Ask Engadget HD: Best region free Blu-ray player solution?
by Richard Lawler 
posted Jun 24th 2009 at 12:00PM
"I have a potentially more unusual question for you regarding choice of mainstream Blu-ray players. I'm interested in options for including codefree functionality
A brief bit of background. I am an englishman living in Germany; there are a couple of video rental shops here specialising in US/UK films and TV series. Many of their discs are purchased directly in the UK and the US, hence a number of their DVDs are region code 1 and I dare say that as their numbers of BDs gradually increase the same will be true here. As my DVD player is codefree this hasn't been an issue so far.
I am now looking into upgrading to a Blu-ray player, but being able to play DVDs (with decent upscaling) from all regions is an absolute must. And being codefree on the Blu-ray front would be a very nice bonus too though not essential. I have found a number of offers for 'chipped' Blu-ray players, but it would be great if you could let me know about the possibilities for the "chipping" process and the quality and reliability of the results.
Anyone else dealing with similar problems and has experience to lend? We've covered a few different multiregion sources in the past, but if you've picked one of these players up, or unlocked your own, let us know in the comments how it worked out
Got a burning question that you'd love to toss out for Engadget HD (or its readers) to take a look at? Tired of Google's blank stares when you ask for real-world experiences? Hit us up at ask at engadgethd dawt com and keep an eye on this space -- your inquiry could be next.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Richard @ Jun 24th 2009 12:25PM
Need more region free player, i think now only has 2 out of box region free player, there's many mod region free player out there, but cost arm and leg. I remember region free dvd player was so cheap that is cost less than most brand name dvd player, so far isn't the case, it cost like double more for the same feature just because it has region free. But region free isn't without problem free and is not future proof when movie studio might want to create code to make new movie won't make in those player.
PanzerOceania @ Jun 24th 2009 12:55PM
Not necessarily Richard if the modded blu-ray player is still capable of preforming updates online, that is the beauty of firmware these days, and blu-ray players with internet access and a hard drive.
GrammarConstableTim @ Jun 24th 2009 2:31PM
The region codes for both Blu-ray and DVD can be switched on the LG BH200.
Apparently, though I haven't tested it, the Oppo BPD-83 can switch Blu-ray regions as well.
Thomas @ Jun 24th 2009 7:23PM
The Oppo BDP-83 need a hacked firmware in order to change region.
Jason @ Jun 24th 2009 3:01PM
I recommend boxee (now with HW accelerated H.264 support), and a copy of SlySoft AnyDVD HD.
Jason @ Jun 25th 2009 3:24AM
Only on Linux and only with Nvidia hardware.
Jason @ Jun 25th 2009 3:25AM
Only on Linux and only on Nvidia GPUs.
kcmurphy88 @ Jun 24th 2009 3:12PM
The problem with region free mods is that there is no guarantee they will continue to work, and that updates will not return them to locked-up status.
GrammarConstableTim @ Jun 24th 2009 3:30PM
The hacks for the BH200 are software based and have not been affected by firmware updates (yet). There have been firmware updates and the hack still works. All you need to do is enter some codes via the BH200 remote. For more information, see this AVS post:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1009104
Bluemanrule @ Jun 24th 2009 4:16PM
Out of all the responses, I'm surprised to see that the Playstation 3 is absent from the conversation. Apparently, you guys know something I don't. I know the PS3 is not region coded and can play any BR disc from any region. It has online access and constant firmware updates. Finally, it plays games. For $399, that's not a bad proposition.
RogueAgent @ Jun 24th 2009 4:47PM
As far as I am aware, the PS3 is region free when it comes to games, but NOT blu-ray and DVD.
rom1 @ Jun 24th 2009 4:47PM
No.I own a region A and a region B PS3. I can assure you that out of the box the PS3 are definitevely regionlocked. I would be glad to hear there was a workaround, but i don´t know of any.
