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    Does anyone know of a region free code that can be applied to Sony Blu ray player BDP-S3200?

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  2. Member hech54's Avatar
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    NOT gonna happen.
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    Slightly longer explanation with same result - We've not had any reports in years for ANY Sony BluRay player or playing device (including Play Station models) that is sold in North America that can be made region free, not even for only DVD playback.

    In the future if you want region free, do NOT buy Sony or Samsung. Their players are the most difficult to unlock in the world.
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    Originally Posted by atrojoe View Post
    Does anyone know of a region free code that can be applied to Sony Blu ray player BDP-S3200?

    Thanks
    Sorry, but there are hardly any newish Blu-Ray players that consumers can hack on their own to make region free. If you want a region-free Sony Blu-Ray player, buy one from a specialty retailer like 220-electronics. (They are located in Elk Grove Villiage, BTW.) Instead of applying hacks, these specialty retailers replace some of the player's the existing chips with new ones that have been custom programmed for region-free playback

    This is supposed to be a good Sony player http://www.220-electronics.com/sony-bdp-s5100-region-free-blu-ray-dvd-player.html
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    The Sony BDP-S3200 is region unlocked by default, though usually not advertised as such.
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  6. Member hech54's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by moogbert View Post
    The Sony BDP-S3200 is region unlocked by default, though usually not advertised as such.
    In Australia maybe.....but nowhere else.
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  7. Member turk690's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by hech54 View Post
    Originally Posted by moogbert View Post
    The Sony BDP-S3200 is region unlocked by default, though usually not advertised as such.
    In Australia maybe.....but nowhere else.
    Also in the middle east and hong kong, DVD part only. But this is true of all their other blu-ray player models destined for those places, past and present.
    For the nth time, with the possible exception of certain Intel processors, I don't have/ever owned anything whose name starts with "i".
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    Originally Posted by turk690 View Post
    Also in the middle east and hong kong, DVD part only. But this is true of all their other blu-ray player models destined for those places, past and present.
    Based on the posts we've had in recent years, I think what you are saying is more how things WERE than how they are now. But if someone there is actually able to unlock a Sony BD player for region free DVD playback, I'd consider that to be lucky rather than something to count on all the time with all Sony players sold there. Australia and New Zealand today are usually the only places that Sony players can ever be unlocked and it's iffy there.
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  9. Member turk690's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by jman98 View Post
    But if someone there is actually able to unlock a Sony BD player for region free DVD playback...
    No need to unlock. The DVD part is region-free out of the box. Of course nowhere in the manual or documentation or adverts does it say that. It's a given there.
    For the nth time, with the possible exception of certain Intel processors, I don't have/ever owned anything whose name starts with "i".
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    Again, based on the posts here I find that statement to be HIGHLY dubious, but as I don't live in Hong Kong (I have been there several times) or the Middle East, I in no way have any stake in this one way or another. If you're right and I'm wrong, then great. If you're wrong about this, well, I warned people here.
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  11. Member turk690's Avatar
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    I lived in Dubai, UAE, Bahrain, & Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at various times before and continue to go there from time to time. The place used to be awash in pirated stuff before, but since stricter laws came to the fore, original DVDs are rented & bought more. A lot of these DVDs are region1, and though not official, dealers, distributors, and Sony et al themselves know they'd lose business selling a strictly region 2 player. In a Sony center, I did ask a friend how come they are all region-free; he said they're supposed to be reprogrammed to be region 2 once they come in, but it's almost never done, and in any case, if it didn't play region 1 DVDs it 's either returned to the store or customer just buys an LG or Samsung instead, or even any of the quixotic chinese players available. Blu-ray is not popular so people don't care much. An even more notable case is Saudi Arabia, where there are no cinemas; it's death for any brand to sell strictly region 2 DVDs players there, as the DVD player is one major entertainment source. The first movie shot entirely in Saudi Arabia "Wadjda" is, released by Sony classics, I've only ever seen, paradoxically, in region 1/A even there.
    For the nth time, with the possible exception of certain Intel processors, I don't have/ever owned anything whose name starts with "i".
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    None of which helps the OP, who is in Chicago.
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  13. Member turk690's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by KBeee View Post
    None of which helps the OP, who is in Chicago.
    I'm quite aware of that. I was just giving my 2 cents to jman.
    For the nth time, with the possible exception of certain Intel processors, I don't have/ever owned anything whose name starts with "i".
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    I live in the US and got a DVD Blu-Ray movie from Germany. I have a Sony BDP-S5100. The player won't play the DVD due to the fact the region is set for Europe. Is there a way to modify the player? I tried to decrypt the DVD by ripping it to the hard drive and removing the region code, but it still won't play. I didn't see any error prompts with the player when I tried it, but it wouldn't play.
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    Originally Posted by dc1 View Post
    I live in the US and got a DVD Blu-Ray movie from Germany. I have a Sony BDP-S5100. The player won't play the DVD due to the fact the region is set for Europe. Is there a way to modify the player? I tried to decrypt the DVD by ripping it to the hard drive and removing the region code, but it still won't play. I didn't see any error prompts with the player when I tried it, but it wouldn't play.
    So is it a Blu Ray or a DVD?.....it cannot be both.
    Region Codes are the FIRST hurdle for Americans.....the second hurdle is the rest of the world's PAL Video Format.....The U.S. is NTSC video format. The two are not related at all.
    The rest of the world can easily play American DVDs....but American equipment rarely is able to play stuff from outside the US.
    "USA!!, USA!!, USA!!, USA!!......oh dammit."
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    It's Blu-Ray that won't play on my Sony player. It seems to play on my computer though.
    I did see a post where someone says that this particular model can be hacked to play any region, but I can't say that if this will really work. This was posted by - Whitewolf2K using a universal URC-7740 remote.
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  17. Member hech54's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by dc1 View Post
    It's Blu-Ray that won't play on my Sony player. It seems to play on my computer though.
    I did see a post where someone says that this particular model can be hacked to play any region, but I can't say that if this will really work. This was posted by - Whitewolf2K using a universal URC-7740 remote.
    Computers don't care about video format, the only hurdle to a computer is a DVD region or Blu Ray Zone....and that is pretty easily overcome via software or eliminated via copying/ripping.
    In the extremely odd chance that there is a Sony that can be hacked....the hack will apply only to DVD playback. 99% of Blu Ray "hacks" are not hacks at all but actuall physical HARDWARE changes(chip or circuit board changes/replacements).
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    Again, if you have a Sony player sold in the USA/Canada we have ZERO reports of them being able to be unlocked. There are a few (as in 1 or 2) reports of European players that got unlocked, but we have no reports of successful unlocking in the USA/Canada. Yes, there actually are hardware differences between models sold in different parts of the world and it's not unusual for a player to only unlock in one part of the world.

