DVD player that plays DVDs from any region?

turpentyine

Where can I get one please? thnx

vonPoonBurGer

You can't, at least not from a reputable retailer. The people who enforce the region locking take a very dim view of companies selling region-free DVD players. As in, "here's a huge lawsuit" kind of dim view. If you see someone selling a region free DVD player, it's been modified in some way to be region free, and thus the manufacturer's warranty is void.

Cryogen

Jeez, thats pretty harsh.

In Australia, region free dvd players are the norm. All by reputable manufacturers, in reputable stores. My Pioneer dvd player is region free and i bought it from a large department store chain.

Anyway, do some googling on unlocking regions as well. Players that arent natively region free can often be freely switched between regions just by using the remote, which has no impact on your warranty. The process varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. However, i do not know if US-delivered dvd players have locked out this feature. It isnt ever mentioned in the manual, by the way, you have to research yourself.

Teelie

It's not illegal to have or create region-free players and plenty of reputable sources and manufacturers make them. Despite what the MPAA wants people to think, they aren't illegal and they aren't always warranty-voided mods either.

halkun

Actually, it *is* illegal to sell a region-free DVD player in the United States.

The DMCA has a clause that covers "circumventing a scheme used to restrict access to copyrighted material" that may be used to prosecute people who ignore, circumvent, or crack a regional lockout scheme. In the U.S. Parallel importing is also illegal. (Parallel import == buying a product overseas, when the same product is available in the U.S.)

You are boned ether way.

Teelie

I just Amazoned region free DVD players and found a few so they aren't trying very hard to hide these supposedly illegal players. Besides, I have yet to see the DMCA or any law used to actually prosecute anyone who sells or manufactures them, even in the U.S.

Ramius

I bought this one from a reputable dealer a couple years ago and it is awesome. It plays both PAL and NTSC in multiple regions. But looking at the B&H site now, I don't see any so maybe it is being cracked down on more now. My impression was that retailers would sell them in the U.S. with the disclaimer that "This unit is not intended for use in the USA". The primary market they targetted was military personnel who were going to be stationed overseas and wanted a player that could play both the movies they might pick up abroad, and the ones they brought from home. I think that you can certainly find one if you look around enough, but I'm sorry I don't have a link to one available.

Ramius

oh hey, look at this:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/517359-REG/Pioneer_DV_300_DV_300_Multi_System_DVD_Player.html

This looks very similar to the DV-383 that I have. I wonder what the differences are. If it is the same or nearly the same, I can strongly recommend it.

DarkPrimus

Teelie wrote: »

It's not illegal to have or create region-free players and plenty of reputable sources and manufacturers make them. Despite what the MPAA wants people to think, they aren't illegal and they aren't always warranty-voided mods either.

Indeed, a lot of models sold in the US are region-free, you just have to unlock that "feature" using a code.

EggyToast

It's illegal, last time I checked, to sell one that's region free right out of the box. However, it's not illegal for a manufacturer to include an "unlock code" that is simple to input and allows users to then play any region DVD. There was a court case and "unlock codes" are not illegal.

So that's all you need to look for -- a DVD player that's easy to unlock. Look for a few models that you like, and then search for the model number and "region unlock" in a google search. You should find out pretty quickly if that one can be unlocked.

blincoln

I bought a Yamaha DVD player from Scarecrow Video in Seattle last year that plays discs from any region, converts PAL to NTSC, etc. It does not require a code to be input, and Yamaha will honor the warranty. So I'm pretty sure it's not impossible to obtain one legally.

Gabriel_Pitt

It's also possible to download firmware updates that when burned to a disc and run in a player will disable region encoding on a DVD player. I did this about 5 years ago with an Apex player (cheap, decent player, with easily updatable firmware, and at the time there were quite a few reputable sites to get the firmware from) when I moved . However, that was five years ago, and I'm finding myself unable to immediately recommend either models or sites that can help. Google would probably be of immediate help in this matter.

vonPoonBurGer

Gabriel_Pitt wrote: »

I did this about 5 years ago with an Apex player

My stepdad has an Apex player he did something similar with, only all you had to do for that one was press certain buttons on the remote in the right sequence. It took you to an internal configuration menu that had "YOU SHOULD NOT BE HERE" at the top of the menu. I don't know if he ever used it to play non-Region 1 discs, but it was worth the time and effort just to see that menu.

Edit: Actually, it was the "Loopholes" menu, and the stern warning was at the bottom:

ArcticMonkey

Also make sure your TV supports PAL if you are watching DVDs from non NTSC regions.
SECAM and PAL on that chart means basically the same for you.

If it's not too many discs you want to watch, watching them on a PC might be easier and cheaper.

turpentyine

thnx guys

blincoln

ArcticMonkey wrote: »

Also make sure your TV supports PAL if you are watching DVDs from non NTSC regions

...or you can get a player that does the conversion, which is what I did. AFAIK it's a lot harder to find a TV in the US that will display a PAL signal than a player that will output NTSC when playing PAL discs.

ArcticMonkey

blincoln wrote: »

ArcticMonkey wrote: »

Also make sure your TV supports PAL if you are watching DVDs from non NTSC regions

...or you can get a player that does the conversion, which is what I did. AFAIK it's a lot harder to find a TV in the US that will display a PAL signal than a player that will output NTSC when playing PAL discs.

I meant supports PAL as in supports a 576 line signal. A old CRT screen with only 480 lines will have problems displaying a signal with 576 lines.
Most american dvd players will output a NTSC 50 signal when a PAL disc is played. (NTSC 50 means 50hz with 576 lines instead of ~60hz with 480 lines)
The PAL and NTSC color encoding are not coded on the DVD and the only European player I have seen output a true NTSC signal is a Playstation 2 of all things.

blincoln

Hmm, well, that's the first I've heard of that. I use an old CRT, and the Yamaha deck I mentioned outputs plain old 60Hz NTSC when I play PAL-encoded DVDs on it.

turpentyine

now i gotta figure out which brand is good?
wonder if there is a reviews site for players like these