Don't open your PS2! (DVD Region X)

Member Name: MR.COATES

Product:	DVD Region X
Date:	16/08/01 (13050 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Get Multiregion for £20, Doesn't invalidate warranty

Disadvantages: Disc swapping involved, Picture quality not brilliant

*UPDATED* (See end of review)

When Datel announced that they were releasing a product that would enable PS2 owners to play DVD’s from other regions there was a rather large cheer. For DVD owners (and especially the fanatics) being able to play DVD’s from other regions (Europe being Region 2) is a REALLY big deal. It means you can purchase DVD’s from America (Region 1) and Australia (Region 4). This may sound a little excessive but from America is crucial due to the fact that most titles are released earlier in the states compared to here. The beauty with Australian discs is that they are also in the PAL format so can be played on any TV too.

So what Region X does is to tell your PS2 that it can not only play Region 2 discs (the European default) but any of the six regions (don’t ask me to list them all!).

The real beauty of Datel’s creation is that using Region X is literally childs play.
In the box you will find a disc and a device that looks just like a memory card with an oval displaying the Region X logo.

What next MR.COATES?
As I said already, using Region X is an absolute doddle. Insert the memory card type thing into either of the PS2’s memory card slots. Open up the DVD tray and insert the Region X disc. A small tip here – I found that the PS2 doesn’t seem to recognise the Region X disc via the Browser so insert the X disc and reset the console.
Once rebooted you will be greeted by a very simple menu that lists region numbers 1-6. Select the Region you wish to view and the DVD tray will automatically eject enabling you to remove the X disc. Replace this with the appropriate DVD movie you wish to view and you will be taken back to the PS2’s browser screen. Here you will find a gold picture of a disc and (if inserted) a picture of a PS2 memory card, the Region X card won’t be displayed.
Click on the DVD picture and bob’s your uncle!

R
esults so far:
I have several discs from Region 1 and 4 and all of them have worked without any problems whatsoever. The ONLY problem I have noticed so far is that the picture quality of the region 1 discs does appear to be slightly worse than when played through my multi-region player (Samsung 709).
It really is only a minor gripe and if it means you can play Region 1 discs on your PS2 you’ll be able to live with it. It’s also possible that results may vary between TV’s too although mine apparently can take an NTSC signal (NTSC being the American format, PAL the European one).

The verdict:
For £20 you can make your PS2 multi-region, something that just a few months ago was only possible if you risked opening your PS2 and soldering and modifying (NOT recommended for beginners!).
It’s not the perfect solution as you still have to swap discs every time you want to swap regions although if you’re staying within the same region you don’t need to keep repeating the whole process – just eject one Region 1 disc for another. You will have to reset your console if you want to go back to Region 2 as Region X is stored in memory until you tell it to do otherwise.
Region 2 will always remain the default so you won’t have to use it to watch Region 2 discs.

*Update*

One thing I forgot to mention is that DVD Region X is fully upgradeable. You may have noticed that your PS2 has a DVD driver Version number. It's quite likely to be 1.30E.
I recently purchased the Official Sony DVD remote (watch out for the review soon) which comes with new drivers (2.10E).

If you visit the www.dvdregionx.com site you will find a section that provides you with new codes to update your Region X gizmo.

Simply follow the instructions and everything will be as it should.
Top tip - when you boot up Region X it displays the Driver version in the top right. You will notice that even
if you've updated it with the 2.10 driver that it still displays 1.30. Don't worry, if the device is working all is OK, Datel have informed me that the number isn't updated but they're working on it. Clever lot that they are....


MR.COATES

Summary: