Multizone DVD on a Blu Ray player

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techleigh

60 posts

Master Geek

#84636 3-Jun-2011 20:49

I suspect this question gets asked every 6 months as new blu ray players emerge but I am now in the market for a Blu Ray player and need advice

I want a Blu Ray player that will play Zone B Blu ray discs and also zone 1, 2 and 4 DVD's as I have a few from differnet parts of the world.
I was told that this was not possible by a staff member at JB HiFi Botany tonight though he looed up and towards that region that indicated he was making it up rather than recalling information (maybe my imagination though)

Anyway I realise that you can import multi region Blu Ray players from USA but wondered if there are any models that play just multi region DVD here in NZ and are a reasonable price. The Sony DVD players used to be DVD multizone but not sure about their Blu Ray players.

Any advice appreciated.

RunningMan

8954 posts

Uber Geek

#477596 3-Jun-2011 21:00

Have a read of this recent thread.

Dunnersfella

4086 posts

Uber Geek

#477612 3-Jun-2011 21:47

Grab a Panasonic, take it to a service agent and get them to multizone it for free (within the 1st 11 months of purchasing the player).
Easy!

B1GGLZ

1961 posts

Uber Geek

#477625 3-Jun-2011 22:49

I think you will find that Sony players are already multizoned when you buy them. My old Sony DVD recorder was. Panasonic can be multizoned for free if you take it to a Panasonic Service agent with your purchase receipt. I've just had mine done.

xarqi

727 posts

Ultimate Geek

#477645 4-Jun-2011 01:31

I got a Philips BDP2700 from DSE for a friend recently - $179 with an HDMI cable thrown in.
There's an unlock code to make it region-free for DVD, and with a firmware update it'll play DIVx, etc from USB. Good value.

Dunnersfella

4086 posts

Uber Geek

#477846 4-Jun-2011 20:54

I'm not sure that Sony's come with multizone DVD playback any more... can anyone confirm this?

ilovemusic

1439 posts

Uber Geek

#477873 4-Jun-2011 22:29

I asked the same question few weeks ago in JB Hi-Fi.

The reply was; yes, they all play BD and DVD.

old3eyes

9119 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#477919 5-Jun-2011 08:48

ilovemusic: I asked the same question few weeks ago in JB Hi-Fi.

The reply was; yes, they all play BD and DVD.

I would treat the "Play all BD" with a large grain of salt. The only player I know that is region free Blu-ray is the expensive Oppo players..

Regards,

Old3eyes

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

lchiu7

6474 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#477929 5-Jun-2011 09:45

Well I have an Oppo BDP-80 and the only way to make that region free from a BD perspective was to install a hardware modification. Not that it requires anything major like soldering but inserting a small PCB into the player and disconnecting a cable going to the main board and inserting this circuit.

I bought the for about US$30 but haven't installed it yet :-(

[EDIT]

This post motivated me to install it. It took 10 minutes and now the Oppo is both DVD and BD region free which is useful.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

andrew027

1286 posts

Uber Geek

#479343 9-Jun-2011 14:18

I'm sure I've said this on another thread, but couldn't find it...

All Sony BD players sold in Sony Style stores in New Zealand are region free for DVD out of the box. They set 'em up that way when they bring 'em into the country. I was told that this also applies to Sony BD players sold by other retailers, but haven't confirmed this...

techleigh

60 posts

Master Geek

#479354 9-Jun-2011 14:32

Yes after contacting one of the Sony Style shops it has been confirmed that Sony Blu Ray players are multizone "for most DVD's" apparently (quote from man at Newmarket shop).

Sounds a good reason to buy one I reckon.