All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

[manicsounds]

My Japanese RWC is region free with DVDs, but Blurays arent. They have to be unlocked by the Momitsu remote code. This was confirmed by someone else who has the same machine as me, that needed the code to play his Region Bs.

[Sanjuro]

Is there any bluray player supports region free playback without entering codes ?

No, without modifying them. Either you get a chipped one or buy the Oppo and modify it yourself.

You still need to enter a code (well - hold down a button and press 1,2 or 3 when it beeps) to switch Blu-Ray regions with the hardware modded Oppo. I guess Blu-Ray doesn't have a handy "Region 0" like DVD.

[perkizitore]

Is there any bluray player supports region free playback without entering codes ?

No, without modifying them. Either you get a chipped one or buy the Oppo and modify it yourself.

You still need to enter a code (well - hold down a button and press 1,2 or 3 when it beeps) to switch Blu-Ray regions with the hardware modded Oppo. I guess Blu-Ray doesn't have a handy "Region 0" like DVD.

#-o I forgot that!

[karltmc]

So currently, I have 2 multiregion DVD players, 1 at home and 1 at work.

Anyway, about PAL to NTSC conversion, on 1 player, when I play a PAL disc, the image is jittery, and when there is the color of red, the red itself jitters all over. In addition to that, every once in a while, if I have subtitles on, the subtitles fuck up and I have to rewind it to read it.

On my other player, it smooths out the image fine. No jitters, but jagged lines are visible. if for example there is a diagonal line on the screen. Occasional jittered subtitles too.

I am seriously considering the Momitsu (or clone) for an upgrade in the future, but for owners of that machine, how does the PAL to NTSC look? Any problems or does it look as smooth as native NTSC?

It doesn't answer the question directly, but if you're concerned about PAL conversion issues, a better route is to have a display that accepts native PAL in addition to NTSC. My cheap-ish Olevia LCD does this, and when I set my Oppo to PAL (or AUTO) output, it's far better than asking the player to internally convert PAL to NTSC (none of the jerkiness associated with conversion). I just got a Momitsu clone (VisionQuest) and it seems to automatically output PAL as PAL on DVDs...perhaps someone else can confirm what I seem to remember reading on another forum, that either these players don't convert PAL to NTSC, or there is a setting to do so that's at the very least, not default, but perhaps it's just not an option. Sorry for speculating, but I haven't had much time yet to play around with these options, and since I CAN display native PAL it's not a problem I've tried to sort out.

I am planning to finally get a multiregion Blu-ray player and a TV to go with it. (I am looking at the Momitsu.) Do I understand correctly that, even if the player converts PAL to NTSC, if my TV is NTSC, PAL DVDs may still not always play correctly on my TV?

I assume most TVs here in North America are NTSC? I pored over the owners manuals for a couple LCD TVs owned by friends and could find no info at all about whether they have the capability to play PAL. My one trip to a retailer to tentatively bring up this question just got me a confused stare.

Sorry, I am kind of an idiot when it comes to this stuff. If anyone has an opinion on whether it really matters if my TV will be NTSC if I get a multiregion player like the Momitsu, your advice would be greatly appreciated! If it does matter, if anyone in North America has any advice on a model or brand, or how to determine if a TV will give me any trouble in this regard, let me know!

[kekid]

So currently, I have 2 multiregion DVD players, 1 at home and 1 at work.

Anyway, about PAL to NTSC conversion, on 1 player, when I play a PAL disc, the image is jittery, and when there is the color of red, the red itself jitters all over. In addition to that, every once in a while, if I have subtitles on, the subtitles fuck up and I have to rewind it to read it.

On my other player, it smooths out the image fine. No jitters, but jagged lines are visible. if for example there is a diagonal line on the screen. Occasional jittered subtitles too.

I am seriously considering the Momitsu (or clone) for an upgrade in the future, but for owners of that machine, how does the PAL to NTSC look? Any problems or does it look as smooth as native NTSC?

It doesn't answer the question directly, but if you're concerned about PAL conversion issues, a better route is to have a display that accepts native PAL in addition to NTSC. My cheap-ish Olevia LCD does this, and when I set my Oppo to PAL (or AUTO) output, it's far better than asking the player to internally convert PAL to NTSC (none of the jerkiness associated with conversion). I just got a Momitsu clone (VisionQuest) and it seems to automatically output PAL as PAL on DVDs...perhaps someone else can confirm what I seem to remember reading on another forum, that either these players don't convert PAL to NTSC, or there is a setting to do so that's at the very least, not default, but perhaps it's just not an option. Sorry for speculating, but I haven't had much time yet to play around with these options, and since I CAN display native PAL it's not a problem I've tried to sort out.