    One of the problems dc1 will find is that while it is possible to rip and BluRay with something like AnyDVD HD and re-burn it to a new disc as region free, if the menus are in PAL type resolutions (ie. 720x576) a BluRay player that isn't region free may refuse to play it anyway. At this point it's really just best to buy a region free BluRay player from a seller like
    http://www.world-import.com
    http://www.220-electronics.com
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    Can I convert it from PAL to NTSC after I rip it to the hard drive?
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  20. Member hech54's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by dc1 View Post
    Can I convert it from PAL to NTSC after I rip it to the hard drive?
    "Movie Only" yes.....but not the entire DVD.....especially the menu material.
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    Originally Posted by dc1 View Post
    It's Blu-Ray that won't play on my Sony player. It seems to play on my computer though.
    I did see a post where someone says that this particular model can be hacked to play any region, but I can't say that if this will really work. This was posted by - Whitewolf2K using a universal URC-7740 remote.
    Yes, I saw that too, but if you look into it, the hack only works for machines sold in the UK and some other countries, not those sold in N. America. Even the required remote is not sold here. If you look at the ebay listings for the remote, it is almost always being offered by a UK seller.

    Hacks that work elsewhere often don't work here. As was stated earlier in this thread, depending on where it is being sold, the same model Blu-Ray player will definitely have different firmware installed, and very often different hardware too.
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    I bought BDP-S3200 from 220-Eletronics but it doesn't play Region 2&3 DVD. I sent e-mails to 220-Electornics but no reply and they have no-refundable policy for region-free players. Does anyone know how to make this player region-free?
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    Originally Posted by TN514 View Post
    I bought BDP-S3200 from 220-Eletronics but it doesn't play Region 2&3 DVD. I sent e-mails to 220-Electornics but no reply and they have no-refundable policy for region-free players. Does anyone know how to make this player region-free?

    did you do any kind of firmware update on this player??? if so then the newest update would've broke the region free code
    thus making the player region locked. also did you check to see if there an option switch for NTSC / PAL
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    Actually, since they should be using special hardware to provide region free capability, I think firmware updates should be safe.

    Well, I have never bought from 220 Electronics, but a "no refund" policy would be no go for me as they could sell you a known broken player and then shrug and say "Sucks to be you". My advice would be to protest the charge (assuming you paid via credit card) and argue that the player is defective and can't meet the purpose it was sold for (to play region 2 and 3 DVDs) and despite their policy, selling you defective crap is still illegal. Sony players, as I have mentioned more times than I care to count, are notorious for NOT being able to be unlocked, so that's why they have to use special hardware to unlock it. Sounds like you got a defective player. Protesting the charge may get their attention, but I do have to warn you that credit card companies used to be really good for standing up for their customers on exactly this kind of thing but now they are often dicks and if 220 Electronics puts up a fight at all, your credit card company may cave like a house of cards and demand you pay anyway. I had that happen to me a few years in a dispute I essentially won but when the other company simply refused to admit defeat, my card made me pay anyway. Good luck.
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    A few more suggestions for TN514 -

    Set the player to either region 2 for a region 2 DVD or region 3 for a region 3 DVD and not to region 0 (all regions) and see if that makes a difference.

    No offense, but newbies sometimes make mistakes and if you are actually having BluRay playback problems but calling it a "DVD" then that opens up a whole other can of worms. Some BluRay discs may refuse to play unless the DVD region is also set to a specific value, so only setting BluRay playback to a specific region may not be enough.

    List the exact error message you see as it may be helpful to have us diagnose the real problem.

    I didn't explicitly say this in my previous message, but as you bought a Sony, no, there is no way to make it region free now if that feature isn't working.
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    The information posted regarding BDP-S3200 is disheartening. I've had this player since December 2014, played everything perfectly, then 2 nights ago it just stopped playing. It will play a blu-ray disc, but nothing else. I've done nothing differently. Settings were gone through, cables...

    Any advice, would be sorely appreciated.

    R
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    Originally Posted by Ramona_B View Post
    The information posted regarding BDP-S3200 is disheartening. I've had this player since December 2014, played everything perfectly, then 2 nights ago it just stopped playing. It will play a blu-ray disc, but nothing else. I've done nothing differently. Settings were gone through, cables...

    Any advice, would be sorely appreciated.

    R
    One of the lasers in the optical drive (the red one used for DVD and CD) probably failed. Time for a new Blu-Ray player.
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    Thanks!

    I don't see myself getting another Sony.

    R
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