My dad wants me to research some region free DVD players for him.

First off, what is a "region free" dvd player? I use my children's playstation to watch movies...

recommendations, deals, all that?

Thanks guys

Region free DVD player is the one that will play discs from other regions than US (i.e. Europe, China, etc).

You have two choices:

1. Get a true region free DVD player. It will cost you more but the box will have "region free" label.

2. Get a DVD player that you can hack to be region free (use site: www.videohelp.com).

Recommendation:

I have Yamaha DVD player DV-S5750 which you can hack by entering code using remote. I am very happy with this player.

Not recommended:

Prior to Yamaha I had LG DVD player (sorry, do not remember model) which was region free out of the box but did not play all the DVDs. It would stop on some DVDs (even purchased ones).

My 2 cents.
maurycy

For a point of reference, a perfectionist friend says this is the best "reasonably priced" choice: the Oppo OPDV971H at $200. (His idea of reasonable is higher than mine.)

[www.oppodigital.com]

It is region-free, but I do not recall whether that's a normal choice, or a hack.

CyberHome.
Small
Great player
$24

BGnR

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"Near the day of Purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky."
"A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky, which could burn the land and boil the oceans."

I have a Toshiba I got a great price and am very happy with it. Now I can play my Colin Firth Region 2 movies! plus some others.

Philips DVP642 [www.amazon.com]

This player will play just about anything that you put in it. To make region free:

1. Turn on the player.
2. Open the tray.
3. Press the following sequence on the remote: 7 8 9 OK 0
4. The number 0 will appear on the lower left side of your screen.
5. Your player is now region free! Put in a DVD and enjoy!

In addition, mine came macrovision free out of the box but they may have fixed that by now.


BT

I believe the Philips DVP642 is also Divx compatible.

Here's the hottest DVD Player out there right now, it has the highest score at hometheaterhifi.com:

[www.oppodigital.com]

Bandwidth Warning on this one!

[www.hometheaterhifi.com]

Beats out $3500 DVD Players according to the chart.

Here's the Hack:

[www.videohelp.com]

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Grateful11

I just got this one, $39 shipped:
[www.avayon.com]

plays DivX, XviD, MPEG4, etc.

I bought about 8 of the Apex 1500's which can be hacked to region and macrovision free. I use 4 of them in the house, and have given away 4 of them. Decent player...

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All I ever really needed to know, I learned from watching Star Trek.

Here is a link to Nerd-Out...people who hack DVD players:

[www.nerd-out.com]

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All I ever really needed to know, I learned from watching Star Trek.

Quote
Baby Tats
Philips DVP642 [www.amazon.com]
mine came macrovision free out of the box but they may have fixed that by now.


BT

don't upgrade the firmware (if your machine is macrovision free, the new firmware will disable the "macrovision free" component. . .)


this machine is the best choice. . .

while cyberhome and apex machine will do. . .they seem to be spotty in terms of "quality". . .this machine is more reliable than the "cheapies". . .for about the same price. ..

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/04/2006 12:42PM by NewtonMP2100.

Thanks guys,

Newton, which machine are you referring to? the phillips?

yes. . .you can find it on sale sometimes for about $40. . .

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

K, thanks. Should I disregard some of crap reviews peppered amongst the favorable ones on amazon? I never know which type of stock to put into any of those reviews.

well reviews for the cyberhome seems to mostly bad . ..though some people have never had problems with them. ..

I have one of the cyberhome and it does lock up. . .sometimes the dvd player won't open even if I shut off the power. I have to pry it open (then it reverts back to normal). . .so I don't really use it anymore. It also will stall on occasion and not load a dvd. some have had issues with cyberhome players overheating. . .not worth it in my book. . .


the apex also has mixed reviews. . .


better to spend a bit more for the philips that tends to have better reviews. . .

and don't take too much stock in the amazon reviews. . .some of the reviews are not "real". You can usually tell which are not. . .I use them only as a basic guide. .


also try this link:

[www.videohelp.com]

they also have reviews for dvd players and they list hacks. . .


good luck!

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Kraniac,

Yamakawa makes region-free models. Cheap and reliable. I've got two and they play everything. Definitely recommended. Had a cyberhome that suffered an internal meltdown - a definite burning smell from the inside. they replaced it under warranty but I was a bit unahppy regardless. I won't go near their products these days.

Ribert