Yes, and as I am beginning to realize, the word 'certified' in the article may mean that the Kiss unit,as opposed to the models being made in China - is 'certified' because it has been coded ONLY for the USA DVD's. Of course as someone else has posted, a circumvention to this is being 'worked on' - which would probably take the form of a firmware update.
FWIW, they are absolutely not the first to produce these. Several companies has been OEM'ing these in China using the same Sigma 8500 decoder for months.
Some answers to questions:
1. It it firmware upgradeable? Yes.
2. Region Codes? These units are 'all code' out of the box. Is this illegal? 'Kindof'
3. Can it play a DVD full of mp3's. divx movies etc? Yes.
4. Why this and not some crap from Walmart? Well, this is progressive scan, for one thing. (In built in the Sigma)
5. Can I send you one? No:)
We are in the manufacturing business out here in China. Just as a benchmark:
Toasters US$5.00
DVD Players are now available for US$50 (not progressive scan but with dual decoders, DTS, 5.1 etc)
Coffee Makers US$9.00 (for programmable, electronic)
There is simply now way to justify US$33. That doesnt mean 'an extra $33 to web enable your xxxx, but more along the lines of $100, at thats at Walmart margins.
A non starter. Bluetooth modules come cheaper & hence will be the first stop, with a web enabled controller of some kind a la Band & Olufsen.
Heres a good example. Ryanair (a UK based discount airline) was offering 'free' flights to destinations all over Europe this weekend. It expires in a few hours, but they did have the courtesy to advise that 'taxes' and 'other charges' were not included.
You could still pick up flights for as little as US$30 to major destinations, however. Still a great deal. I think the rule is generally just to be 'well informed'
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Yes, and as I am beginning to realize, the word 'certified' in the article may mean that the Kiss unit,as opposed to the models being made in China - is 'certified' because it has been coded ONLY for the USA DVD's. Of course as someone else has posted, a circumvention to this is being 'worked on' - which would probably take the form of a firmware update.
Plays 3.x up to 5.03.
FWIW, they are absolutely not the first to produce these. Several companies has been OEM'ing these in China using the same Sigma 8500 decoder for months. Some answers to questions: 1. It it firmware upgradeable? Yes. 2. Region Codes? These units are 'all code' out of the box. Is this illegal? 'Kindof' 3. Can it play a DVD full of mp3's. divx movies etc? Yes. 4. Why this and not some crap from Walmart? Well, this is progressive scan, for one thing. (In built in the Sigma) 5. Can I send you one? No :)
We are in the manufacturing business out here in China. Just as a benchmark: Toasters US$5.00 DVD Players are now available for US$50 (not progressive scan but with dual decoders, DTS, 5.1 etc) Coffee Makers US$9.00 (for programmable, electronic) There is simply now way to justify US$33. That doesnt mean 'an extra $33 to web enable your xxxx, but more along the lines of $100, at thats at Walmart margins. A non starter. Bluetooth modules come cheaper & hence will be the first stop, with a web enabled controller of some kind a la Band & Olufsen.
Heres a good example. Ryanair (a UK based discount airline) was offering 'free' flights to destinations all over Europe this weekend. It expires in a few hours, but they did have the courtesy to advise that 'taxes' and 'other charges' were not included.
You could still pick up flights for as little as US$30 to major destinations, however. Still a great deal. I think the rule is generally just to be 'well informed'