Standard dvd multi region compatibility? I'm considering the Samsung BD-UP5000 when it's available in Australia, I'd like it to play (and upscale) my existing standard dvd library made up of many region 1 and region 4 discs. Does anyone know if this combo player will play and upscale standard dvds - regions 1, 2, 3, 4 and 0. Apparently, HD DVD discs play all regions but Blu-ray discs are region restricted. Can anyone confirm this also? Standard dvd multi region compatibility? I'm considering the Samsung BD-UP5000 when it's available in Australia, I'd like it to play (and upscale) my existing standard dvd library made... » Read More Standard dvd multi region compatibility? I'm considering the Samsung BD-UP5000 when it's available in Australia, I'd like it to play (and upscale) my existing standard dvd library made up of many region 1 and region 4 discs. Does anyone know if this combo player will play and upscale standard dvds - regions 1, 2, 3, 4 and 0. Apparently, HD DVD discs play all regions but Blu-ray discs are region restricted. Can anyone confirm this also? « Show Less
623940
HD DVD has no region codes. Blu-ray has 3, and Australia is in Region B (Europe, Greenland, French territories, Middle East, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand). See Wikipedia. DVD regions remain the same with both formats and because both are trying to curry favor with studios, there are no region-free high def players, and only HDMI outputs carry upconverted signals. For a quality upconverting region-free player consider Oppo.
623941
Thanks for the info Kevin, just got back from a huge dvd store here and I noticed a lot of Blu Ray discs marked 'all regions' (1,2,3) on the back of them so Sony may be trying relax restrictions for now to corner the market here. I also just found out that's it's pointless getting a blu-ray and/or hd-dvd player as my 3 year old 43" Pioneer Plasma with external hig def set top box can only output 1024 X 768 pixels max, so I wouldn't visibly see blu-rays or hd-dvd's 1080p potential...think I'm better off just getting a good upscaling dvd player & a good hdmi cable. Except for PS2, dvd players/recorders sold here are region free out of the box anyway. Will look out for Oppo but don't think it's sold here. Thanks for the info Kevin, just got back from a huge dvd store here and I noticed a lot of Blu Ray discs marked 'all regions' (1,2,3) on the back of them so Sony may be trying relax restrictions for now to corner the market here. I also just found out that's it's pointless getting a blu-ray and/or hd-dvd player as my 3 year old 43" Pioneer Plasma with external hig def set top box can only output 1024 X 768 pixels max, so I wouldn't visibly see blu-rays or hd-dvd's 1080p potential...think I'm better off just getting a good upscaling dvd player & a good hdmi cable. Except for PS2, dvd... » Read More Thanks for the info Kevin, just got back from a huge dvd store here and I noticed a lot of Blu Ray discs marked 'all regions' (1,2,3) on the back of them so Sony may be trying relax restrictions for now to corner the market here. I also just found out that's it's pointless getting a blu-ray and/or hd-dvd player as my 3 year old 43" Pioneer Plasma with external hig def set top box can only output 1024 X 768 pixels max, so I wouldn't visibly see blu-rays or hd-dvd's 1080p potential...think I'm better off just getting a good upscaling dvd player & a good hdmi cable. Except for PS2, dvd players/recorders sold here are region free out of the box anyway. Will look out for Oppo but don't think it's sold here. « Show Less
1330459
Peter, can you share names / websites of these independent sellers of blu-ray disc players? I'd like a blu-ray disc player that plays PAL and NTSC blu-ray and DVD discs from all regions (if such players are available). Thank you.
513080
Sorry, I am not sure about the region B DVDs. I use it for region A Blu Ray and for all region standard DVDs.
