cheapest way to play region b blu-ray's

As stated in the subject I am trying to find the cheapest way to play region locked blu ray's on my TV. I have a Region A PS3 and a Pioneer pdp-5080hd tv and an old Jaton 7611 dvd player to play any DVD's from around the world.

The modified Panasonic DMP-BD35 seems like a nice choice except it will output NTSC as NTSC and PAL as PAL. This will take care of playing the any movies from any region as long as they are 1080p at 24 fps? There are a few blu-ray's that are 1080i at 50fps that I would just have to make sure to avoid since my Pioneer TV probably doesn't accept PAL signal. Also, I won't be able to watch any extras since many times they are PAL and the Pioneer TV won't like them. This will allow me to watch most blu-ray's, but the modified Panasonic is around 650 US$, which is quite expensive.

A cheaper option that I thought of is to just get a Region B blu ray player. I noticed that I can pick up a Sony Region B blu ray player for around 240 US$ from amazon.co.uk (although shipping to the US will be a little expensive). Will this player work fine for playing Region B blu ray's on my US Pioneer tv. I know that my tv probably won't play 1080i50 blu-ray's and any extras in PAL, but is everything else in Region B fine? I can stomach paying $250 to $300 on this Sony if it will play all region B except possibly extras and these 1080i50's.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

- Nick

Right now there is not cheap way. There are a few work arounds.

http://www.bluraymods.com/

http://www.digital-digest.com/articles/Blu-ray_Region_Free_Guide_page1.html

Also Slysoft is going to release a program called CloneBD that you might be able to burn back region free. If there software does not make it region free there might be another app you can use with it.

As some that likes to buy U.K. TV shows that lives in the USA. I really wish HD-DVD won, as HD-DVD is region free.

Amazon.uk usually refuses to ship any electronic devices of any kind, even shavers, outside of the UK and Northern Ireland. I don't think your plan to buy from them is going to work. This is one of the reasons that Panasonic costs so much - it's darn near impossible to import electronics via the mail from Europe.

I have no idea whether your TV can accept PAL input or not. Some HDTVs can. Some can't. For example, Samsung HDTVs sold in the USA cannot (I've never heard of any exceptions). While someone could theoretically make 50fps 1080i BluRay discs, I've never heard of this and I'd be interested to see a link to any examples you know of where this was done.

jman98

Here is a link to some of the rare 1080i50 blu ray's out there. I stumbled on to this when I was looking to get a copy of the REC blu ray. Apparently REC is 1080i50 and blu ray region b locked.

http://www.avforums.com/forums/blu-ray-movies-tv-programmes/858687-there-any-1080i-50h...ray-discs.html

Even though amazon.co.uk won't ship a blu ray player to me, would it still work with my Pioneer pdp5080 hd as long as the region b blu ray that I am trying to watch is 1080p24? I would have the blu ray player running through my Onkyo 805 and then to the Pioneer display. I'm asking since I will be taking a trip to Spain for three weeks in June, so I may be able to pick one up while I am there if I can't have anyone ship it to my home address. I just want to make sure that it will work with my current setup first.

- Nick

Thank you for the link. That was very interesting.

I'm sorry that I can't answer your question. I think what you propose would work, but it's easy for me to say that since it's not my $200+ to gamble with and I don't have access to your TV for testing.

Do you know if a european spec Panasonic will run off the 110v 60Hz US mains supply?

My Panasonic dvd recorder don`t work with 110V. Manual from DMP-BD35/55 also show the same thing.

Setting up an outlet for 220V isn't difficult. But, I don't know how to get around the 50Hz to 60Hz issue. I guess I'll have to see if a good electrician knows if there is an inexpensive workaround for this. It seems that the power issue is the only issue about getting it to work.

- Nick

Blu-ray Region Code Remover 2.5
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=135620&highlight=region+remover
the power issue is fixed with a device like this
http://www.dvdoverseas.com/store/index.html?loadfile=catalog6_0.html

Originally Posted by loster

Blu-ray Region Code Remover 2.5
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=135620&highlight=region+remover

That hack is for Blu-Ray rips, not for Blu-Ray players but useful all the same.

