How is regionfreedvd.com? (1 Viewer)

[Rich Allen]

I was looking at the Pioneer DV-588 in their site and they have it region free for $179. How are they as a vendor and how is that player for that price? It looks like a decent truly universal player at that price point? I know I can find it cheaper as a region 1 player, but I want to replace my existing region free player, an old Apex 600 that I paid that much for when I got it.

Thanks.

 

[Ronn.W]

I wouldn't buy it. I've never used that site, but my experience with most region free player sites is that they are jacking up the price on players that are basically sold region free out of the box. A little research just showed that the Pioneer DV-588 is unlocked with a remote code, which means it's something you can do on your own.

I would suggest looking at the DVD hacks section www.videohelp.com You may be surprised to find out how many off the shelf players become region free with the pressing of a few buttons.

 

[Rich Allen]

I looked there and it wasn't a remote hack, but a firmware update. And I really don't trust some of them. I've had several screw up the machine. It's worth a bit extra to avoid that risk. If it was a remote hack, I'd do that in a heartbeat. Where did you find that it was a remote hack anyway?

 

[Nathan_R]

Pioneer remote hacks are hit-or-miss. There's info on the DV-588's remote hack here: http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks.ph...neer+DV-588A-S

I own a DV-79AVi and tried the remote hack posted for my machine, but remote's code (entered via a Pronot) was meant for European machines only and will not work on my North American model.

Personally, I wouldn't pay $180 for a region-free 588 (not that it's a bad player, I just don't think it's worth it). I think you'd be better off looking for one of the discontinued Samsung universal player for $150 or so and grab its upscaling dvi/hdmi abilities, as a bonus.

What's your budget for a region-free universal player?

 

[Rich Allen]

I'm looking at less than $200. I'm not particularly looking for HDMI, but if I can get it in the price range, sounds good. How are the Samsungs made region free, a remote hack or a firmware update?

From what I gathered, the remote hack for the 588 was for the European model. I went to the link at Video Help and they seemed to be using firmware updates for US players.

 

[Ronn.W]

Is this going to be your main, full time player; or just a player for region free discs?

A lot of people on other forums are very happy with the Philips DVP642, which I believe is just remote hacked, and costs around $60. Also, in many cases, the firmware hacks are using the same firmware that the manufacturer uses to change the region code before shipping them out.

 

[Ronn.W]

Here are some other models listed from a couple of threads at some other forums I visit. These seem to be the ones that everone are always talking about:

Philips DVP-642
Oppo OPDV971H
Samsung HD850

Also do a search here, I know there have been quite a few threads where it's discussed.

 

[Rich Allen]

Its just for the occasional foreign disk, and a couple of SACDs and DVD-A's I have. Not a main player. None of those do all three that I can see. If I read it right, the Oppo does do DVD-A, but not SACD and costs almost as much as the Pioneer bought as region free.

I've got a region free player, an old Apex 600 and plan on replacing it, with one player, one that also does the SACDs and DVD-As. Two different players is unfortunately not an option.

 

[David Norman]

I think the Samsung HD950 does SACD and DVDA and I'm 95% sure it is easily made region free. It can be found for $160 at Amazon.

 

[Rich Allen]

But then again, you're back in the same price range as the Pioneer. I would think that that one is a better unit that the Samsung. HMDI for this player is totally unimportant to me so that really isn't an issue.

 

[David Norman]

Another option is the 578A which can be had off Ebay from a couple reputable sellers region free, PAL-NTSC converting, SACD/DVDA for under $100. I don't know regionfree's return policy, but the 563/578/588 series has a lot of believers over the last few years.

 

[Jongyoon Lee]

Personally I wouldn't pay more than $100 on a backup player that'll be used mainly for non region-1 DVD's. Samsung HD841, HD850, Zenith DVB318, LG DVB418 are all under $100, provide upscaling through component and/or DVI, and can be easily converted to region free.

 

[Rich Allen]

But do they do DVD-A and SACD?

 

[Jongyoon Lee]

Samsung's do both. LG's do DVD-A only. IMHO sub $200 universal player is oxymoron, but that's something else.

 

[Rich Allen]

According to Samsungs website, the HD850 doesn't do SACD or DVD-A. The 841 does both, but it's not a current player and I'm not thrilled about buying a used one. I don't believe the Zenith does either. The LG doesn't do sacd. HDMI is unimportant to me.

Actually, that Pioneer 578 is sounding better and better all the time. I might see what I can find out on it.