Region free

[animalia]

I am looking for a Blu-Ray player that is also capable of playing DVDs from an region. Can you all recommend one to me.

[october262]

I am looking for a Blu-Ray player that is also capable of playing DVDs from an region. Can you all recommend one to me.

this would be the best place to buy a region free Blu-Ray player - https://www.220-electronics.com/

[dvd3500]

Philips Blu ray players (when they used to make them) were good at that...

[dave3jx]

Greetings all,

I just joined this website, but it is not new to me. Years ago (about 8 yrs.) I bought a Philips TV & Blu Ray player. The TV just calved, and the Blu ray was acting flaky the other day. It has since improved. When I first got it, I used the Region-free fix listed here, and it has worked very well on DVDs.

My question is this: Are there any normal Blu Ray players for sale these days that are easier to consistently modify for region-free use than others?

I ask this question in case my Philips finally dies. I know there are already converted players out there, bu they are usually twice the price of unconverted ones. Are there players out there that I could pick up and modify, "just like the good ole days"?

I have no desire to steal anything. However, any DVD's I buy are bought legally. Nonetheless, sometimes legitimate buys come up (used DVD's from another region in Value Village, or new DVD's from a distributor in the UK. These are legal disks and we should be able to play them on our home equipment.

Thank you for your input. This website is a valuable service.

Dave from Canada.

[dave3jx]

It appears that the answer is no. There isn't "any normal Blu Ray players for sale these days that are easier to consistently modify for region-free use than others." And a definite 'no' to Sony, according to many of the comments here.
That being the case, these region-free sellers are doing a valuable service, even though their prices double the cost of unconverted players.
But, it's too bad that there isn't one out there that is easy to convert as my Philips was. (Mind you, that conversion was for region-free dvd playing, not blu-ray disks.)

Dave from Canada.

[aedipuss]

i think converting to a region free file format is much more convenient than keeping them on dvd. makemkv is a godsend get yourself a nas. i have a hardware converted region free blu-ray player but it hardly ever gets used.

[dave3jx]

Greetings all,
My Philips Blu Ray Player finally died. So, I picked up a 'like-new but used' LG Blu Ray Player, BD360, for $20cdn. Turns out that there are tons of hack suggestions on this site for the LG BD360/BD370, to make it region-free; at least DVD region-free. The trouble is that the files used in the process appear to be no longer available on any of the links provided. Plus, the codes provided for finding out the firmware vintage do not seem to work with mine.

Does anyone know where there may be a repertoire or cache of these files?

Failing that, I guess I can pick up from Amazon a off-brand region-free DVD player for less than $50. I only need the DVD part to be region-free, as I have several DVDs from the UK (region2), and I'm living in Canada (region1). Any Blu Rays I have are R1 or A.

WRT the off-brand region-free DVD players, any thoughts on any one being better than the other?

Thank you for listening to my 'tale of woe'.

Dave - living on the shores of Lake Woebegone.

[Ai Haibara]

Try feeding the links to the Wayback Machine (The Internet Archive); they might have backup copies archived. Alternately, since the posts were on this forum, try contacting the OPs, if they're still active. They might know of more recent archives or be able to provide you with copies.

[dave3jx]

Thank you for this suggestion. I will have to look at this "Wayback Machine". I would have hoped that such Hacks files would be stored here, but I guess they can't keep everything.

My player is a LG BD360. Date of manufacture is July 2009. The Svc Code: BD360-N.BCANLLK. it was "Made in Indonesia" and was called a "Network Blu-Ray Disk Player". There is no wifi, but it does have an Ethernet Port (LAN). Interestingly, it has a "Digital Audio Out", both coaxial and optical. It is quite big, being 17" (43 cm) wide. Hopefully, that translates into "ruggedness"? There is no sign on the unit, or in the menu system, of the firmware release.

This player looks brand-new. Th previous owner said he rarely used it, and I believe him. The remote control shows no wear whatsoever.

I'll keep looking. It would be awesome for it to become region-free.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Dave from Canada.

P.S. The hack fixes for the BD370 are supposed to work for this. In fact, the manual is the same for both. According to the unit depictions, the only difference appears to be cosmetic. The BD360 has a rounded front bezel look, and the BD370 has a flat front bezel. The specs are the same for both.-jx

[dvd3500]

Those cheap DVD player usually only have composite out. With the Philips you at least get a digital signal.
The analog output might not work with all TVs (seldom these days).
I would track down double layer DVDs and make 1-1 digital copies (assuming this is legal in your area).
If they are slightly too big you can use DVDShrink (assuming copy protection has been .... "fixed") to just shrink the stuff you you don't need or remove subtitles and audio you don't need. I often compressed the menus as far as possible and it worked out well...

I have an alert on eBay for Philips players now....

[dave3jx]

Thanks for your reply. Mind you, I would never buy a non-HDMI player.

Some of the Brands sold on Amazon, i.e. region-free DVD players, are: Mediasonic, Megatek, Gueray, Wiscent, Shiwakoto, Coby, etc, most for around $50. The Brand Name region-free DVD players (Philips, Panasonic, LG) range between $68 and $100. All of the above have HDMI output, including the off-brand devices.

Interestingly, there is a region-free (DVD-side only) Blu-Ray Player, a Wonnie, for $129. All the Main Brands for Blu-Ray region-free are around $250 & up.

What I found interesting in my research is that Samsung does not make players anymore. Go figure . . .

Dave from Canada.