That still leaves the problem of 50Hz (25fps) playback on a 24fps/60Hz setup.

Originally Posted by rhegedus

No - region B Blu-Rays are 24fps just like region A.

Did you read the first few posts in this thread, in particular the link in post number four?

Originally Posted by rhegedus

Many Blu-Ray disks are region free - they can't be both 50 and 60Hz.

Many DVD titles are region free, they are still either 50 or 60Hz.

rhegedus,

If you look at the link I posted above there are some Region B 1080i disks encoded at 50Hz. Even if you remove the region encoding allowing it to play in any region, it won't play in a Region A setup. In Region A the DVD players, Blu-ray players, Receivers and Displays (except for some projectors and a few commercial models) only accept 24Hz and 60Hz discs. So a 1080i50 disk won't play on a Region A setup. These disks are quite rare and most titles are available on Region A anyways. Just make sure you research the disk that you are trying to buy before-hand and that it is not 1080i50. This may be a confusing point so let me try to explain it another way. It is like trying to play a region free PAL DVD on a US setup. These are quite rare but I happen to have "Haute Tension" encoded in this way (a Thai version). Even though it is region free my PS3 says that it won't play a PAL disc. This is because it is encoded at either 25Hz or 50Hz rather than 24Hz or 60Hz which all Region A Blu ray or Region 1 DVD players are setup for.

The LG burner with the region free software idea is a good idea. The burner is about $120 and the software is about $80. The only problem is that bdr's are expensive. I found a link where 25gig bdr's are $6/disc and 50gig bdr's are $21/disc from TDK. The region B Panasonic is around $270, if I can get it to work. It is only about $70 more expensive than the burner and software route. Also, going with the Panasonic I don't have to buy any blank discs (those dual layer disc's are expensive) every time I get a movie.

- Nick

loster,

So the 100 Watts Step Up-Down Voltage Converter with Two Outlets or 200 Watts Step Up-Down Voltage Converter should work? It doesn't mention anything about 50Hz and 60Hz AC conversion. But, they sell Multi-region TV's, VCR's, DVD players, etc. So this probably will work since it says "use with 110 Volt North American appliances with foreign 220 volts electricity or 220 volt appliances with 110 volt electricity", which is exactly what I am trying to do. I'll just send them an e-mail to make sure it will work with what I am trying to do. If this does work it is just an easy $20 fix, which would be great!

- Nick

Originally Posted by NicholasB

These disks are quite rare.

But about to become more common as PAL countries gradually adopt HDTV recording at 25fps.

Originally Posted by NicholasB

So the 100 Watts Step Up-Down Voltage Converter with Two Outlets or 200 Watts Step Up-Down Voltage Converter should work? It doesn't mention anything about 50Hz and 60Hz AC conversion. But, they sell Multi-region TV's, VCR's, DVD players, etc. So this probably will work since it says "use with 110 Volt North American appliances with foreign 220 volts electricity or 220 volt appliances with 110 volt electricity", which is exactly what I am trying to do. I'll just send them an e-mail to make sure it will work with what I am trying to do. If this does work it is just an easy $20 fix, which would be great!

Some power supply units will work happily with 50 or 60Hz. Others will break down and overheat. I've used an imported applicance with (in my case) a step down transformer and made a point of disconnecting it at night before going to bed. It is not something I would like to do every night.

rhegedus wrote:

True, but personally I'd resent having to buy another BD player for the sake of a few films. At least with the burner and software allows you to have some fun with the files.

Yes, but I would prefer the ease of use of simply buying the movie and playing it. Also, when making dvd backup's of some dvd's in the past I've run into problems. I did this on Kill Bill and it was nearly unwatchable for the last half hour of the movie. The original disc had not a scratch on it either. I'd hate to run into a software glitch on a blu-ray burn, especially if it is a uber-expensive dual layer blu-ray.

I might be missing something, but if your TV can't handle 50Hz then surely the R2/PAL Pansonic will be a waste?

