Region free Bluray player

[jtrinc]

Hello,
I'm planning on getting a multi region blu ray player that can play everything (PAL, NTSC, etc).
Does anyone have any advice on what to get and where to get it? By the way, I live in the US.
Thanks!

[louv68]

The Sony BDP-S5100 got excellent marks and can be had for around $90.

Here's a multi-region version which costs considerably more, but has very favorable user reviews.
http://www.amazon.com/SONY-BDP-S5100-Multi-Region-Player/dp/B00CS5HAG2/ref=sr_1_3?s=el...blu+ray+player Costs quite a bit more though at $250

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_15?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywo...20ray%20player

[redwudz]

One site you might check out: http://www.220-electronics.com/blu-ray-dvd/region-free-blu-ray-player.html?utm_source=...utm_medium=cpc

[louv68]

Redwudz, thanks for posting that link. Little did I know there were shops that specialized in region free players.
Now I may have to dig into my wallet to buy one. For that I don't thank you.

[yoda313]

Now I may have to dig into my wallet to buy one. For that I don't thank you

I know you put a little emoticon after that but you are the one who asked the question right?

[usually_quiet]

Redwudz, thanks for posting that link. Little did I know there were shops that specialized in region free players.
Now I may have to dig into my wallet to buy one. For that I don't thank you.

There are a few things to be aware of when shopping at these sites. 90% of region-free Blu-Ray players are region-free for DVD, but not Blu-Ray. If you need all-regions Blu-Ray disc playback, make sure that the player plays regions A,B, and C. Also, some all-region players do not convert from PAL to NTSC. Make sure you get one that does convert or it won't work with most N. American TVs for playing discs from PAL countries.

[louv68]

Now I may have to dig into my wallet to buy one. For that I don't thank you

I know you put a little emoticon after that but you are the one who asked the question right?

Nope, it wasn't me who asked, but I 'may' be interested in getting one. I wonder if any post 2012 models can be had with Cinavia disabled. If yes, I'd order one RIGHT now.

[jtrinc]

I'm the one who asked! Thanks for the info, everyone!
With Black Friday around the corner I hope that prices will come down!

[yoda313]

Nope, it wasn't me who asked, but I 'may' be interested in getting one

Oops sorry.

I wonder if any post 2012 models can be had with Cinavia disabled. If yes, I'd order one RIGHT now.

I believe the answer would be a big fat no.

But your solution is to just get a wdtv or similar model that does not deal with cinavia at all. Yes its a separate box but you have no issues to deal with when using it that way.

With Black Friday around the corner I hope that prices will come down!

Just make sure you know the exact specs of the model.

A lot of times it seems they go light on details on the big holiday ads. They'll just say "tablet" or "bluray player". If you are looking strictly online then you should be able to get every spec you need before buying.

Good luck.

[techiejustin]

So the Sony BDP-S5100 can be made region free and multi system for Blu-ray, correct? So me, being in North America, should be able to play Region A, B and C blu rays on a North American TV.

[hech54]

So the Sony BDP-S5100 can be made region free and multi system for Blu-ray, correct?

By YOU....at home?
No.

[jman98]

The Sony BDP-S5100 got excellent marks and can be had for around $90.

On what planet does ANYTHING made ANYWHERE in the world by Sony have the ability to become region free? This is very bad advice.

[usually_quiet]

So the Sony BDP-S5100 can be made region free and multi system for Blu-ray, correct? So me, being in North America, should be able to play Region A, B and C blu rays on a North American TV.

Yes, it can be made region free, but not by the owner. Already modified players are purchased from one of the specialty retailers selling multi-system products. A chip on the board has to be replaced with one that has been custom programmed for region free playback. http://www.220-electronics.com/sony-bdp-s5100-region-free-blu-ray-dvd-player.html

[techiejustin]

So the Sony BDP-S5100 can be made region free and multi system for Blu-ray, correct? So me, being in North America, should be able to play Region A, B and C blu rays on a North American TV.

Yes, it can be made region free, but not by the owner. Already modified players are purchased from one of the specialty retailers selling multi-system products. A chip on the board has to be replaced with one that has been custom programmed for region free playback. http://www.220-electronics.com/sony-bdp-s5100-region-free-blu-ray-dvd-player.html

Ah ha, I now understand.

[jtrinc]

Thanks so much for all the information, guys! Do you have any other suggestions besides the Sony?
Probably other brands are easier to deal with...
Thanks again!

[jman98]

I wouldn't buy Sony for this purpose. You're going to have to deal with companies like 220-Electronics (mentioned earlier) because as far as I know, at present nobody makes any players any more for North America that are region free for BluRay playback out of the box. I'd probably look at LG or Philips if I was going to buy a modded player. Oppo makes great but VERY expensive players that some sellers have modded them to be region free. If you need support for older formats like SVCD, VCD, that limits your choices.