960795
Jason:Mine plays NTSC and PAL region free discs fine but anything that is region locked (2, 3, etc) wont play. I played some discs that were marked region 2 pal and they would not play but others also marked region 2 pal played fine as well as region 3. I suspect that, at least in my case, that some of my dvd's might be labeled region 2 or 3 but are in fact all region or region 0. Have you checked anything that you know for sure is region locked? Its very interesting that you are having no issues at all. At least I know that it is NTSC PAL friendly. Otherwise, this player rocks
334798
It plays all region dvd's but not blu ray's.I bought it because I have several dvd's from France that I wanted to play and they work fine. Hope that helps.Thanks
417121
"Region free" means you may play DVDs from various regions. That is, rather than playing DVDs from just the USA (as most DVD players sold in the USA do), this unit will play DVDs from other countries as well as those from the USA. I use it to play DVDs of British films/TV shows I can't access in the USA. (Please note that it plays DVDs---but not blu-ray---from other countries.)
466999
I've read people complain of this, but I cannot find where on the write ups this player says its multi-regional.Both the Sony website and the users manual say explicitly this player is only for region 1.
1958002
HD DVD players can play HD DVDs from any region. When dealing with 1080p or other HD resolutions, there is no pal or NTSC anymore. The only thing you have to be concerned with is SD DVD which is still region coded. ALL HD DVD MADE WILL PLAY ON ALL HD DVD PLAYERS REGARDLESS OF REGION. HD DVD IS REGION FREE
2190690
I have a OPPO BDP 80 player which has been modified to be region-free for DVD's and Blu-Ray discs. The modification works for DVD's allowing one to play Region 2 DVD's with no problem. However, there is a problem playing Blu-Ray discs other than Region A. For example, the modified player cannot play Region B Blu-Ray discs, even after carefully following the instructions for changing from Region A to Region B. Am posting this comment to know if other owners of region-free modified OPPO BDP 80 players (modified either with a kit or by a third-party source) have had issues playing Blu-Ray discs other than Region A. I have a OPPO BDP 80 player which has been modified to be region-free for DVD's and Blu-Ray discs. The modification works for DVD's allowing one to play Region 2 DVD's with no problem. However, there is a problem playing Blu-Ray discs other than Region A. For example, the modified player cannot play Region B Blu-Ray discs, even after carefully following the instructions for changing from Region A to Region B. Am posting this comment to know if other owners of region-free modified OPPO BDP 80 players (modified either with a kit or by a third-party source) have had issues playing Blu-Ray... » Read More I have a OPPO BDP 80 player which has been modified to be region-free for DVD's and Blu-Ray discs. The modification works for DVD's allowing one to play Region 2 DVD's with no problem. However, there is a problem playing Blu-Ray discs other than Region A. For example, the modified player cannot play Region B Blu-Ray discs, even after carefully following the instructions for changing from Region A to Region B. Am posting this comment to know if other owners of region-free modified OPPO BDP 80 players (modified either with a kit or by a third-party source) have had issues playing Blu-Ray discs other than Region A. « Show Less
26421
PC DVD and Blu Ray drives sometimes let you change regions a limited number of times, but I don't think that's possible with stand alone players (and you can only change them a limited number of times). If you bought this player from the U.S. Amazon store, it would be region A/1, whereas it looks like Bangladesh is in region C/3 for Blu Ray. Or conversely if you have a region C player and bought Blu Rays from the U.S. Amazon store the discs would be region A and the player region C. I'd assume that's what's going on. DVD and Blu Ray packages usually tell you what region they're for on the back of the package, usually on the back towards the bottom. Hope this helps!
1370495
So far I have used Region 1 and 2 discs. No problems. It is a really great player. Very sharp pictures.
2100763
The Samsung BDF-5700 is multi-region blu-ray DVD player and works well for me, playing my DVDs from Germany. That's not what is listed in the description BD-5700 or BD-5700E.
1039571
Upscaling and upconverting are used interchangeably though I'm sure the definitions my technically be different. As far as DVD's are concerned, neither do anything to the sound quality and applies to video quality as far as I know. The "up convert" capabilities of the Samsung DVD-C500 results in an excellent 1080p resolution. It still isn't true HD! No DVD upscale (or up converting) player will ever result a true HD picture, but this unit produces video of fantastic quality via HDMI in my opinion.
