Recommendation for Blu-Ray player that can have region free DVD

[noob1391]

OK folks, I hope this ought to be easy questions for you experts!

I live in USA and I want to buy a blu-ray player. All I want is to be able to hack the player to play DVDs from all regions. I do not need region-free blu-ray playing capacity, just region free DVD playing!

I have spent many hours on this site looking for hacks, but couldn't find anything reliable. Many hacks are from past which no longer work, many are from other countries.

I have no loyalty to any brand. Just recommend me something that can be easily hacked!

Cheers for your help !

[jman98]

Despite their official denials, Philips still sells BluRay and DVD players in North America that can be hacked. Just don't ever update the firmware after making it region free or you may find that your player is no longer region free and can't be unlocked. Their BluRay players can be unlocked for DVD region free playback but they remain BluRay region A so that meets your needs. Check our DVD Players list in the column on the left for specific models to see if hacks exist. Before you go out and buy a Philips there is a downside that is a showstopper for some people. They only play DVDs in the same video system that they are recorded in. There is NO CONVERSION at all. So PAL DVDs only get sent out to your TV as PAL video. If you own a Samsung TV (I do) this will not work at all for you. Some HDTVs sold in North America do support PAL though so if your TV can play PAL video you will be OK.

If this is not going to work for you because of your TV then you can look at Oppo (http://www.oppodigital.com). Unfortunately their players are EXPENSIVE. I don't own one so you'll have to do your own research on what the current state of them is. The last I heard was that their players could all be made region free but you had to add some hardware to it to do so. Some sellers add the hardware for you and others give it to you so you can do it yourself. You need to be sure which is the case before you buy from a reseller. If you buy directly from Oppo (not sure if you can) their players will NOT contain the hardware you need to make it region free. It will also be region free for BluRays once you add the hardware. Their players have an option to convert PAL video output to NTSC if you need it.

Momitsu made some cheaper BluRay players in North America that were region free for DVDs and BluRays but they abandoned the North American marketplace for some reason. You will have to buy their players at places like Ebay and you are on your own here as to how much you can trust a seller on Ebay considering that these models will be at least 2 years old now. Momitsu can also convert from PAL to NTSC if you need it.

The only other companies that MIGHT (or might not) make players that can be made region free for DVD playback are Pioneer and LG. If you buy Sony or Samsung you will have flushed your money down the toilet. Your chance of making a Sony or Samsung BluRay player region free in North America is zero. We had one unconfirmed report of exactly one Samsung BluRay model that some guy claimed he made region free for DVD playback but I don't remember the model and I don't have 100% confidence in the report. Some Insignia models are also rumored to be able to be made region free but you'll have to do your research here. I don't know if they can convert PAL to NTSC or not.

If you just need a DVD player that can be hacked and can convert PAL to NTSC and you can live without BluRay capability, it's really hard to beat the Philips DVP3560. It also supports the old VCD and SVCD formats and Divx/Xvid. I've got one and for about $40 US I'm hard pressed to name a better player at a cheaper price.

[noob1391]

Thanks jamn98 for your reply.
Wow, this is really bad! There are not really many options for people in north America looking for region free dvd.
Unfortunately, I have a samsung tv so I cannot use Philips.

So far I have found Orei (http://www.amazon.com/OREI-BDP-M1-Region-Blu-ray-Player/dp/B004ZHDP0Q) BDP that has region free DVD + PAL/NTSC and it costs $125, so not too bad. I am going to do some more research about other brands you mentioned bel9ow (LG, Pioneer, Insignia) and let you guys know.

I already have a region free dvd player, but it only has RCA output, no HDMI. So, I am debating whether I pay extra $60 or so for upscaling for my DVD content (which can be done only with digital output, viz, HDMI).

[jman98]

Samsung does such a good job of upscaling that in my personal opinion it is foolish to spend extra for upscaling on the DVD player.

I know nothing about the OREi player but definitely confirm BEFORE you buy that it is a "converting player" which means it converts PAL to NTSC output. I looked at a few of the reviews and nobody explicitly stated that it was or was not a converting player so I cannot rule out the possibility that it plays PAL DVD as PAL video output and they just had TVs capable of accepting PAL input.

[noob1391]

Orie does PAL->NTSC as advertised here - http://www.bombayelectronics.com/Orei_BDP_M1_Region_Free_3D_Blu_Ray_Player_Zone_A_p/or...regionfree.htm

Jman, will Samsung upscale DVD content coming on standard analog RCA? Or, does it need to be HDMI? I am obviously not very knowledgeable here, and would appreciate your help in saving me $$!

[jman98]

All HDTV convert (upscale or downscale as necessary) ALL incoming video to the native resolution of the TV. So for example if a 480i or 480p video signal comes in from a DVD player on a 1080p HDTV, the TV will upscale it to 1080p. It doesn't matter if it's analog or not. By the way, you should use component (3 separate RCA cables) video rather than composite (one RCA cable traditionally colored yellow) from any players for best results if you can't use HDMI or DVI.

[wulf109]

Clarify please. Are you saying that if I hookup and old Apex DVD via component cable I'll get 1080P video on my Toshiba HDTV?

[manono]

Clarify please. Are you saying that if I hookup and old Apex DVD via component cable I'll get 1080P video on my Toshiba HDTV?

Yes, if it's a 1080p TV set it can't display any other resolution. One way or another any input gets upscaled to 1080p.

[manono]

Many of the LG Blu-Ray players also are region-free for DVDs. You might be able to find them at Wal-Mart, but here's one:

http://www.world-import.com/lg-bd-630-region-free-dvd-region-a-blu-ray-player-built-in...-converter.htm

Some have been modded to be region-free for Blu-Ray as well:

http://www.world-import.com/lg-bd-630-region-free-blu-ray-player-with-built-in-real-ti...-converter.htm

[wulf109]

These are "modified" versions. I have a retail BD630 and it is not region free DVD. It does convert NTSC to PAL.

[manono]

Oh yeah, you're right. I hadn't noticed that the player had been modded (and so you won't find one at Wal-Mart). Thank you for the correction. Even so, it'll fit noob1391's needs nicely.

[noob1391]

Yeah, either these LG players should be fine with me, or the Orei one too.

Wulf109, have you tried any of the following hacks (https://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks/lg-dv480/10008 or https://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks/lg-hx995tz/11361) on your retail BD630? Everyone who has posted here says it worked for them. It's not clear if anyone tried it in USA though.

[wulf109]

Does not work. They are completely different models.

[dubcek]

IF you lived in Canada Walmart has a Seiki BD660 player that is hackable to DVD region free and the Blu-ray region can be selected on a disc by disc basis.
The player is reasonably priced and works well with any disc I have tried.

[Voetsek]

Check out the following Link

http://www.laserco.net/products/audio-visual/dvd-players/BLU-BD1080

Blu-Ray and DVD Region Free

[TreeTops]

It's Out of Stock.

[Voetsek]

It's now back in stock

[Voetsek]

It is also an excellent media player. Even plays m2ts files

[jman98]

This thread has a recommendation by me for US people on how they can buy a refurbished Insignia from Best Buy for $50 US and make it region free by downgrading the firmware.
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/350285-Blu-Ray-player-that-can-play-all-regions-of-DVD

I'm not suggesting that this player is perfect but if you just want region free for BluRay and DVD and you want it cheap, you cannot beat it.