Ultimate PAL/NTSC question

[leandrodafontoura]

Im desperate for an answer to the questions bellow. I alredy read a lot of stuff, but i havent get a 100 percenf satisfactory answer. I hope i do now and that this may help anyone who reads this topic.

First let me say i have a NTSC only HDTV, with HDMI input. I need to wacth region 2 (PAL) movies on my ntsc HDTV. I acept any sugestion on how i do that. Below there are questions that i still dont know the answer:

Is it true that with HDMI, both HD-DVD and Blue-ray players are able to read a PAL disc and send a NTSC signal to a HDTV without the use of a video converter?

If I buy a regular DVD player with a built in video converter, how will the device affect image quality?

Are there any region free blueray players in the USA? Uk players may be hacked to become region free with the use of codes inputed by the remote control. Amazon.co.uk has an explanation for it.

Thanks to anyone who reply to this topic.