Hi
We have sorted a flat/apartment and move in next friday.
Having my priorities right I have decided on my TV but am trying to find out more about DVD player options. Between my wife and I we have a hundred or so of which half are US (Region 1?) and the other half are UK (Region 2?)
I realise we need what would be refered to as a multi region player in the UK.
Anyone bought one recently? Recommendations for sources? BestBuy or CircuitCity are local but the guys are a bit blanked by my question especially when we throw upconverting in to the mix?

Any feedback appreciated.

D

Philips DVP5960

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=7789681

easily hack to play all regions

Half the price and not bad value. But the Philips @ twice the price is a high quality machine with upconvert via HDMI output. It also plays DIVX/XVID video and has a USB input. Also easy to hack from rc. Worth the extra IMO.

Hi,
We had the same problem when visiting Best Buy etc., everything was so 'hush-hush'
I finally went on Amazon and was prepared to pay another online company for the necessary code. I put in multi-region and was presented with a few to choose from. We settled on a Phillips at $80 -1080p HD etc.
When it arrived I noted that the box read 'all region' and so tried out my British and American dvds and "voila", it plays them all. No need to fiddle about ordering codes etc. All very easy considering we had been thinking about it for months!
Good luck!

A quick Google of the model # usually reveals all. You don't need to pay for a hack -- if there's one available there are plenty of sites publishing them for free.

What's the model number of the one you purchased? (My Mum who just moved here needs one for her UK and US DVDs). Plays both with no hacking required? I'll be dashing off to get one asap!

Phillips DVP5982

http://www.dvdoverseas.com/dvd.htm has loads of them - that's where I got mine. And don't ever trust BestBuy about anything - they're about as useful as an ashtray on a motorike.

You could also try Oppo (go to Oppo.com or Amazon.com)

Oppo is touted as one of the best upscaling DVDs around - and it is supported very well with firmware upgrades. I have two Oppos and they play anything that I throw in them!

I would highly recommend their players. However, they are more expensive then the Philips player - but I have no experience of the Philips player so I am suggesting the Oppo as a recommendation.

The Philips DVP3040 was only $39.99 from Best Buy last year when I bought two of 'em. Easy hack to do, found with a Google search.

check this out:
http://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers
and
http://forum.videohelp.com/topic291314.html
These will tell you all you want to know about various models.

What I started doing instead of bothering with 'region free' players was making all my dvds region free. You can use software such as DVD-decrypter to 'rip' the DVD, and remove region protection. While I'm at it (but not necessary), I remove commercials from the start, remove 'prohibited user actions' (ability to skip FBI warnings, etc).

I have both the OPPO and the Philips. The Philips can be downright stupid at times (it's got a short memory of where you were in the DVD you were watching; it doesn't power on quickly; it takes a long time to load a disk etc) but for the price it's fine. OPPO is much more graceful.

Next one will be a true HD-DVD or Blu-ray, whichever technology wins out.

You will have to buy a mulit region player on line, the reason the local stores couldn't help is that it is illegal to sell multi region in stores, it isn't illegal to own one or to buy one. We had this problem and after a lot of research found the reason why we couldn't go to the store and get one.

Thanks all - as is often the case the internet is our friend!