1179374
Jorge .. I almost forgot. If you have some Region 1 DVDs, play this on the HD-A35 and be surprised at just how good the HD-A35 is at upscaling your standard Region 1 NTSC DVDs. I particularly recommend you try Star Wars 2 & 3. I think you will like what you see. =) Now, if you like what you see and want to do the same with your Region 4 DVDs, consider adding the Oppo DV-980H or Oppo DV-981HD to your list of DVD players. The HD-A35 will play only Region 1 DVDs and Region Free DVDs. My DVD collection consist of Region 1 NTSC, Region 2 PAL, and Region 3 NTSC DVDs. This is why I have the Oppo DVD player in addition to my Toshiba HD DVD player. Jorge .. I almost forgot. If you have some Region 1 DVDs, play this on the HD-A35 and be surprised at just how good the HD-A35 is at upscaling your standard Region 1 NTSC DVDs. I particularly recommend you try Star Wars 2 & 3. I think you will like what you see. =) Now, if you like what you see and want to do the same with your Region 4 DVDs, consider adding the Oppo DV-980H or Oppo DV-981HD to your list of DVD players. The HD-A35 will play only Region 1 DVDs and Region Free DVDs. My DVD collection consist of Region 1 NTSC, Region 2 PAL, and Region 3 NTSC DVDs. This is why I... » Read More Jorge .. I almost forgot. If you have some Region 1 DVDs, play this on the HD-A35 and be surprised at just how good the HD-A35 is at upscaling your standard Region 1 NTSC DVDs. I particularly recommend you try Star Wars 2 & 3. I think you will like what you see. =) Now, if you like what you see and want to do the same with your Region 4 DVDs, consider adding the Oppo DV-980H or Oppo DV-981HD to your list of DVD players. The HD-A35 will play only Region 1 DVDs and Region Free DVDs. My DVD collection consist of Region 1 NTSC, Region 2 PAL, and Region 3 NTSC DVDs. This is why I have the Oppo DVD player in addition to my Toshiba HD DVD player. « Show Less
59725
My advice would be to go for the LG. The Samsung is a good player but the LG is multi-region Blu-ray with a remote code and a simple hack makes it multi-region for DVD too. The Samsung has a Reon scaler & the LG a QDEO scaler, both are excellent. I had the LG for almost 3yrs, it's a solid piece of kit and with the right firmwares (go to avs forums for these) you can play burnt BD - Rs & - REs, it plays all the HD audio types & it was updated to 'BD Live' for all the on-line stuff some discs have. The Samsung is a good machine & has its fans but I think the LG offers more.
2065827
These players are originally region one. They are actually then modified to be region free by a third part or by the seller. If done correctly they player would be working 100% perfect and there would be no loss in picture quality. It will be up to par as expected. However you must check the sellers background, see how long they have been around and if you can contact them after the sale by phone for support. Most legitamite companies have been around for years I've seen some for 2-3 decades. I did a search on google for region free blu-ray player and purchased mine. It's works great. I had a snag with one disc, and the company sent me some software to fix it very quickly. These players are originally region one. They are actually then modified to be region free by a third part or by the seller. If done correctly they player would be working 100% perfect and there would be no loss in picture quality. It will be up to par as expected. However you must check the sellers background, see how long they have been around and if you can contact them after the sale by phone for support. Most legitamite companies have been around for years I've seen some for 2-3 decades. I did a search on google for region free blu-ray player and purchased mine. It's works great. I had... » Read More These players are originally region one. They are actually then modified to be region free by a third part or by the seller. If done correctly they player would be working 100% perfect and there would be no loss in picture quality. It will be up to par as expected. However you must check the sellers background, see how long they have been around and if you can contact them after the sale by phone for support. Most legitamite companies have been around for years I've seen some for 2-3 decades. I did a search on google for region free blu-ray player and purchased mine. It's works great. I had a snag with one disc, and the company sent me some software to fix it very quickly. « Show Less
58417
HD DVD players are region free only if you use HD DVD disks, since the HD DVD standart does not have region limitations. If you play standard DVD disks, it's still locked for one region.