Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with regionfree

Region Free At Last, Thank the Beeb I'm Free At Last!

robocop is bleeding — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:04:49 -0800

Now that we have a region free DVD player, what British shows should we look in to ordering? My wife and I are huge fans of British comedies like Black Books, The IT Crowd, and Peep Show. We've been frustrated that many series are not available in the US (anything beyond the first series of Peep Show or That Mitchell and Webb Look, for example) and so broke down and bought a DVD player (a Philips DVP3980) that I unlocked to be region free.

So after we gorge ourselves on Mitchell and Webb, what else should we look for that's not available in the states?

We're not limited to comedies, either. My wife likes shows like Skins and I'm a huge murder mystery nut (Midsomer Murders, Inspector Morse, A Touch of Frost, etc).

While we're mainly interested in stuff we can't get over here, we'd like to take advantage of the seemingly cheaper DVD prices. For example, a 10 episode set of Midsomer Murders comes to something like 60 dollars, shipped, from amazon.uk while a 4 episode set costs 40 bucks here in the states. The less said about the amount I paid for my complete Morse vs the amount being charged on amazon.uk, the better. So any suggestions as to where we can get more for our money are welcome too.

Upscaling DVD player that's region-hackable?

middleclasstool — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 10:29:10 -0800

Looking for a region-free (or region-free-able) DVD player with upconvert for $100 US. I'd also just like to go to Best Buy or wherever (in the US) and pick it up this weekend. Ideas? I've looked at a couple of upconvert players on Best Buy's website and cross-referenced with the database of codes at videohelp, and I'm not finding any of them.

Of particular interest to me is the Pioneer DV-410V-K -- videohelp points to firmware I can download and use, but I'm leery of that.

Other googling tells me that the player may be region locked, and it may not. Interestingly, downloading the PDF manual for the player brings up a curious point: the English instructions say it's locked and that's that, but babelfishing the French instructions seems to imply that you can at least switch regions, if not go fully free.

Does anyone have any good data on this player or another that I can pick up in-store and unlock through the remote? Also, my HDTV is one of those that can handle a 1080i signal, but not 1080p. I'm guessing that's not a problem (just don't use component cables), but I want to be sure.

Any player suggestions are welcome, provided they don't stray too far over $100US, and special points for being able to pick it up at a US chain this weekend -- I just rented season 3 of "The Wire" and hate to waste the rental fee.

Top Picks for non-Region 1 DVDs?

anastasiav — Wed, 24 May 2006 12:53:32 -0800

We were recently given a region free DVD player. What great DVDs should we get to play in it that we could not otherwise see in the US? A couple of other notes are the We're not into Anime. He likes action movies, Star Wars, Sci Fi, movies where things blow up. I like BBC drama. We both like things that are well written and funny. Subtitles don't scare us. We're trying to build a collection of high quality child-appropriate films. I often buy DVDs only for the high-quality extras and never watch the film.

What can we now watch that we couldn't otherwise?

DVD player recommendations?

quibx — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 19:20:18 -0800

Help me find my dream DVD player [MI] My dream DVD player would be region free, play DVD +/- R, VCD, SVCD, CDR, mp3 on DVD, show ID3 tags, pal/ntsc conversion, and be sturdy, reliable, and easy to use. I don’t want something too complicated, as my family will be using it. Optional but nice things are DivX support and ethernet / wireless connection to a PC. Any suggestions?

Will a DVD released in Russia play on a region-free player?

amandaudoff — Wed, 12 May 2004 09:51:50 -0800

How to find a DVD that will be playable on a region-free player if it's only been released in Russia? [This is the root menu; there is more inside] Specificially, the movie is Rhinoceros Hunting In Budapest. We've found it on a Russian website as a zone 5 disc.

My questions are as follow:

- Can a "region-free" player in the US play these? How open is "region-free", exactly?

- Does anyone speak Russian well enough to figure out how to order this? Is these an English language site that sells this?

I've Googled to no avail and would love to surprise the boyfriend with a copy of this. (He's been looking for a while now.)

Region Free = Happy Me

arco — Mon, 01 Mar 2004 08:22:20 -0800

Advice sought for (completely legal) region-free DVD players. [Explanation inside...] I know we've talked about region-free players before, but my situation is a bit different. We need to develop the DVD collection my library. Because of the subject matter (the Holocaust), we will be collecting films from around the world, but primarily Regions 1 (North America) and 2 (Europe). Of course, we need to have the ability to play these DVDs in the library (our collection does not circulate).

Looking at websites like DVDoverseas.com and DVDanswers.com, I get the impression that all "region-free" and "region-switchable" DVD players, even the ones you buy from retailers like DVDoverseas.com, have been modified in some way to make them play multi-region DVDs. Because we are a U.S. government agency and have to jump through certain hoops to acquire hardware, we must be completely aboveboard about buying our equipment. My supervisor absolutely forbids any hacks or modifications, unless I can prove somehow that modded players are--and will continue to be--completely legal.

My questions are these: is it possible to buy a region-free or region-switchable DVD player off-the-shelf from a major retailer like Best Buy or Amazon? Or should we buy a DVD player directly from Europe? If we do buy one from across the pond, what are the issues we need to be aware of (PAL vs. NTSC, voltage, etc)?

Alternately, can anyone point me to an article or fact sheet that "proves" region-free players are on the up-and-up, before we go spending your tax dollars on the gray market?

I've thought about getting a DVD-Rom drive and setting it to Region 2 before having it installed, but our current computers are not quite powerful enough for this, and there's been no talk about upgrades.

Much obliged!