Philips DVP3996 DVD Player

I had this great DVD Player for a while and all that I played with it were region free DVDs some pirated, some original or movies and music through the USB drive.

I was mighty happy with the way this DVD player performed.

It was very recently when I bought my new Home Theatre that I started buying new original, 5.1 hard-coded DVDs. The moment I inserted the very first disc all hell broke loose.

Error – Incorrect Region code

Of course we all have heard of it. But despite everything that I did I never located a way to change the region code to either code free or to an India region.

Guess who came to the rescue – Google!

I googled, browsed through a lot of websites only to find that nothing works for my Philips DVD player DVP 3996.

A couple of hours more and I finally found out that I need to enter a code on the ‘Preference’ page. But, inside the setup I could not find any mention of ‘Preference’.

Now I was dumb founded. I had the solution with me but had no clues on how to apply it. Another couple of hours went down the drain when I chanced upon the right way to unlock my Philips DVP3996 DVD Player.

I am mentioning the same here so that someone looking for it might be benefitted. Here they are:

1. Press Setup
2. Go to ‘Preference’ page
1. Preference Page is displayed only in the following two conditions

i. only when the tray is open; or

ii. there is no disc in the drive

3. Once you see the preference page do not click anything
4. Then enter 138931-current region shows on TV screen,
5. Use cursor to change the region to 0 [zero]
6. Press ok
7. Now play the same disc
8. It will ask for Password
9. The default password is ‘136900’

And Eureka!! All should be well!!

My New Home Theatre System

Just bought and installed my latest spanking new Home Theater System.

Although technically speaking this is not a home theatre system as it does not have a separate AVR (Audio Video Receiver).

What's In The Box

• Package Contents Speakers: 4 satellites, 1 center channel, 1 subwoofer
• 6-channel direct cable
• Digital SoundTouch™ control center
• Wireless remote control, batteries included
• User's manual
• 2 year limited warranty

Technical Specifications

• Total FTC power: 505 watts RMS
  Sub-woofer: 188 watts RMS (into 8 ohms, @ 100Hz, @ 10% THD)
  Satellites:
  Left/Right: 62 watts RMS x 2 (into 8 ohms, @ 1khz, @ 10% THD)
  Center: 69 watts RMS (into 8 ohms, @ 1kHz, @ 10% THD)
  Rear Left & Right: 62 watts RMS x 2 (into 8 ohms, @ 1kHz, @ 10% THD)
• Total Peak power: 1010 watts
• Maximum SPL: >115 dB
• Frequency response: 33 Hz — 20 kHz
• Amplifier: Ultra-linear, high-capacity analog
• Signal to noise ratio: >93.5 dB, typical 100
• Input impedance: 8,000 ohms
• Compatibility:
  PC/Mac
  CD
  MP3
  DVD
  PlayStation®
  Xbox®

My current Setup

• 32 inch Panasonic Viera LCD (am looking to upgrade to LED soon)
• Philips DVD Player
• Logitech Z 5500 5.1 speaker set

Indian Hackers..Did they do Right or Wrong?

I am sure that most know about the fact that on 26^th November 2010 a group of hackers who like to call themselves the ‘Indian Cyber Army’ hacked into a server that was hosting over 40 government of Paksitan websites including the ones related to defense. They went on to deface these sites. The reason cited was that it is an indication and a response to the terrorist event that occurred on 26^th November a year back and in common parlance referred to as 26/11.

I was contemplating whether this was good or was it bad.

My heart says ‘Yes’ it was bloody (please excuse me for using expletives but this is coming straight from my heart) damn good.

My brain says know. An eye for an eye will only blind the whole world and this might not be the most rational thing to do. There are some forums which I read and read a lot, if I may say. The popular notion there is that the response of the Indian Hackers ‘Indian Cyber Army’ is great and is something that the Indian government failed to did.

I am still undecided. But I pray for peace!