I am planning to finally get a multiregion Blu-ray player and a TV to go with it. (I am looking at the Momitsu.) Do I understand correctly that, even if the player converts PAL to NTSC, if my TV is NTSC, PAL DVDs may still not always play correctly on my TV?

I assume most TVs here in North America are NTSC? I pored over the owners manuals for a couple LCD TVs owned by friends and could find no info at all about whether they have the capability to play PAL. My one trip to a retailer to tentatively bring up this question just got me a confused stare.

Sorry, I am kind of an idiot when it comes to this stuff. If anyone has an opinion on whether it really matters if my TV will be NTSC if I get a multiregion player like the Momitsu, your advice would be greatly appreciated! If it does matter, if anyone in North America has any advice on a model or brand, or how to determine if a TV will give me any trouble in this regard, let me know!

Both Momitsu and Oppo play PAL DVD's on NTSC TV's quite well.

[perkizitore]

Don't get the Momitsu, buy a Panasonic BD60 for 140$ and have it modified!

[manicsounds]

Since you were quoting me, the Momitsu clone I got had great PAL to NTSC conversion. No jittery picture, no subtitle errors, so if you're looking to get one, no worries about the stuff I said about my old Pioneer above.

[karltmc]

Thanks everyone for the advice! I need all the help I can get ...

[kemalettin]

any links for buying momitsu clone ? im from europe

[perkizitore]

any links for buying momitsu clone ? im from europe

In the UK 'Tevion' and 'Curtis' are the names of the Momitsu clones, with Tevion being the better one. I don't know how these are branded in other countries (check your local Aldi they may carry the 'Tevion'), otherwise try to buy one from Ebay UK.

[Ben Cheshire]

All the Aldis near me sold out of them back in July.

That remote access process sounds a little involved for me, particularly seeings I mainly want the player for playing region A discs. I think I should somehow seek out an American player. I finally gave up on HKFlix, whose new Momitsus were taking forever to come back into stock.

My options as I see them are 1) Kogan.com.au, which would involve domestic shipping (and thus a substantial savings)

2) Propose an American friend purchase a Black Friday Bargain Region-A player for me. Does anyone know if the $78 Wal-Mart player is region free for DVD? That's my main Criterion. I'd like a Region A blu player that's region-free for DVD. CaptVeg?

[Rufus T. Firefly]

1) Kogan.com.au, which would involve domestic shipping (and thus a substantial savings)

2) Propose an American friend purchase a Black Friday Bargain Region-A player for me. Does anyone know if the $78 Wal-Mart player is region free for DVD? That's my main Criterion. I'd like a Region A blu player that's region-free for DVD. CaptVeg?

I can't comment on the quality of the products, but with a US player you would need to consider the following:

1. that you must have a step-down transformer to change from US voltage to Oz voltage. $119 at Jaycar.
2. whether it plays PAL material on both SD and BD (extras are often in SD)

[perkizitore]

Your Oz player can be Region-free for DVD, why do you want the cheapo US one to be too? You don't need voltage adaptor for every player, the Oppo for instance accepts 110-240V.

[Ben Cheshire]

Your Oz player can be Region-free for DVD, why do you want the cheapo US one to be too? You don't need voltage adaptor for every player, the Oppo for instance accepts 110-240V.

I have a region B ps3, and I want one other player; either a cheap US or a local magic-box by Kogan that does everything. I was trying to cut down on code entering, but I think the Kogan sounds fine. So, I'm going to go with that. As soon as I get my refund from HkFlix... Grr... (Delays) Grr...

[fdm]

1) Kogan.com.au, which would involve domestic shipping (and thus a substantial savings)

2) Propose an American friend purchase a Black Friday Bargain Region-A player for me. Does anyone know if the $78 Wal-Mart player is region free for DVD? That's my main Criterion. I'd like a Region A blu player that's region-free for DVD. CaptVeg?

I can't comment on the quality of the products, but with a US player you would need to consider the following:

1. that you must have a step-down transformer to change from US voltage to Oz voltage. $119 at Jaycar.
2. whether it plays PAL material on both SD and BD (extras are often in SD)

Also, the bottom of the line cheapy players may just be Profile 1.0, have some limitations wrt the level of high-def audio codecs it will decode internally, and may not have the best record for providing firmware updates that may be needed to play certain discs. So, you might want to research the particulars of any given player before taking the plunge, even at $78.

