Recommendations for an all-region Bluray and DVD player in Japan?

Back home, I used to use my PS3 to play all my Blurays and DVDs. Now I'm in Japan, I'm thinking the PS3 is one of my consoles I probably won't bother posting over due to it's weight. Plus, it wouldn't be able to play Japanese Blurays and DVDs anyway. So if I got a PS3 in Japan, I'd be able to play my Australian PS3 games but now would be unable to play any of my DVDs or Blurays. I think the best solution would be to get a Japanese PS3 and a region-free/unlocked Bluray and DVD player. Does anyone have any recommendations on what models I should be looking into and where to buy them? Doesn't matter if it comes region-unlocked out of the box or needs a code to be entered in, just so long as it can play all regions of DVD AND Bluray.

 

VLC can play any region DVD I've noticed, but if you want a player I can't answer that, for the time being however it's a short solution.

 

I have not yet found a Blu-ray player that can be made region free for Blu-ray discs by just entering a code. It used to be a common thing with DVD players and even today most BD players can only be made region-free for DVDs.

The best solution is a player where the region can be changed as you like. I use a Toshiba BDX1200. It also works with the BDX1100 and the BDX3200 which also plays 3D Blu-rays.

The process is simple: flash a certain Australian firmware and you can enter a code in the Setup menu to access the options to change the region. You have to repeat the process every time when the codes of the disc and the player don't match. Of course it can also be set to region 0 for DVDs.

The device itself is already a couple of years old and it's getting harder and harder to find even used. Also you can only use one certain firmware version which means that you can run into compatibility issues with newer discs.

I haven't looked into other models where the region code is changeable as I'm still very happy with the Toshiba. But you can check avforums.com for recent developments.

If you're not very concerned about space why not use two players? One for region A and one for B. You can then update the firmwares if needed and if you have one that is region-free for DVDs, you're set.

 

I agree with cez, I use the BDX3200. It's easy enough to use (no opening things or installing chips etc...).......I use mainly US, UK, European and sometimes Australian blurays.....they stopped selling the BDX3200 in Australia (based on looking for a spare in JB Hifi - local eletronics/music shop) , I was told the Bluray licencing company told them they had to stop making it possible to bypass region codes or they'd be in violation of their licence agreement. Not sure how true it is, but it makes sense why manufacturers do not put the feature in a default even though its a big selling point (albeit to a small audience perhaps?)....and why its become harder to get hold of them....

there's a thread on the device here http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1785959

 

I looked into one of the models cex suggested and found THIS on Amazon Japan. Judging from the description, it seems like it comes with the region unlock pre-installed!

I had a look at some other models, and it seems like THIS and THIS one are region-free out of the box and don't need you to manually switch regions, they'll do this for you automatically. Can anyone confirm? With the Sony one, I can't find any reference to it's multi-region capabilities on the Sony website, so I was thinking that some dude on Amazon is simply selling machines with hacked firmware, but the player is listed as being sold by Sony themselves?

 

Be careful. The BDX1300 is region free for DVDs only. It will only play region A Blu-rays. The OREI seems to support changing the Blu-ray region out of the box. What's interesting ist that the code you have to enter in the setup/factory menu is the same as for the Toshiba models. Maybe they use the same OS?

Sony players in general can only be made region-free for DVD playback by using an universal remote. I guess the seller has hardware-modded it for Blu-rays. Also, it is not being sold by Sony themselves. Check the info below the price. All region-free or multi-region devices are offered via Amazon Marketplace. Toshiba, Sony and all the others would never sell or promote region-free players.

If you're lucky and patient you can probably find one of the Toshiba models in Australia for way less than the Amazon listings. I recently found a used BDX1200 locally for 35 EUR which I bought for a friend. Download and flash the firmware and you'll have a multi-region player in five minutes.

 

From what I can see, the one I linked to on Amazon is using a hacked firmware that makes both DVDs and Blurays region-free, the stock player won't do this as you said. Looking around, there's actually a hardware hack that does this, so it seems pretty hardcore.

 

Found this on aliexpress, looks as though it is region free, even supports usb playback.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Geck...ray-player-blu-ray-player-red/1692279740.html

 

I'm not too sure about that brand... Looks like a cheap Chinese one. Thanks for looking though! I'm sorta leaning more towards this guy who's got a multi-region BIOS hack that lets you choose the BD region as it boots. This works on Sony players.