just fyi, region hackable dvd players are dirt cheap. the Cyberhome brand that has been sold at most major retailers (has been found anywhere from $50 to as cheap as $30) is well known for being easily hacked. Not only that, the cyberhomes do PAL to NTSC conversion very well. I've had one that i got for about $40 for 3 years & it works great! You might not even have to buy a new player. MANY (i'd almost say most) dvd players are region hackable. just google "dvd region hacks" & you'll find plenty of websites where you can look up your specific model number & see if there's a hack, & how well it handles multiple regions & PAL conversion.

Oh, just in case you're wondering, the "hack" is usually nothing more than a special code that you punch in with the remote (mine was just four digits followed by the "enter" button). this will bring up a menu where you have the option of choosing which region. to play all regions simply select region "0". That's not always how it works, but that seems to be the most common way of hacking players.