Bauska @ Jun 24th 2009 5:11PM
I specially bought a Region 5 DVD disk in Eastern Europe to try in my US PS3. No go! PS3 is region-locked at least for DVDs! I would assume the same is with BD.
thzwcoke @ Jun 25th 2009 4:03AM
Hi. I live in Holland and own a PS 3. It's region locked when you want import games. It's region locked when you want watch DVD's from other region's than region 2. But it plays ALL blu ray's from the USA.
I think the Bluray's are region free untill now. From your imported dvd's you just make a copy on the CPU and than you can play them on your PS 3. Just use the program Anydvd. Works great.
Good luck.
Gekke Henkie @ Jun 24th 2009 5:50PM
Many, many posibilities:
Some (software) region-free mods need updates when the firmware is updated. Some don't need updates (so far), like the LG200, the Oppo83, the HDI Dune Center, the HDI Dune BD Prime, etc. These are your cheapest option.
Hardware mods (or complete modded players) do not need to be updated when new firmware is loaded, but these are a little more expensive. Many mods/modded-players can be bought from BluRayMods.com (or one of their worldwide distributors), JVBDigital.com, and some others.
In any case, but even more expensive, a HTPC/laptop with BD-player or BD-burner in combination with Slysoft AnyDVD-HD will always do the trick (subscription based nowadays).
By the way, some mods are yet largely unknown (harware/software?), like the Momitsu modded by HKflix. Some players are/were region-free OTB (Out of The Box), like the Australian Kogan (sold out). Personally, I'd stay away untill all the info is out there.
All depends on the price you want to pay versus how easy you want your player to be (and other factors that might be relevant for you).
squiggleslash @ Jun 24th 2009 8:30PM
I'm not really sure I understand what the problem is. Do you have severely limited space in your home or something else that would prevent you from owning both a region-free DVD player, and a Blu-ray player?
I never went Blu-ray (I dipped my toe in the HD DVD waters, but didn't bother with BD for reasons I've already gone into elsewhere) but have a similar set up, a region free DVD player, and an HD DVD player, sitting on top of one another. Between them, they do the job. The major advantages of this set up are:
1. Doesn't require any convoluted hardware hacking.
2. No fear a firmware update will turn off the region free functionality.
Disadvantage? Well, there's one more remote.
ment @ Jul 4th 2009 9:48AM
I would have to agree with squiggleslash ...
just maintain an upconverting DVD region free player (Pioneer DV610K, Toshiba XDE500) and add a Bluray player to the mix of component..... And enjoy it immediately :P
no more hassle haha
Robert @ Jun 25th 2009 6:31AM
The Oppo BDP-83 is being sold in New Zealand with a hardware modification for multi zone and region free. Firmware upgrades wont affect the zoning. This player should be the best BD player out at this point in time Im sure. At least SD should look amazing with the ABT chip.
http://www.rapalloav.co.nz/products.php?viewproduct=566&cat=3&sub=&detailid=1330
unix_junkie @ Jun 27th 2009 12:11PM
Till now and this is to my humble knowledge only. All BD players must be modded to be region free which means there is always a chip added or unsupported(legally) firmware that must be placed to view multi-region BD and normal DVD players.
- They are all manual when it comes to switching regions for blu-ray. ( rumors of automatic switching are there but once the model reaches my door step its still manual till now. ) turn it off - select region number on remote - turn on.
- Automatic for DVD but there are new discs coming out which do not support setting region 0(auto mode for those using remote mod) but will work if you set it to any of the other 7 regions.
So basically just compare decks without taking in mind the multi-region factor which till now for Blu-ray has to be a mod-chip and for dvd can be remote hack - firmware depending on your model.
Again my info is not bleeding edge but a month ago I ended up modding a BD-30 because there was no other option available. For standard DVD's a remote hack is common if you search through google and it also worked perfectly. Mod cost price ( 250US ) with a special discount.
Big_Chef @ Nov 5th 2009 12:24PM
The mods for Panasonic players are simple PIC 12f629 Chips.
So is there a way to get the source code and juste simply program the Chips?
Zombiepolizist @ Aug 13th 2009 7:26PM
Yeah, I would be interested in that source code too!