Originally posted by Astrakan
I haven't had any problems whatsoever with mine. I'm always skeptical when I hear of others' problems with their electronics. Too many people treat their stuff like Playskool toys. I'm sure there are lemons in the Malata lineup, like with any other manufacturer, but so far I've seen nothing that suggests it's an inferior brand. That being said, I can certainly see your doubts when it comes to any brand that's not well-known or well respected. The combination of heaps of praise and Malata actually having a Canadian distributor made me risk it, though, and I'm glad I did.
The only online places I know of that carry Malata's are avdeals.ca and nbtelectronics.com. I bought mine from avdeals.ca and had a pleasant experience - lightning fast delivery! I have heard that their customer service department leaves much to be desired though. Since I didn't have any issues with my purchase I can't say if these rumours are justified. I think DavidY got one from nbtelectronics.com, perhaps he could post his experiences with them.
Since my purchase I've seen the Malata available for significantly less in downtown Toronto. I don't have any numbers or names of stores handy, but I'll keep it in mind next time I go down.
My Toshiba SD-M1212, which also is region free out of the box, in conjuction with Remote Selector (an excellent program used to set region and output format) did PAL conversion in proper AR just fine. I just got tired of hooking up my computer to the TV every time I wanted to watch a non-R1 DVD, and I felt that leaving it there permanently wasn't as aestetically pleasing as I'd like.
You can have a look at this site for a list of various DVD-ROM drives and their region-free capabilities. Be aware that that list is pretty old, and many/most of those drives would have to be purchased used.
KM
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As Astrakan has noted, I bought the Malata N996 from http://www.nbtelectronics.com Excellent customer service from John G. Any questions or concerns (e.g., latest firmware upgrades) were quickly addressed. Was $399 plus GST and FREE shipping within Canada. The new 520 model seems to have lost a couple of features from the N996....so it's worthwhile to do a thorough research before any purchase is made. Still $399 at NBT electronics.
Dave
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