Grinch, my embryo-pard: I do know about the Sampo machines, which read anything and are great for DIY (putting in a hard drive, for example). Still, their stretchy PAL conversion is a known issue and would mar my Eurotrash film marathons (current favorites: _Death Laid an Egg_, by Julio Questi, and the delicately violent _Finishing School_).
Daewoo and Apex have the same Mr. Fantastic issue. Malata machines do not.
However, in a few Nerd-out.com forums, certain users report inflicting Malata 996 firmware on the Apex 8000 and having it take, which means the Apex can do X-Y scaling, which means that chubby screen values should no longer be a problem.
You might want to find out if this works on your Sampo as well since, if it does, you'll pick up a few extra features.
Don't know a ting aboot de Tatung DV-990; will look into dat prompt-like, Sol_Zhen.
Other than the Malata and Jator, the Xindak 2100 is the only player I've considered seriously. It has dedicated CD/DVD components and is said to sound phenomenal. Unfortunately, it's an overseas-specific model and there are no US importers which means it's expensive in the hormone-depleting sense.
But thanks, Aces. I'll look into the Tatung and you can leer at the models I'm talking about if your plain is so inclined.
Some company should confect and garnish a multi-region player that is sturdy and audiophile-euphonious as well as flexible. The Malata n996 gets major points for user-option fun, but it's a wee tard delicate and doesn't play DVD-Audio correctly either, which is an outrage that should be dyed and lathered to the poo extent of the sham (if you don't mind my rinsing so myself).
