Region-Free Blu-ray Player/HDMI+Coax Audio Recommendations (1 Viewer)

Hi, all. I've taken a look at existing discussions but I'm asking for a friend and he has a couple of specific requirements that seemed to make it worth starting a new thread. To wit:
1. That it's as slim as possible, height-wise, due to space constraints, and ...
2. That I can view discs via HDMI and simultaneously listen to audio via coaxial digital.

I don't even know -- is it ever an issue to output audio via coax while doing video via HDMI? I assume not, but I know inexpensive hardware sometimes comes with some weird constraints.

I saw some discussion of the Orei BDP-M2, but it looked like there may be a tendency for that player to seize up at random. (User schan1269 had to send one back to the retailer, and I think he said his replacement has seized up once since he got it.) Low prices are great, but I'm sure my friend would rather pay extra to ensure a no-hassle experience.

So, does anyone have a recommendation for a very slim region-free Blu-ray player? Or should I just send him to 220-electronics and tell him to knock himself out? Thanks for the consideration ...

I'll chime in on the Orei. I only paid $120 for mine. I was told(by Bombay) that this player has a tendency to freeze because of the hack(the hack takes memory capacity...???). Of course they tell you that after you buy it...not before.

None of its freezes happen during playback. It is always on shutdown. Matter of fact, it happened about a week ago. Currently doing a review of the Pioneer/Elite79 and have already watched 9 movies(6 bd). It froze once. Right now...I left it on...and watched a movie yesterday.

My big gripe about the Orei is the remote. Seriously...it belongs in Fisher-Price colors. I haven't tried learning it into another remote...and the brand doesn't exist in "the codes" for Onkyo or Pioneer(I won't have the SC79 long enough to bother learning the remote).

I haven't tried the non-HDMI on the Orei, so I can't comment if it is "one or the other".