Region free blu ray

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814 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1199512 17-Dec-2014 20:44

I've got a Laser BD-1080. It's region free for blu ray (switchable in the setup with a code), multizone for DVD, has 5.1 analogue audio outputs as well as composite and component video out. And HDMI, of course. Not 3D though (meh).

All the newer versions (the BD-1000, BD-10803D anf BD-2000) have all eliminated the 5.1 analogue (RCA) audio outputs, if that's of interest to you. The Good Guys currently have the BD-1000 for $88.50 as a clearance item - better grab it quick, as the BD-2000 replacement model doesn't have composite and component video outputs like the BD-1000 (ref: http://www.thegoodguys.com.au/laser-blu-ray-player-blu-bd1000)

There are other cheap and cheerful no-name players (e.g. Veon brand) which must be all rebadged from the same factory in China and are BD region switchable. Of course being cheap and cheerful they also come with issues - my player doesn't want to play the second layer on the Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug EE. Oh well.

If you want an all singing, all dancing, region-free tank of a player, which also has the ability to play DVD-Audio and SACDs and fancy 4k upscaling and web apps, then there's Oppo's line of players. Their new players don't do SD video out (no composite or component), so you'd be needing a converter box as mentioned by posters above.

MadAsKiwi

24 posts

Geek

#1199533 17-Dec-2014 21:37

Thanks for the info sultanoswing. I will look into this further.

Cheers

Rob

Dunnersfella

4086 posts

Uber Geek

#1199550 17-Dec-2014 22:26

sultanoswing: The Good Guys currently have the BD-1000 for $88.50 as a clearance item - better grab it quick, as the BD-2000 replacement model doesn't have composite and component video outputs like the BD-1000 (ref: http://www.thegoodguys.com.au/laser-blu-ray-player-blu-bd1000)

The Good Guys are Aussie only now...
There's no way to ship to NZ that I could find.

Lias

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#1199559 17-Dec-2014 22:44

Something like youshop for Australia.. this looks likely? http://www.mbe.com.au/web/page/mail_forwarding_and_redirection

I'm a geek, a gamer, a dad, a Quic user, and an IT Professional. I have a full rack home lab, size 15 feet, an epic beard and Asperger's. I'm a bit of a Cypherpunk, who believes information wants to be free and the Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it. If you use my Quic signup you can also use the code R570394EKGIZ8 for free setup.

sultanoswing

814 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1199560 17-Dec-2014 22:45

Ooops. Didn't see that they were Aussie only now.

PB tech has the 10803D for $144 (remember, no component or composite RCA video or 5.1 audio outputs).

The Veon 3083BD-A is available for $88 from the Warehouse (ref: http://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/red/catalog/product/Veon-Blu-ray-DVD-Player-VN3083BD-A?SKU=1920675). According to this GZ thread from a couple of years ago it *should* do region-free using setup code: http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?topicid=103116, but YMMV.

And don't forget Trademe for "Veon" and "SoniqB100" and other such players. Right now there's a VN2916BR which has all the older connections you want and is blu ray region switchable.

There's a bit more NZ-specific info on the Veon players and region-free here: http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=190652

MadAsKiwi

24 posts

Geek

#1199664 18-Dec-2014 08:45

Hi All

Thanks for the info. I will look into these options also.

Cheers

Rob

Glassboy

850 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#1199671 18-Dec-2014 09:08

Some of the name brand blu-rays can be made multi-zone or region zero via codes sent from a programmable remote.

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Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

sultanoswing

814 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1199732 18-Dec-2014 10:11

Am keen to know more - sources? Examples?

old3eyes

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#1199790 18-Dec-2014 10:47

Don't worry. After the TPPA is signed it will be illegal to own a region free anything. The MPAA black shirts will knock down your door at the hint of a rumor..

Regards,

Old3eyes

jfanning

438 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1199798 18-Dec-2014 11:07

The Warehouse Veon branded Blu-ray players used to be region free, there was an option in the firmware to set the region you wanted

Glassboy

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#1200193 18-Dec-2014 21:35

sultanoswing: Am keen to know more - sources? Examples?

I have a Sony that I made the DVD region free via maintenance codes sent via a smart remote. Google is your friend.

sultanoswing

814 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1200230 18-Dec-2014 22:09

Glassboy:
sultanoswing: Am keen to know more - sources? Examples?

I have a Sony that I made the DVD region free via maintenance codes sent via a smart remote. Google is your friend.

You're not confusing *DVD* multizone (zones 1-7) with *blu ray* region-free (region A, B and C) are you? It's a common mistake, caused by sloppy referencing to DVD region-free, when in fact DVD divides the world into zones. DVD zone-free or multizone is common to the point of universality, and quite readily accomplished on almost all players using one trick or another if they aren't already multizone for DVD (most if not all players sold in the last 10 years in NZ are).

Blu ray region free players and hacks are far more difficult to come by, particularly for name-brand players such as Sony (who invented the Blu ray spec, including the region encoding).

This from AVS forums:

"Blu-Ray models such as the BDP-S350, BDP-S550 and BDP-S5000ES require extensive hardware modifications if you want to make them Blu-Ray A & B switchable, but can be modified for DVD Multiregion via the usual Sony DVD player hack."

Hardware modded players from Sony, LG et al. are available from 220-electronics and other providers, but the shipping is eye-wateringly expensive.

Glassboy

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Ultimate Geek

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#1200437 19-Dec-2014 10:56

Na, I'm just using language confusingly. I know what I meant. :-)

I bought a Sony Blu-ray player and was surprised to find DVD playback was locked to zone 4. So I used a remote hack to make it zone 0. In researching the methodology I came across all sorts of material on removing restrictions from various players (remote codes, maintenance cd iso, et al).

Rather than busting a gut trying to find unrestricted players, it's probably work looking at what name brand players are on special and what techniques are available to remove the restrictions from them.

sultanoswing

814 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1200447 19-Dec-2014 11:01

Glassboy: Na, I'm just using language confusingly. I know what I meant. :-)

I bought a Sony Blu-ray player and was surprised to find DVD playback was locked to zone 4. So I used a remote hack to make it zone 0. In researching the methodology I came across all sorts of material on removing restrictions from various players (remote codes, maintenance cd iso, et al).

Rather than busting a gut trying to find unrestricted players, it's probably work looking at what name brand players are on special and what techniques are available to remove the restrictions from them.

Thanks for clarifying. Despite your apparent reticence to reveal more, to reduce fruitless searching, is the player you region-free modded a current NZ Sony model? Things change rapidly in this game

LesF

176 posts

Master Geek

#1201202 20-Dec-2014 19:05

Glassboy:
I have a Sony that I made the DVD region free via maintenance codes sent via a smart remote. Google is your friend.

I followed some googled instructions on multi-zoning a samsung dvd player, it must have thrown the heads out of alignment cos it stopped recognizing any dvd or cd shortly after that. I re-googled to see if I had done it wrong and THEN found a warning that the process may mess up calibration or something, so I'm losing confidence in this process.

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