Blu Rays with multi region support

[Retne]

Hi all,

So, on Saturday I finally bought my new TV - and opted for the Samsung D7000. One I managed to get it looking as good as the very old Grundig CRT I had as a stop-gap I looked at the Panasonic 310 I bought at the same time, slightly impulse.

And now I realised that it's not multi-region without an unsupported firmware update I'd need to buy from a cantankerous chap which will lock me out of future updates.

So, I'm wondering about going the Sony 780 route instead.

Does anyone know the multi-region capabilities of this player (err, and could you tell me please )? I have looked around, but can't be certain what information is accurate - I'll trust the folks that post here. Especially as WHF folks post here and I've trusted them with just about every HiFi purchase I've made in the last 10 years!

I have various regions of DVDs, and only two Blu Ray's so far, both region 2, so DVD multi-region is essential, BluRay would be nice. I also have two DVD-Audio discs, and it would be nice to play them, too.

Cheers all,

Retne/Rob

 

[Retne]

Typo - I'm sure you know what I meant, but "One I managed" should read "Once I managed"

 

[bigboss]

I made my Panasonic BD60 multiregion for DVDs by this remote. Despite 3 or 4 updates so far, it has not lost its multiregion capability.

 

[bigboss]

The story is going to be the same with Sony S780 as well. All hacks to make the player multiregion is unsupported by the manufacturer and so it may be lost after a firmware update.

If you want a solution which guarantees preservation of multiregion capabilities despite firmware updates, buy an Oppo & install this. It will make the player multizone for blu-ray discs as well.

You can even buy the player with the same modification kit installed by the dealer for extra £100, although the basic player is offered multiregion for DVDs out of the box. Contact the dealer if the multiregion capability is lost; they would usually make it multiregion again for free for you.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Or a Cambridge player, as detailed here...

 

[chebby]

Richer sounds are selling the Multi-Region (MR) version of the BDP-S185 for £99.95...

http://www.richersounds.com/product/blu-ray/sony/bdps185-mr/sony-bdps185-mr

 

[Andrew Everard]

Richer sounds are selling the Multi-Region (MR) version of the BDP-S185 for £99.95...

Although again this is only multiregion for DVD, not BD.

 

[Retne]

Thank you all for your replies.

@Andrew - I did look at your blog post and I'm tempted by the CA. I notice RS now has the 651, so I figure I should wait to see a review for that - it is quite a bit more than I'd originally intended to spend. I'm also worried about invalidating the warranty immediately - I have no worries about doing that after the warranty has ended, though.

Thanks Big Boss, I will at remote option and see if that works for me. I'm also finding my Panasonic 310 a bit loud (in the mechanism), which was why I wondered about the Sony.

 

[bigboss]

If you don't have a region A blu ray collection, I don't see any point in looking for players which are multizone for blu rays. Just buy zone B discs. Most discs are multizone in any case. That same seller sells a remote for making Sony players multiregion as well. Better still, buy it from dealers like Richer Sounds who sell multiregion players.

 

[strapped for cash]

Most discs are multizone in any case.

It depends which titles you're after. There are many Region A-only Blu-ray discs I'd love to own. We're also occasionally short-changed in Region B when it comes to extras, or robbed of lossless soundtracks. Granted, examples of the latter are extremely rare, but there are two Blu-rays I own that only offer DD5.1, while those in Region A are treated to the lossless soundtrack.

 

[Anonymous]

I was under the impression that a blu ray player that is multi region for dvd will lose its multi region capability on doing a firmware update. In fact when I bought my Blu ray player last year from Richers they did not have any multi region in stock and said that they would not be getting any more in as firm ware updates wiped the multi region playback. They now have them in again so i am confused. I have kept my old multi region dvd player but would prefer just the one player that does everything.

Could someone enlighten me as to what the situation is regarding multi region playback of dvds on blue ray players and whether there has been some kind of upgrade that now stops the multi region being lost when doing a firmware update?

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Richer Sounds have a Toshiba BDX1200 for £49.95, which is easily multi regioned for both DVD and Blu Ray.

I'd like to leave a link or 2, but not sure if I can, but I'm sure if you googled it you'll find it relatively easily.

 

[Retne]

Hmm, that may be the solution I go for BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW - two players. I like the price of that one.

I am going to Richer Sounds again soon to compare a few things* and will now look at the CA 651. I'm not done any auditioning before, so could be interesting.

* before I saw the WHF review I'd mentioned the backlight to them, so am going to take my TV and compare two examples and leave with the better one (or if they're both rubbish consider the Panasonic, but my wife and I find some Samsung features quite useful. If I can just get the ARC working (which I'll also look at in RicherSounds - I got my (Onkyo 609) amp from them too))

 

[bigboss]

Why do you want to go for 2 players? Bear in mind that the Toshiba will not be multiregion for blu-rays out of the box, nor am I aware how it can be made multiregion for blu-rays. If you want a blu-ray player that's multiregion for both blu-rays & DVDs, go for one of these players:

1) Oppo 93 / 95

2) Cambridge Audio 651 / 751

3) Pioneer 440

& install a chip from here.

