Help or advice regarding Sherwood BDP 5004? (1 Viewer)

smithee3 · Jan 28, 2010

I've run into a problem with my new Sherwood BDP 5004 and I was hoping someone here in the forum might be able to help. I bought the Sherwood because I'd read in various columns and forums that it can be made region free. But I seem to be the only person who hasn't been able to do that. I've entered the code that supposedly works (973501) but without success. When I try to play a Region 2 dvd (I'm in America) I get a message on my TV that says "Mode Not Supported." My TV (Samsung) has played other region dvd's before with no problem. My previous player (dvd not Blu-Ray) was region free. The Sherwood plays region 1 dvd's and region A Blu-Rays beautifully, but the region free code just doesn't seem to be working. Has anyone else run into this problem?

Stephen_J_H · Jan 28, 2010

You may want to go look at the comments on DVD Beaver here. Apparently you have to go in and change the region code every time you want to view a disc from a different region. Not an ideal solution, but one that works. You'll note from the article that the Sherwood is a clone of the Momitsu to which the review refers.

smithee3 · Jan 28, 2010

Stephen, thanks very much for responding. I did check that page at dvd Beaver, but my problem isn't that I need to keep re-entering the region codes, it's that I can't get the region codes to work even once with the Sherwood. When I said that my TV has played other-region discs previously, I meant using my previous player. (Sorry about the confusion.) I'm sure I'm doing something very basic wrong, since I seem to be the only person who's had this problem with the Sherwood.

Selden Ball · Jan 29, 2010

Don,

I assume you're using HDMI and watching on an HDTV that's capable of 1080p or 720p.

I suspect your TV can't display PAL video resolution, which is 576i/50. You need to
1. configure the 5004 to upscale everything to 1080p (or 720p) and
2. turn film mode off in the player, so that the player converts the DVD's 50fps frame rate to 60fps.

Supposedly the player does convert PAL to NTSC video (480i/60) on its traditional analog video output (the yellow RCA connector), but using that will result in a lower quality image.

Does this help?

smithee3 · Jan 29, 2010

Selden,

Thanks very much. As you suspected, it did turn out to be a resolution issue. I figured it was probably just some setting I needed to change (as opposed to the player actually being defective) so I called Samsung tech support. They suggested I look into the resolution settings on the player. I found the player had set itself to "HDMI Auto," and when I changed it to 1080p everything works like a charm. Now the player plays dvd's from region 1 *and* other regions, and Blu-Rays, all just fine. Phew! But if I'd read your advice first, it would have saved me a long time on hold with Samsung.

Thanks again!

bgart13 · Feb 10, 2010

I received the Sherwood just over 24hrs ago and I'm loving it. Funny thing, though -- it's played everything I've tossed its way so far without me having to enter codes whatsoever...NTSC, PAL 0, PAL 2, +r, -r, AVIs, AVIs with subs. No blu-rays yet, but I'm still waiting on the HDMI cable from Monoprice to arrive. I don't have a reg B blu-ray yet, though, but am hopeful the Sherwood plays nice with one whenever that is.

Oh, and has anyone found if the Sherwood needs to be or can be updated yet?

Ben

Selden Ball · Feb 11, 2010

From what I've read, quite a few people have received players which are region free so far as DVDs are concerned. Supposedly a code does have to be entered when playing Blu-ray discs from different regions, though.

There have been no firmware updates yet. I've actually been bugging Sherwood about it, since I've seen some intermittant hangs of region A (U.S.) BDs that I'm hoping will be fixed by revised firmware.

P.S. You can watch BDs at lower resolution without an HDMI cable, if you want. The player is happy to show them on its composite (yellow) video output. Component output should work fine, too, although I haven't tried that.

Robert Crawford · Feb 12, 2010

The player I ordered is finally on it's way to me. I hope to have it by Tuesday. Can somebody send me a PM with the Blu-ray codes for the different regions.

Crawdaddy

Selden Ball · Feb 13, 2010

The codes are described on the DVDBeaver web page linked in post #2 above.

