Blu Rays with multi region support
Hi all,
So, on Saturday I finally bought my new TV - and opted for the Samsung D7000. One I managed to get it looking as good as the very old Grundig CRT I had as a stop-gap I looked at the Panasonic 310 I bought at the same time, slightly impulse.
And now I realised that it's not multi-region without an unsupported firmware update I'd need to buy from a cantankerous chap which will lock me out of future updates.
So, I'm wondering about going the Sony 780 route instead.
Does anyone know the multi-region capabilities of this player (err, and could you tell me please 
)? I have looked around, but can't be certain what information is accurate - I'll trust the folks that post here. Especially as WHF folks post here and I've trusted them with just about every HiFi purchase I've made in the last 10 years!
I have various regions of DVDs, and only two Blu Ray's so far, both region 2, so DVD multi-region is essential, BluRay would be nice. I also have two DVD-Audio discs, and it would be nice to play them, too.
Cheers all,
Retne/Rob
I made my Panasonic BD60 multiregion for DVDs by this remote. Despite 3 or 4 updates so far, it has not lost its multiregion capability.
The story is going to be the same with Sony S780 as well. All hacks to make the player multiregion is unsupported by the manufacturer and so it may be lost after a firmware update.
If you want a solution which guarantees preservation of multiregion capabilities despite firmware updates, buy an Oppo & install this. It will make the player multizone for blu-ray discs as well.
You can even buy the player with the same modification kit installed by the dealer for extra £100, although the basic player is offered multiregion for DVDs out of the box. Contact the dealer if the multiregion capability is lost; they would usually make it multiregion again for free for you.
Or a Cambridge player, as detailed here...
Richer sounds are selling the Multi-Region (MR) version of the BDP-S185 for £99.95...
http://www.richersounds.com/product/blu-ray/sony/bdps185-mr/sony-bdps185-mr
Although again this is only multiregion for DVD, not BD.
Thank you all for your replies.
@Andrew - I did look at your blog post and I'm tempted by the CA. I notice RS now has the 651, so I figure I should wait to see a review for that - it is quite a bit more than I'd originally intended to spend. I'm also worried about invalidating the warranty immediately - I have no worries about doing that after the warranty has ended, though.
Thanks Big Boss, I will at remote option and see if that works for me. I'm also finding my Panasonic 310 a bit loud (in the mechanism), which was why I wondered about the Sony.
If you don't have a region A blu ray collection, I don't see any point in looking for players which are multizone for blu rays. Just buy zone B discs. Most discs are multizone in any case. That same seller sells a remote for making Sony players multiregion as well. Better still, buy it from dealers like Richer Sounds who sell multiregion players.
It depends which titles you're after. There are many Region A-only Blu-ray discs I'd love to own. We're also occasionally short-changed in Region B when it comes to extras, or robbed of lossless soundtracks. Granted, examples of the latter are extremely rare, but there are two Blu-rays I own that only offer DD5.1, while those in Region A are treated to the lossless soundtrack.
I was under the impression that a blu ray player that is multi region for dvd will lose its multi region capability on doing a firmware update. In fact when I bought my Blu ray player last year from Richers they did not have any multi region in stock and said that they would not be getting any more in as firm ware updates wiped the multi region playback. They now have them in again so i am confused. I have kept my old multi region dvd player but would prefer just the one player that does everything.
Could someone enlighten me as to what the situation is regarding multi region playback of dvds on blue ray players and whether there has been some kind of upgrade that now stops the multi region being lost when doing a firmware update?
Richer Sounds have a Toshiba BDX1200 for £49.95, which is easily multi regioned for both DVD and Blu Ray.
I'd like to leave a link or 2, but not sure if I can, but I'm sure if you googled it you'll find it relatively easily.
Hmm, that may be the solution I go for BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW - two players. I like the price of that one.
I am going to Richer Sounds again soon to compare a few things* and will now look at the CA 651. I'm not done any auditioning before, so could be interesting.
* before I saw the WHF review I'd mentioned the backlight to them, so am going to take my TV and compare two examples and leave with the better one (or if they're both rubbish consider the Panasonic, but my wife and I find some Samsung features quite useful. If I can just get the ARC working (which I'll also look at in RicherSounds - I got my (Onkyo 609) amp from them too))
Why do you want to go for 2 players? Bear in mind that the Toshiba will not be multiregion for blu-rays out of the box, nor am I aware how it can be made multiregion for blu-rays. If you want a blu-ray player that's multiregion for both blu-rays & DVDs, go for one of these players:
1) Oppo 93 / 95
2) Cambridge Audio 651 / 751
3) Pioneer 440
& install a chip from here.
Alternatively, you can buy a player already multiregioned from here.
FWIW I have the older Sony BDP S550 bluray player. I made it multi-region for DVD, with a simple remote control hack (universal remote just fires some commands at it and hey presto, it plays all DVD's). Been through several firmware updates since, no problems, multi region DVD support has remained.
Thanks both for the replies.
I have just a few moments ago got around to walking into a newsagent and noticed the CA 651's review, which has made me pause (owning a 4-star TV isn't too much fun - the issues I noticed are just what WHF tried to warn me about).
I may look in to the Sony route again. I think I will go audition a 380, at least (in a Sony shop 
), the forum trawl.
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Typo - I'm sure you know what I meant, but "One I managed" should read "Once I managed"