VideoHelp Forum
+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 10 of 10
Thread
  1. I really need a region code hack for the ONKYO DV-BD507 (blu ray and dvd player region 1 now) Need to make it region free. Anyone have a firmware update to hack it?
    Quote Quote  
  2. Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    United States
    Search Comp PM
    no region free code available for this player - https://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks?dvdplayer=ONKYO+DV-BD507+&hits=200&Search=Search
    if there is a code for this player it'll only be for the dvd side of the player. and not every bluray player can be hacked.
    Quote Quote  
  3. Yes I know that is where the thread was but there is nothing there for a hack. Hope someone has one. I heard there is a firmware hack for the DVD side if I can get it would solve my problems. Thanks
    Quote Quote  
  4. Member hech54's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2001
    Location
    Yank in Europe
    Search PM
    Originally Posted by helobuff View Post
    Yes I know that is where the thread was but there is nothing there for a hack. Hope someone has one. I heard there is a firmware hack for the DVD side if I can get it would solve my problems. Thanks
    Nobody here makes hacks, and there is a 99% chance against you finding one even just for the DVD playing aspect.
    Quote Quote  
  5. Banned
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Freedonia
    Search Comp PM
    Originally Posted by helobuff View Post
    Yes I know that is where the thread was but there is nothing there for a hack. Hope someone has one. I heard there is a firmware hack for the DVD side if I can get it would solve my problems. Thanks
    What you heard is almost certainly a lie. In the USA/Canada it's almost impossible to unlock any BluRay player, even just for DVD playback. People are always talking bs about how various players can be unlocked for sure, but nobody ever posts the information. The truth is that if you have to ask, you'll probably never get a code.

    Do be aware that years later people dig up threads like yours and post unlock codes that they claim to work. You accept any risk from having some stranger post an unlock code. There is a possibility that some people deliberately post incorrect or incomplete information and attempting to unlock your player can brick it.

    If you need a truly region free player in the future, the only safe thing to do anymore is to buy from resellers who hardware modify them at additional cost to you to guarantee region free playback. Such sellers include:
    http://www.world-import.com
    http://www.220-electronics.com
    The days of being able to buy a player in a store in the USA/Canada, take it home and enter a code to unlock it are pretty much dead.

    Two final things. If you ever get this player unlocked, do NOT ever update the firmware or you should expect to permanently break region free playback. Even if you do unlock it, if the player can't convert from PAL to NTSC video output, some TVs won't be able to correctly display PAL output. Samsung TVs are notorious for this.
    Quote Quote  
  6. Okay this guy from the UK said he has a hack for it, it's a firmware update to the player. He says it works on region 2 players but worried it won't work and then I will be stuck with a dead player. Why they do this to us is incomprehensible. I mean I can see they want regions on the DVD's but on the players? It seems to me like it's a constitutional infringement. There is no reason in the world for them to be locking the players! Why they do it I don't know. Do you think I should try the hack? there is a website that posts hacks, you have to join and it's in the UK.. the problem is the firmware updates for the hacks are region 2, not region 1. So I am worried about trying them. Should I? Would you?
    Quote Quote  
  7. Banned
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Freedonia
    Search Comp PM
    I would NOT do the hack. We've had reports on people who tried that exact kind of thing (hack from a different region) and they don't always have happy endings. Sometimes the hack does work. Sometimes it bricks the player. Sometimes the player isn't bricked but gets permanently moved to the new region AND it can't be unlocked.

    This is why region locking is done. In the old days, Hollywood used a staggered release system where films opened at different times in different parts of the world. Back in the early days of DVDs, it wasn't weird or unusual for a big budget Hollywood film to open as late as one year (or close to it) in Asia after the film opened in America. Or maybe a film would open first in Asia or Europe and then many months later open in the USA. This led to a situation where some films had opened and were released on DVD in the USA and the film was just opening to theaters in Asia, so bootleggers would buy and copy the DVD and the DVD would be on the street markets in Asia while it was just opening in theaters. This kind of thing caused Hollywood to mostly abandon the staggered release system. So DVD regions were used to prevent people in other parts of the world from seeing films on DVD before they played in theaters there. Once you've seen it on DVD already, why would you go again to see it in a theater? But you might see it in a theater first and like it enough to buy it later on DVD if the DVD wasn't available to you until after it played in theaters where you live.

    Another issue is licensing. Hollywood has licensing agreements around the world where they have various partner companies who they may or may not own who distribute their films. For example, a UK company might be the licensee for all of a Hollywood studio's films in Western Europe (region 2) and they paid good money for the right to put out the DVDs in Europe in region 2 (some of eastern Europe is not region 2, which is why I mention Western Europe specifically). So they don't want customers buying US region 1 imports of DVDs that they have released in region 2 and want to make money on. Also, some companies are only licensed to put out films in specific parts of the world. In the USA, Criterion's licenses almost always forbid them from releasing DVDs and BluRays anywhere other than USA and Canada. BFI is under similar restrictions for its releases in the UK, which are limited to the UK and Ireland only.

    It's a fairly stupid system as it's not MY fault or YOUR fault that Hollywood has things set up this way where their business model depends on deliberately restricting our freedoms. But Hollywood's power is very strong. Some years ago we had reports that by law Australia and New Zealand required DVD players sold their to be unlocked. We had a post last year from an Aussie guy who told us that the law was changed to a very big difference. Now it's not illegal for manufacturers to produce unlocked players, but doing so is OPTIONAL. So all the manufacturers have now chosen (due to Hollywood pressure no doubt) in Australia to not produce unlocked players.
    Quote Quote  
  8. Thanks for the explanation! So because they want to make more money they control our players! It's not enough they control the DVD's and who is to say someone won't go black friday shopping and put a large amount on ebay for people to buy from all over the world. They cannot control that! It's ludicrous they think that those restrictions will stop people from buying dvd's worldwide. I love the mystery DVD's from the UK, to buy them here your looking at double the money.. you buy them there it's about half price after shipping on a box set of 35 DVD's. Why would I ever buy them from the USA when they are cheaper there? I wish someone would put out a ripper program that auto changes the region code on DVD's to "0". Or better yet and adapter to a player that auto detects and codecs the player to play it! I hope someone does it. Hollywood has it coming. think it's time we create a petition to set everyone to sign it to stop locking our DVD players, blu ray players. After all they don't make them. they only make the movies.. they can control those but it's simply going to far to control the players IMHO! I don't think I will try the hack on the ONKYO though it would solve my problems.
    Quote Quote  
  9. I am Wondering though, if the hack didn't work, wouldn't a firmware update just remove the previous hack, making it back to what it was- making it work?
    Quote Quote  
  10. Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    United States
    Search Comp PM
    Originally Posted by helobuff View Post
    I am Wondering though, if the hack didn't work, wouldn't a firmware update just remove the previous hack, making it back to what it was- making it work?
    a firmware update would make it so no hacks will ever work
    Quote Quote  
Visit our sponsor! Try DVDFab and backup Blu-rays!