Robert Crawford · Feb 13, 2010

Originally Posted by Selden Ball

The codes are described on the DVDBeaver web page linked in post #2 above.

So are they saying to play a North America region dvd or brd you need to use 973511 code then if you want to play a dvd or brd from the UK you need to use the 973522 code?

Crawdaddy

Paul Arnette · Feb 16, 2010

Originally Posted by Robert Crawford

So are they saying to play a North America region dvd or brd you need to use 973511 code then if you want to play a dvd or brd from the UK you need to use the 973522 code?

Crawdaddy

Yes, the player can only be set to one DVD and BD region at a time. The Sherwood uses the same codes as the Momitsu, so use the following for reference:

Momitsu BDP-899 Region Changing Instructions

You can alter the player's region code at any time using the remote control.

To change the code, make sure there is no disc loaded and enter 9735XY on
your remote, replacing X with the region code you want for DVDs (0-6) and Y
with the region code you want for Blu-Ray Discs (1-3 -note that 1 stands for
Region A, 2 stands for Region B, 3 stands for Region C). There is no single
Region-Free setting for Blu-Ray Discs, but you can change your player's
region coding at any time within seconds.

For example, here are probably the only two codes you will ever need:
973501 -sets the unit to Region Free mode for DVDs and Region A mode for
BD's. This should be the factory default setting.
973502 -sets the unit to Region Free mode for DVDs and Region B mode for
BD's.

These are probably the only two codes you will ever need to use, but here are
some more examples just for your reference:
973532 -DVD Region 3, BIu-Ray Region B
973522 -DVD Region 2, BIu-Ray Region 2
973541 -DVD Region 4, BIu-Ray Region 1 Etc.

The default on screen display (OSD) language for this player is Japanese. You
may refer to the manual for instructions to change it. Or you can use the
following button sequence on the remote while the player is in "stop" mode
or has no disc loaded: setup, right, down, down, down, right, enter

These instructions are courtesy HKFlix .com.

FYI. This player is a bit noisy and insanely bright with no dimming mechanism, which is problem for my viewing environment. I overcame the later with some opaque tape. The region modifiable aspect however worked like a charm. I set mine for 973502 and will continue to use my Panasonic DMP-BD55 for Region A or region free BDs.

Selden Ball · Feb 16, 2010

Apparently DVD region 0 is the equivalent of "region free", so a code of 973501 will let you play DVDs from any region.

Supposedly some region locked DVDs will refuse to play in a player set to region 0, but so far all of the Region 1 and Region 2 DVD's I've played haven't had that restriction. I've had no trouble playing DVDs from both regions 1 and 2 (as well as some "all region" DVSs) without changing the player code.

Robert Crawford · Feb 16, 2010

Paul and Selden,

Many thanks as my player showed up this afternoon. I will probably test it out tomorrow.

Crawdaddy

bgart13 · Mar 4, 2010

Thought I'd report on the Sherwood's ability to play region B blu-rays. I got MoC's M this week and gave the player the test. I first entered the code that is reported to be used and popped the disc in -- played perfectly fine. Over the next day, the player got shut off/used again and I watched a US blu-ray. At this point I put M on - low and behold the disc played perfectly fine again. I did not need to enter the code or do anything. So far, I'm very, very happy with the Sherwood. Good stuff, no firmware updates yet.

Selden Ball · Mar 10, 2010

Ben,

Thanks for the good news!

In contrast, I encountered my first anti-region free DVD a couple of days ago.
(I probably have others; this is just the first one that I've discovered.)

With the player set for region 0, the Fox Region 1 DVD disc set of the TV series _Defying Gravity_ displays a fancy screen saying that it won't play in the region. Setting the player to region 1 eliminated the problem and the DVDs play fine.

bgart13 · Mar 14, 2010

Strangely enough, I ended up having to monkey around with the codes to get a blu-ray or two to play after M. I forgot to come back and update on that fact. A hair disappointed, but overall I'm still happy with the player. So...sorry 'bout getting some hopes up. It still plays like a charm, at least.

Ben

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