I already have a Jaton player that can play any dvd from any region and will convert PAL to NTSC. The reason for the Blu-ray player is to play Blu-ray region B titles. As long as the Blu-ray is 1080p at 24Hz my tv should have no problem playing the movie on my TV. If the Blu-ray is 1080i at 50Hz then I may run into problems with my TV not displaying the movie. But at this point there are only about 10 to 15 movies encoded in such a way out of all the Region B Blu-ray's.

- Nick

I ran into some interesting news about my TV. I have the Pioneer pdp 5080 hd which is a 50" 1st generation Kuro (they are now in the 2nd generation of Kuro's). Pioneer 6010fd is also a 1st generation Kuro just in a 60" (I don't know why the letters are different, but it is a US model and isn't a commercial model).

Who cares? In the link below, there is a guy from Isreal who imported the Pioneer 6010fd that is sold here in the US and it will display a PAL 50Hz signal. So, by sheer luck I may have a TV that displays a PAL signal. I tried to confirm this by setting my Jaton 7611 dvd player to PAL and play a PAL disc to see what would happen and the front display on the Jaton still reads NTSC. So, I don't know if the Jaton isn't functioning properly or what.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=902531&highlight=israel

- Nick

Here is what I e-mailed the guys at www.110220volts.com last week:

"Do you sell a converter so that I can use a European 230V 50Hz DVD player
in the US on either 110V or 220V at 60Hz? You have several converters, but
I couldn't find one to convert 50Hz to 60Hz."

Here is the response:

"Dear Customer,

We have several converters that will work for you. Nothing will convert the
HZ but it will have no affect on your DVD player. It only affects things
with a motor such as a washer and dryer



Best Regards,
Customer Service


Overseas Best Buy, INC.
110220volts.com
172 N Brandon Drive
Glendale Heights, IL 60139
Tel: 630-893-5036
Fax: 630-351-9086"

I think that the converter that they are talking about is just a Voltage step-down converter. So it seems that the 50Hz AC to 60Hz AC may not be an issue with the Panasonic Blu-ray working here on the US power grid. I contacted Panasonic UK directly to see if they say the same thing, but I haven't heard back yet.

- Nick

Originally Posted by rhegedus

Check out http://bluray.liesinc.net/index.php?region=b for more info.

Thanks for the weblink. It's much appreciated as my main interest is playing Region-A titles in a Region-B country.

A couple of different programs to remove region encoding of the blu-ray were listed above. Is there some that are better than others? What would be the top two or three? Also, are there any programs to convert the frame rate from say 50hz to 60Hz doing a speed up or something? (This way I could play any blu ray on a Region A player) I'm still trying to think of what the best possible option is.

- Nick

turk690 - I own a Samsung HDTV and I live in the USA. Based on my own testing and things I've read, I am unaware of any Samsung HDTV models that are sold in the USA and capable of displaying PAL type frame rates. I have an LCD HDTV by the way. We get posts all the time from people who don't own Samsung who say the same thing you do - surely your HDTV can display PAL correctly, etc. It's not always true. If it's not true for Samsung, there may be other manufacturers for whom it's also not true. My TV will attempt to display a 25 fps PAL signal, but it cannot do so correctly. The manual that comes with it makes no claim to support PAL frame rates.

This thread is starting to deviate a lot from what the original poster intended. I will answer your questions turk690 this time, but I make no promises to continue to discuss something that's not really related to the original post.

I have an old Philips DVP-642 that has a video output setting for PAL. It is all I can test with because my other DVD players either can't display PAL video at all or are actually older and inferior to the DVP-642. I have various commercial DVDs, mostly from Europe, that are in PAL. My DVP-642 does not support HDMI, so I tried a component connection to my TV. Component video from the player works correctly for NTSC. If I set the DVD player to PAL output and play a PAL DVD, it does display in color, but the image is shifted to the bottom of the screen and a good amount of the image, perhaps 40%, is completely lost.

Samsung HDTVs sold in North America are infamous for not supporting PAL resolutions. I've never seen any reports of one that would correctly display it, but I have seen a lot of "it doesn't work" reports. However, you can always connect the monitor to a PC and use that for PAL playback if you wish.