Samsung BD-P1590/BD-P1600 Foreign Firmware Flash/Region Free Issue

[5arge]

Hello,

I have a BD-P1590 which I purchased in the US. I'm moving to France in less than 2 weeks. As such I'm trying to get to play both NTSC & PAL DVDs and also be region free. I misunderstood the instructions on the following DVD hack pages:

https://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks/samsung-bd-p1590/10290
https://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks/samsung-bd-p1600/10179

(note, although the Singapore firmware is the end-goal, I'd be happy with reverting back to the US in the hopes I'd be able to then flash it to the Singapore firmware, which is why you'll see "XAA" below)

First I flashed the Brazil firmware (v2.13) without any issues having modified the first instance of XAA to XAX with a hex editor. Then I successfully performed the remote control region free hack on the first attempt just to give it a try. I thought that first flashing the Brazil firmware was necessary before flashing the Singapore firmware, but apparently this isn't the case. Now, when I try to flash ANY firmware, other than a Brazilian firmware version, I receive errors. Here's where I am now:

I can flash the Brazilian firmware version successfully until my heart is content, but that's really no help at all to me... Now, when attempting to flash either the US or Singapore firmware, modifying the first instance of XAA/XSS to XAX, results in an IMMEDIATE "Error in Update Data. Please try again". However, if I modify the 2 instances of XAA/XSS that immediately follow "BD-P160" (one at the very beginning, one towards the middle) It first says "Verifying Firmware Version" for about 15 seconds or so, and THEN reports the "Error in update data" message.

This leads me to believe that there's something else I will need to change to get from the Brazil firmware to any other firmware version, but I every combination I've tried to date doesn't work. I've tried modifying all instances of the XAA/XSS, the dates of the firmware, the firmware versions. I think the only thing I haven't tried is changing the actual name of the file to match the firmware version currently loaded. I'm going to try now as a shot in the dark, but I doubt I'll have any results.

I've also performed a hex-dump on all three firmware versions, and performed a diff on them, but they all are drastically different... Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[hech54]

Just sell it and buy something in France. European DVD players already play both PAL and NTSC....so all you need to worry about is making it region free.

[5arge]

Thanks for the reply.

I may end up having to do that, but I haven't disclosed everything. I have a reciever that, according to the manual:

Video Signal Type: NTSC
Video Conversion : NTSC/PAL

I want to confirm that my receiver will actually convert PAL to NTSC before moving my TV, Surround sound system, and bluray player before paying a premium to move them overseas, only to find out that it won't work the way I think it will based on my "interpretation" of the A/V receiver's manual. The only way I know how to do that is flash the Singapore firmware so that the bluray player will output PAL to the A/V receiver, which will convert the signal to NTSC for my television... I know I could just buy a PAL-->NTSC converter(s?), but I'll also need to purchase a DVB-T tuner to pick up broadcast television because, if you can't already tell, I'm a penny pincher.

[hech54]

I've never heard of a receiver doing that....but hey...I never looked either...

[5arge]

No luck renaming the file to match the version, nor did trying the bd-p1600a singapore firmware (gave the exact same results as all of the others).

Perhaps downgrading to an older brazilian version will do the trick, but I haven't had any luck finding one yet. Does anyone know where I could find an older Brazilian firmware version? I'd like to post a new hack to help anyone else that gets stuck in this boat if I can get this solved (and it wasn't my fault of course...).

[5arge]

Google is my friend:

http://rapidshare.com/files/276046755/BEv1.03_090528_BDP1600_XAX.zip
http://rapidshare.com/files/276063720/BEv2.02_090827_BDP1600_XAX.zip

I'll give these a shot and update...

[kaleidoskope]

Google is my friend:

http://rapidshare.com/files/276046755/BEv1.03_090528_BDP1600_XAX.zip
http://rapidshare.com/files/276063720/BEv2.02_090827_BDP1600_XAX.zip

I'll give these a shot and update...

Did it work? I heard there's no way to downgrade from 2.13
I'm stuck too...

[jman98]

We've said this a lot here, but I suppose it bears repeating.

If you care anything at all about multi-region DVD and BluRay playback, do NOT buy Samsung or Sony. End of story.

If you ignore that advice and buy a Samsung or Sony player in North America, you are screwed. The ONLY players by those companies that ever get reported to be able to become region free, and it is ONLY for DVD playback, are a very small number of players not sold in North America.

I do not expect Sarge to have been successful. We've had reports that using foreign firmwares on North American players may brick them. Caveat emptor.

[5arge]

My bluray player IS region free now that I have flashed the Brazilian firmware...

The issue I'm now having is that I cannot flash a firmware that is not Brazilian (at least one that is numerically equal to or less than 2.13) in order to read PAL DVDs.

I should have made a title that was more clear, and I apologize for that.

Update to my last post: I was unsuccessful in downgrading the Brazilian firmware version.

I suspect the only chance I have at successfully flashing the singapore firmware (to make my bluray player BOTH region free AND play PAL DVDs) is to try upgrading to 2.14 if/when it's released.

I'll be sure to post a solution if find one.

[jman98]

My bluray player IS region free now that I have flashed the Brazilian firmware...

You're VERY lucky. Thanks for the update. We've had reports of various players being bricked when flashing foreign firmwares. Do note that may advice against this still stands and those who do so take the risk upon themselves.

Again, my advice against buying Samsung and Sony stands. You're only halfway to where you want to be and may not ever get that player to support PAL discs no matter what you do.

[5arge]

Update: I'm giving up -- I don't have the time to wait for a newer firmware version. Perhaps kaleidoskope, or the new owner of my player will be kind enough to update this thread after the 2.14 release? If it isn't closed by the mods, I'd really like this thread to provide a solution for other people in this same situation...

@ jman98: I agree with you. Unfortunately, I had no idea I'd be moving overseas within the lifetime of the device when I purchased it over a year ago...

[onlinespending]

can anyone that's successfully flashed the 2.13 Brazilian firmware confirm that you can play MKV/DIVX files (ideally from the USB port)?

[zunah]

Hi,
Two questions please:
Have the latest Canadian FW (2.19 current) allowed for mkv or divx playback via USB?
If not, does the Brazilian FW hack and remote control region free hack still work with 2.19?

Thanks for any help!