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  1. First of all, I'm new to the forums, so hi. I recently bought a Region 2 (European) DVD to play on my Blu-Ray player Sony BDV-E985W, but I realized it is actually a Region 4 player.

    It does run Region 1 discs just fine, but I'm afraid it may not play the disc I bought (it hasn't arrived yet). I've searched all around the internet looking for region codes for it, but I've found none so far. Sony players are the hardest ones to hack, or so I've heard, which leaves me even more worried.

    Can anyone help me with this situation? Thanks!
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  2. Member
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    yes, anything made by sony will almost impossible to make region free.
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    In the past, hacks existed mainly because it was convenient for the maker to manufacture one basic model to sell world-wide and handle region coding using a secret setting or via firmware. Those days are largely over. Most Blu-Ray players now handle region coding via a chip that has to be physically replaced to change the assigned region code, so it is unlikely that somebody will ever publish a hack for your Blu-Ray player.

    You can replace your Blu-Ray player with a different one that has had its hardware modified by a specialty retailer, or try copying and re-burning the DVD to remove region coding
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    Okay, everyone else seems to be focusing on a "generic" or the common "blanket" answer.

    First off you say,
    but I realized it is actually a Region 4 player.
    So you are sure your player is only for region 4 ?
    You do not say what part of the word you live in so.....

    Second, you say,
    It does run Region 1 discs just fine,
    And how do you know they are "region 1" disc's ?
    Because they are from the US & NTSC ?
    That does not mean they are "region 1" encoded, especially if they are burned DVD's.
    Region and format are not the same thing.
    If they are pressed DVD's and are actually "region 1" then your player is obviously region free & should not have any issues with a "region 2" dvd.

    For an exact assessment you must provide WAY more specific details!!
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    One detail the OP left out is that his Blu-Ray player is part of a home theater system...
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  6. Sorry for not saying it was a home theater system, it actually is. And it's also a 3D player, in case that helps. I have tested Region 1, Region 4 and Region 0 (all) discs on it, and all run without any errors. All of the discs I tested are NTSC, but the Region 2 disc I bought is most likely PAL.

    The player isn't that new, I bought it a few years ago. It came with the RM-ADP057 remote, but I have no OneInAll remotes or anything of the sort.

    I don't know if it already comes with any modifications or if somebody altered it for the player to be sold. Anyways, I thank you all for the help and patience with this, and in case anyone has found something new, be sure to tell us.
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    Well, seeing as you don't have it listed or say were you are, I will assume Australia seeing as you say your player is region 4 and Australia is region 4.

    And seeing as Australia is also PAL I doubt the region 2 dvd being PAL is an issue.
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    You have no idea what kind of odds you beat in having a Sony BD home theater player that plays DVDs region free. You had Sony, BD and home theater all working against you. If you had bought that player in North America I can guarantee you that it would not play DVDs from other regions.
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    DVD region 4 includes South America, Central America, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea and many of the S. Pacific island nations. Some of the countries in DVD region 4 use NTSC, while others use PAL.

    I downloaded the manual for the BDV-E985W from Sony's Asia Pacific website, which seems to be the only Sony site where information on this model is available, to see what video systems are supported. The manual says home theater models made for the US and Canada are NTSC, and all other models are NTSC/PAL.

    So, assuming the discs previously played really are coded DVD region 1 and DVD region 4 (which would mean that the BD player was made region free somehow), it should also play Region 2 PAL discs if the home theater system wasn't sourced from the USA or Canada.
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 29th Jan 2014 at 16:42. Reason: grammar
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    Well I did say I was "assuming" seeing as we obviously need to extract more information from the OP than he is giving to try and figure out his concerns.


    And he is talking about DVD's, again I assume from what he said, not blurays so if it is region free I would again assume it is the DVD not the Bluray.

    Oy vey, even when you try you still have to try harder to get the info from OP's
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  11. Here's an update, sorry for the bump!

    The boxset I ordered arrived this afternoon. Tested it on my Blu-Ray and guess what? Worked perfectly.
    Seems like, against all odds, the player really is region free.

    Problem solved. Thanks for all the help, and I can now watch the films I bought without problem!
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    Not really a bump seeing as you are replying to your original thread with "information".....

    Yet with absolutely no relevant information like all your other post's
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