[captveg]

I can nearly guarantee that Region A BD players will be Region 1 for DVD. In fact, even the few All Region BD players I've personally come across are region locked for DVD from the territory they are from (for example, a Pioneer 95 that was region free for BD was Region 3 for DVD).

I think the Kogan would be your best bet. Personally, outside of the PS3, I don't like any players, except perhaps the Panasonics.

[nsps]

Wal-mart has a $78 player? Do you know the model number?

Several of the cheapie Blu-ray player deals have been for Momitsu clones that could easily be made region-free (ie $99 Curtis Mathes at Target), but others have been firmly region-locked.

Regarding Captveg's comments, yes most Region A BD players will be DVD region 1, but it's sometimes possible to make players DVD region zero, while it's generally impossible to do that on Blu without a hardware hack (except for the Momitsu, go figure).

[fdm]

Rather than steal blu-ray.com's post, here's the link:

Black Friday: Walmart Offers $78 Blu-ray Player

Not having ever been a Black Friday get up early go to the store stand in line and enjoy the chaos type of person, I suspect there will be a limited number that will disappear in the first few minutes or hours.

Looks like a Profile 1.1 player this time around. (Edit: to stay on topic, it's probably pretty well locked for region A/1, but what do I know.)

[Ben Cheshire]

I can nearly guarantee that Region A BD players will be Region 1 for DVD. In fact, even the few All Region BD players I've personally come across are region locked for DVD from the territory they are from (for example, a Pioneer 95 that was region free for BD was Region 3 for DVD).

I think the Kogan would be your best bet. Personally, outside of the PS3, I don't like any players, except perhaps the Panasonics.

Maybe Australia is progressive in its anti-regionism, then; because cheap DVD players have been region free here for years. Most BD players are advertised as region free for DVD only, as well. So, yes, actually surprised to hear this. Once I finally untie my funds from HKFlix, I think I'm definitely going for the Kogan.

PS, there are two good things about my ps3.

PS2, it plays games too.

PS3. Actually, that's it. I was just trying to work in something about the name of the player and postscripts. Hmm.

[Perkins Cobb]

Ummm ... what's up with HKFlix? Their website says they're no longer selling any hardware! Now where'm I supposed to get my region-hacked Momitsu BR player?

[nsps]

Rather than steal blu-ray.com's post, here's the link:

Black Friday: Walmart Offers $78 Blu-ray Player

Not having ever been a Black Friday get up early go to the store stand in line and enjoy the chaos type of person, I suspect there will be a limited number that will disappear in the first few minutes or hours.

Looks like a Profile 1.1 player this time around. (Edit: to stay on topic, it's probably pretty well locked for region A/1, but what do I know.)

I don't think the Magnavox can be made DVD region-free, let alone BD region-free, at least at the moment. (There may be hardware mods, of course, if you like to solder.) Also, it doesn't have a great reputation (although someone in that link's comments does say it's a Consumer Reports Best Buy). And it's FUCKING ENORMOUS. I'm tickled pink by the "it will play MOST discs" comments. Ah, what standards we've come to accept!

You can get the Insignia at Best Buy for $20 more including Netflix streaming and a free BD (I think it was Gremlins or Superman, but don't have the link on me). That can't be made region-free at the moment either, though, so this whole discussion is a tangent. Sorry!

[manicsounds]

Ummm ... what's up with HKFlix? Their website says they're no longer selling any hardware! Now where'm I supposed to get my region-hacked Momitsu BR player?

atacom.com

I wonder why they stopped. Anyway, you can always contact Momitsu directly and see.

[swo17]

Ummm ... what's up with HKFlix? Their website says they're no longer selling any hardware! Now where'm I supposed to get my region-hacked Momitsu BR player?

atacom.com

Do players purchased from atacom come already modified like the ones from HKFlix supposedly did?

[anvilscepe]

I ordered mine on Nov 16th and now I’m worried. I just wrote them asking if all orders placed before they "discontinued" selling hardware will be honored. Here's hoping they will; I’ve already received the blus from the B&N sale and I’m itching to watch them all. I'll post back when they answer.

EDIT: That was fast! I just received a reply stating "Yes your unit will ship sometime next week....we were only able to get a limited number of units but I'm making sure you get one." =D>

[nsps]

Ummm ... what's up with HKFlix? Their website says they're no longer selling any hardware! Now where'm I supposed to get my region-hacked Momitsu BR player?

atacom.com

Do players purchased from atacom come already modified like the ones from HKFlix supposedly did?

The Momitsu comes region-free (although you have to enter remote codes for to change the BD region), but the others on Atacom might not.