[jtrinc]

Thank you again!So... what blu ray players can be easily turned into region free?
I remember how with one of my DVD players I just had to enter some random code with the remote to turn it into a region free player. Is that the case with bluray players?
If so, which do you recommend?
Thanks again!

[hech54]

Thank you again!So... what blu ray players can be easily turned into region free?

What part of "None" are you having trouble understanding?

[wulf109]

It seems that most newer disks are region free,most U.S and european disks are now region free. The disk makers seem to be ignoring region codeing,so why does Sony persist with region locked players?

[usually_quiet]

It seems that most newer disks are region free,most U.S and european disks are now region free. The disk makers seem to be ignoring region codeing,so why does Sony persist with region locked players?

There isn't a current Blu-Ray player made by any major brand that is not region-locked for DVD as well as Blu-Ray in its original, un-modified state. Finding a current model that consumers can hack to remove region coding for either DVD or Blu-ray is also rare today.

[jman98]

It seems that most newer disks are region free,most U.S and european disks are now region free. The disk makers seem to be ignoring region codeing,so why does Sony persist with region locked players?

It depends on the studios and what types of films you like. There are still plenty of region locked discs out there. Unfortunately, it happens a lot with older material, which may be released on VERY restrictive licensing terms. In fact, there's evidence that it's actually possible within a region to allow playback only for specific countries and to deny playback to all other countries in the region. Criterion is making their BluRays this way, but I know that they operate under very restrictive licensing terms where the studios that license to them don't want them to make their discs playable outside of North America by default. We have had posts that some anime BluRays also have country specific playback restrictions.

[techiejustin]

I'm actually more interested in playing region less BDs of home movies my relatives send to me from Italy. I had an upscaling region free DVD player and when it sent a "PAL" 1080i signal to the TV, it displayed it perfectly. I'll probably order that Sony mentioned earlier and let me parents keep it, they're the ones mailing back and forth home movies. I just had to copy and "PALize" my brother's wedding video. Yay me.

[hech54]

I'm actually more interested in playing region less BDs of home movies my relatives send to me from Italy. I had an upscaling region free DVD player and when it sent a "PAL" 1080i signal to the TV, it displayed it perfectly. I'll probably order that Sony mentioned earlier and let me parents keep it, they're the ones mailing back and forth home movies. I just had to copy and "PALize" my brother's wedding video. Yay me.

That makes no sense. Home-made DVDs and BDs have no region/zone code.
And as far as your "PALize" goes....European PAL players EASILY play NTSC video format discs so if you did what you say you did you wasted a boatload of time and video quality.

[techiejustin]

I'm actually more interested in playing region less BDs of home movies my relatives send to me from Italy. I had an upscaling region free DVD player and when it sent a "PAL" 1080i signal to the TV, it displayed it perfectly. I'll probably order that Sony mentioned earlier and let me parents keep it, they're the ones mailing back and forth home movies. I just had to copy and "PALize" my brother's wedding video. Yay me.

That makes no sense. Home-made DVDs and BDs have no region/zone code.

It makes perfect sense. I understand there is no region code in home made discs. But since I'm going to get a multi system player, I might as well get one that is region free too.

And as far as your "PALize" goes....European PAL players EASILY play NTSC video format discs so if you did what you say you did you wasted a boatload of time and video quality.

With the DVD? There was no noticeable quality loss when I was over there last year and they played some of the DVDs I bought - specifically buried in PAL format with Toast.
Also there was no difference in the amount of time it took to burn the DVD when I made two identical discs, one in NTSC and the other in PAL.

[jtrinc]

Thanks for the info, Usually quiet!Hech54, why are you so angry?

[techiejustin]

Thanks for the info, Usually quiet!Hech54, why are you so angry?

I'm wondering the same thing. That's why I got out of IT. Fellow techs would get so angry so quickly.

[jtrinc]

Lol! It's probably lack of human interaction. Or maybe it has something to do with Europe!

[oldfart13]

Seiki SR212S was being sold in the US as of last year. Might be some stock kicking around. That one can be made region free for all discs. Out of production now. I would have picked one up but could not get across the border to do so. Would have been a good replacement for my BD660...

the SR2125 was still available at many Sears and Kmart stores from things I have been reading as of last month for $20 - $50. Just to let you know...

[hech54]

Hech54, why are you so angry?

Because you have no clue what you are talking about.
You are answering PAL/NTSC questions with region coding answers for starters....and vise-versa.

[Chopmeister]

Thank you again!So... what blu ray players can be easily turned into region free?

What part of "None" are you having trouble understanding?

That's not exactly true. There are plenty in this part of the world, although the retailers don't openly advertise the capability. I have two (a Toshiba model BDX1200KY and a Veon model VN2916BR-DVD). Both of them let you set both the DVD and Blu Ray region to whatever you want, as many times as you want, off the remote. They are both multi-system (PAL and NTSC) as well. The Veon onlyu cost $NZ50 (approx =$US 40) on sale.

There are other models (the Soniq B100 which a friend has springs to mind) with the same capability.