Alternatively, you can buy a player already multiregioned from here.

 

[Anonymous]

FWIW I have the older Sony BDP S550 bluray player. I made it multi-region for DVD, with a simple remote control hack (universal remote just fires some commands at it and hey presto, it plays all DVD's). Been through several firmware updates since, no problems, multi region DVD support has remained.

 

[Retne]

Thanks both for the replies.

I have just a few moments ago got around to walking into a newsagent and noticed the CA 651's review, which has made me pause (owning a 4-star TV isn't too much fun - the issues I noticed are just what WHF tried to warn me about).

I may look in to the Sony route again. I think I will go audition a 380, at least (in a Sony shop ), the forum trawl.

 

[lee37]

ive had in the past a sony 350,360,370 and now a 380 all of which i made multiregion for DVD from a remote which i got of ebay for £10.

i always installed all the new updates and it never disabled the multiregion hack.

just get the unlimited one it worked on my 370 and 380

as for multiregion on bluray whats the point most blu ray films are not released with region a,b and C.

some studios are more fussy in which case just buy the region b version.

when blu ray first came out i used to buy the region a films that were region b compatable but now looking at the price of region a films your just being ripped off for a month ahead of the uk release date.

in the past it was 3-6 months but now its either a month or a universal release date

 

[strapped for cash]

Again, I'd stress that this is true for the majority of titles, but there are still valid reasons for wanting to own a region free Blu-ray player, depending on taste and how fussy you are about quality (and I'd suggest that quality is the primary reason the great majority of people upgrade from DVD to Blu-ray players).

There are certain films I own where the Criterion release offers a significant upgrade over the region B release in terms of audio and picture quality (and several Criterion releases with no region B equivalent release full stop). Criterion is just one example, but there are others, particularly if you're a fan of foreign cinema.

If the OP is stating they want a multi region Blu-ray player, I'm sure they have their reasons, which may be the same as I mention above. I really don't undertand why people are trying to persuade them otherwise.

 

[lee37]

he said blu ray would be nice not essential as he only has 2 blu ray region b, but has different regions of dvd, which is why i posted facts about release dates and the dvd hack etc.

yes it would be nice to get true hd or dts ma soundtracks on all discs and some are crap eg. war of the worlds but the main point is the release dates arnt what they used to be and may not be worth the expense of getting it chipped for the sake of waiting a month or for a few films you cant get over here.

its just a shame hd dvd lost i had loads of region 1 films on that format

http://www.mrmdvd.com/ has a good selection of multiregion blu ray, there not cheap though but i have used them in the past and are quite reliable

 

[bigboss]

http://www.mrmdvd.com/ has a good selection of multiregion blu ray, there not cheap though but i have used them in the past and are quite reliable

Yes, I've already mentioned this in my previous post:

Alternatively, you can buy a player already multiregioned from here.

 

[Anonymous]

Retne

Multiregion BD/DVD players are available 'off-the-shelf' from Amazon, they seem to be about +£100.

 

[cinemafan]

Yeah, that link goes to a company who sell hardware modified machines at exta cost.

I find it quite ridiculous you can't buy a BD player with multi region capabilities from the major manufacturers. I have a Sony S370 which I could software hack with a remote to play multi region DVDs but not BDs, why is that?

Some of us want to play Region A and C BD discs on our machines, why is is so damn awkward to achieve this?

 

[bigboss]

Yeah, that link goes to a company who sell hardware modified machines at exta cost.

I find it quite ridiculous you can't buy a BD player with multi region capabilities from the major manufacturers. I have a Sony S370 which I could software hack with a remote to play multi region DVDs but not BDs, why is that?

Some of us want to play Region A and C BD discs on our machines, why is is so damn awkward to achieve this?

It's the decision of the Blu ray Disc Association to combat piracy. Remember that Sony is a strong supporter of region locking (have you ever heard of a PS3 unlocked to play multiregion DVDs?), & the blu-ray disc format has been developed by Sony.

I think this was one of the main reasons (that it's so hard to unlock a blu-ray player) that the blu-ray format appealed more to the studios over HD DVDs.

DVD region can be unlocked by means of a software code, but generally, unlocking a player to play multizone blu rays requires a hardware mod (of course, there are rare exceptions which require only a remote code, none of which are available to buy currently).

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Richer Sounds have a Toshiba BDX1200 for £49.95, which is easily multi regioned for both DVD and Blu Ray.

I'd like to leave a link or 2, but not sure if I can, but I'm sure if you googled it you'll find it relatively easily.

Google Toshiba BDX1200 Multi Region [/b]and you will find out how to multi region for both DVD and Blu Ray playback, and it seems very simple to do.

OR Someone is selling a firmware CD for multi regioning on Ebay for just over £4