I am totally confused now
When I asked the below question 10 days back:
Is there any workaround to Play PAL DVD's on this player apart from updating the region free patch?
I have been using this for the past 4 -5 months without any issues and suddenly when trying to play recent 2 DVD titles had this issue.
Like is there any setting that can be changed? or any free software to convert the file from PAL to NTSC?
I am sorry, I confused you. But it is more complex that what it appears.
When I made the first statement, I meant about the discs alone. It is extremely difficult (if not impossible) to convert an NTSC encoded material on disc to PAL and vice-versa. Even if you somehow managed to convert, there will be severe quality loss, rendering the whole process useless.
It is also true that no hardware or software can make PAL playback possible on an NTSC player,
if this has not been implemented at all. Reverse, i.e., NTSC playback on PAL players, is possible. But in case of
US made Panasonic players (and I am speaking of BD players only for the moment), the PAL playback was always possible. It is suppressed by official firmware for commercial reasons. I have no idea if the same is true with players from other manufacturers such as Sony, Pioneer, Samsung, LG, etc. It is quite possible that it may be the same case with these too. But since there is no firmware for such players, the question does not arise. Please note however that hardware mods available for some players unlock the PAL playback capability.
The region-free firmware update unlocks the PAL playback feature on US made players. So, both my statements are correct when interpreted in context.
As regards to your questions:
1.So if I update my Panasonic Blu ray player purchased from US with the region free pack will I be able to play my PAL DVD's?
A yes or No would do?
Yes.
2.In case the update does not go well then will I still be able to use the player without any issues with the current setting that is Region A and NTSC DVD playback?
Either the new firmware will update the old firmware or it won't. Note that firmware update is not downgradable, i.e., you can go from version 1.0 to 1.1 but not 1.1 to 1.0. So be sure to request the correct firmware. If the firmware update process fails, your original firmware remains intact. But the player must be kept powered on during the upgrade process. If power fails during the writing of firmware to EPROM, I have no idea what will happen - it is quite possible that you may end up with a large brick!
3.I have not updated the recent firmware from Panasonic so will it be better to update first and then contact the firmware team?
It does not matter as long as the f/w in the player is of lower or same version. In that case, it will update. Request for the latest firmware available. Note that, once you have the region free firmware, YOU MUST NEVER UPDATE IT WITH THE OFFICIAL FIRMWARE, else all region-free and other features (including PAL playback) are lost.
4.Assuming I am not going to play any other Region Blu ray discs say Region B is it worth to spend the money for the firmware upgrade? or would it be better to go for a New DVD player to play the PAL content with HDMI out(I have 2 dvd players LG and Onida both have only component out and no HDMI ports)
I have always maintained the view that while it is convenient to have a single region-free player, it is safer to have two players - one for Region A and one for Region B. There are no worries then. If you are sure never to buy Region B BDs then it is meaningless to update the player. But Region B BDs is not the only aspect to be concerned. What about PAL DVDs (region free or region locked)?
Last question when I purchase a Denon AVR (sometime shortly) can I connect my existing LG DVD player to this AVR via component out and then connect my Epson projector to the AVR via HDMI and will there be a difference in the quality of both video and Audio?
You will get 1080i video in the above case.
