCM

pcmodem wrote:

That's interesting, I recently bought the Philips DVP 642 as well and have no trouble with DivX. The audio and subtitles play fine. Watched Itsumo Futari de the other week, all on DivX. I can also confirm that the simple 7 8 9 0 remote control hack with the DVD tray open works, it turns it into a region-free DVD player. -PCM

Hmm, I'm not sure if my machine is defective. I could exchange it at the store. I'll try another file to see if the problem continues. Thanks for letting me know it does work for a different drama.

For everyone here, keep in mind that DivX is purely a video-only codec. DivX does not support any audio format. That's because, unlike MPEG-1/MPEG-2 where both the audio and video are muxed together, AVI files are basically packages that contain audio and video as separate components. That's why with AVI you're able to mix almost any video codec with any audio codec.

In the case where you have DivX or XviD video, but you get no audio, it's more likely the AVI package's audio component is processed using a codec other than MP3 (most Japanese dramas I've come across use MP3). I haven't seen any ISO/UDF compatible players having problems with MP3. I have, however, seen some players that do not support OGG, or AC3 when played along with DivX or XviD (most store-bought DVDs use AC3, MP2 or PCM audio). Not that I watch pron, but I've heard from friends that most pron uses AC3 or OGG (pron rippers are less careful of compatibility with the people they share with).

The fix is usually either to obtain firmware to give your unit additional compatibility, or de-mux the AVI package, re-rip the audio to MP3, then re-mux the audio/video.

--- groink

As far as the firmware, I believe it is the latest version available from the Philips support site. Therefore, I may need to reencode the audio per your suggestion. I'll see if that works.

I did some investigating. I loaded the file in VirtualDub and looked at the file information. It says the compression is unknown and the layout is indeterminate (rather than ...MPEG Layer 3). That is why the DVP642 chokes on the audio.

dochira wrote:

I did some investigating. I loaded the file in VirtualDub and looked at the file information. It says the compression is unknown and the layout is indeterminate (rather than ...MPEG Layer 3). That is why the DVP642 chokes on the audio.

Did you try opening the AVI file in gspot.exe ? That utility may determine the audio codec used. BTW, does that file play on your PC? If so, you can check the properties of that movie in your video player (I usually use Windows Media Player) to see what audio codec it used to play the audio.

groink wrote:

Did you try opening the AVI file in gspot.exe ? That utility may determine the audio codec used. BTW, does that file play on your PC? If so, you can check the properties of that movie in your video player (I usually use Windows Media Player) to see what audio codec it used to play the audio.

Thanks, groink, for the suggestions. Under WMP, the audio property is - , no information on the codec. When I ran gspot, it seems to be a Windows Media Audio. After rendering, it says "(S) --> AVI Splitter --> WMAudio Decoder DMO --> (R)". Most of the other files I have are encoded in MP3. This one seems to be an exception.

I had audio problems with a file that was 44,000 hz. I converted it to 48,000 hz and it worked just fine. I think the DVP642 is very picky with regards to audio...

BTW...if you convert the audio in Virtualdub make sure you direct stream the video (assuming you have no problems with the video). It'll take much less time to convert and the video quality won't be degraded another generation (since it won't be doing anything to the video at all..it'll just be changing the audio - and recompiling the file).

Cool, I'll try that also. Anyways I have to reencode the audio.

Dapule wrote:

Sorry if this has been brought up in sidebar , but I wanted to start a thread with a couple questions: Are DivX DVD Players becoming common place? Does anyone recommend any models? Is it even legal to have the format on a stand alone player? Thanks in advance -- because converting DivX2VCD [for example] to watch dramas on larger screens realy takes away from the quality that the DivX format provides .

Bought the Philips DVP 642, which is also an all-region capable DVD player once you make the software hack via remote control. It's been perfect!
-PCM

pcmodem wrote:

Bought the Philips DVP 642, which is also an all-region capable DVD player once you make the software hack via remote control. It's been perfect! -PCM

Yes I have that player also. I have encountered one drama which had no audio on playback, but it is an audio encoding issue and shouldn't affect standard encodes. Oh and it displays subtitles in .srt .smi formats also.

Loveless??.... Where has that guy been??...
_________________

dochira wrote:

Yes I have that player also. I have encountered one drama which had no audio on playback, but it is an audio encoding issue and shouldn't affect standard encodes. Oh and it displays subtitles in .srt .smi formats also.

Another good thing about the DVP-642 is that it can play dual-layer DVDs... so as dual-layer DVD recorders start becoming more plentiful in 2005, you won't need to upgrade your DVD player!

Plus, the DVP-642 was so inexpensive. Got mine for about $63.94 at Amazon, including tax (no sales tax) and shipping.
-PCM

pcmodem wrote:

Plus, the DVP-642 was so inexpensive. Got mine for about $63.94 at Amazon, including tax (no sales tax) and shipping.

I think this is one of the best selling points. A region-free DVD player that can play Divx files (with subtitles) for so little.

I was suprised to see that Phillips made a divx player... I was thinking I had to buy some no name, made in taiwan, dvd player... Even the the 642 is prolly made in china...
_________________

I have the philips 642 for about half year now. Bought it from Walmart for $70. Worth every penny. I burned divx movies on DVD-RW and play on the 642 to a big screen TV. movie quality is good. my only complaint is that it couldn't play my Hong Kong TV drama VCDs. I still couldn't figure out the problem yet.