Where to get multi-region DVD player?

by **gpvillamil** » Tue May 06, 2003 4:14 pm

What is a good place to buy a multi-region (or region-free) DVD player?

by **GuyJean** » Tue May 06, 2003 4:27 pm

gpvillamil wrote:What is a good place to buy a multi-region (or region-free) DVD player?

Try here:

http://www.jlist.com/PG/DVD/DVRF/

I've never bought from them, but they help sponsor my site. Tell em' TokyoDV sent ya' :wink:

Good luck,

GJ

by **gpvillamil** » Tue May 06, 2003 4:32 pm

GuyJean wrote:
gpvillamil wrote:What is a good place to buy a multi-region (or region-free) DVD player?

Try here:

http://www.jlist.com/PG/DVD/DVRF/

I've never bought from them, but they help sponsor my site. Tell em' TokyoDV sent ya'

Good luck,

GJ

I'm actually in Tokyo - don't need to have the player shipped from San Diego! But thanks anyway.

by **GuyJean** » Tue May 06, 2003 4:45 pm

gpvillamil wrote:I'm actually in Tokyo - don't need to have the player shipped from San Diego! But thanks anyway.

If you email him, he might be able to help you out. He lives in Japan... I don't know. At 100 bucks, it STILL might be cheaper to have it shipped from the States..?

GJ

by **GomiGirl** » Tue May 06, 2003 4:54 pm

I have a DVD question as well.. is it possible to record using a DVD player like you can with a video..

Sorry for the lame question, but I am a mobile freak after all!! :roll:

by **GuyJean** » Tue May 06, 2003 4:57 pm

GomiGirl wrote:I have a DVD question as well.. is it possible to record using a DVD player like you can with a video..

If you buy a DVD Recorder, which jumps up quite a bit in price, you can record. Right now, they're usually just players.

GJ

by **GomiGirl** » Tue May 06, 2003 5:01 pm

I am such a DVD newbie, I wouldn't know what to buy. GuyJean, which one would YOU get?

I just want to hook it up to the teve to watch DVD's.. or perhaps I will just stick to the vid's for now as I am never home to watch them either...

by **GuyJean** » Tue May 06, 2003 5:19 pm

GomiGirl wrote:I am such a DVD newbie, I wouldn't know what to buy. GuyJean, which one would YOU get?

That's a good questions. I was just poking around on Kakaku, Bic, and Yodo, but didn't really find much.. From what I can see, Yodobashi has ONE for sale online (18,000)!? Kakaku doesn't have any..

I think I'd have to actually go to the store to touch and feel it. I don't like products that 'feel' cheap. They usually are.

If you just want to watch DVDs, get a reasonable one. But there are a few things to consider:

- Will you only watch DVDs in your region?
- Are you going to take the player with you if you leave? Is your home coutnry in the same region?
- If you burn DVDs on your computer in the future, will the player play them?

Some things to consider.. I personally watch DVDs with my laptop hooked up to the TV.. But it's a pain to connect each time; speakers, etc..

Does anyone know the prices of DVD players in Japan? Region free? Like I posted before, jlist has region free players, in English for $109, plus $28 for international shipping from San Diego. It's STILL cheaper than Yodobashi's ONE.. But they could possibly 'feel' cheap. :wink:

GJ

by **Marvin Feltcher** » Tue May 06, 2003 5:56 pm

You beauty! A tecchie question I can answer...sort of!

You don't just need region-free if you want to watch DVDs from around the world, you'll also need to have system interchangeable TV (worldwide TV is how I'd usually say it).
That means in addition to being able to play DVDs from any region, it also has to be able to play NTSC (Japan, North America) and PAL (most other places) TV systems.
You can get these types of players at any of the big retailers in Akihabara. I bought a portable unit in January last year and it cost 90,000 yen, but I'm sure they're cheaper and better now.

by **Hana_Mizu** » Tue May 06, 2003 6:10 pm

This may be a long shot, but try looking for a DVD player you like and then find a handset hack on one of these sites below

http://www.dvdanswers.com/index.php?s=3&p=all
http://www.totaldvd.net/features/hacks.php

I used a handset hack on a player I used to have back in the U.K, but I have no idea if all the hacks work. Good luck anyway!

by **kamome** » Tue May 06, 2003 6:39 pm

I think Ultra is the reigning expert on all things DVD, so you should ask him these questions.

I was lucky enough to win a Region 2 DVD player at a bingo game (a Toshiba SD-1500), which enables me to rent movies from Tsutaya and also watch my pirated movies.

Anyway, I think the Toshiba SD-1500 is a low cost player, but my experience with it has been completely positive. So if you happen to see that model advertised for about 1 man 5 sen yen, you should grab it.

by **Big Booger** » Tue May 06, 2003 6:49 pm

the definitive source for DVD hacks is
http://www.dvdrhelp.com/dvdhacks

They have a long list of players that are hackable, they rate the DVD players by what they play whether it is a homebrew VCD, SVCD, XVCD, DVD, DVDRAM, DVDR, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, or any one of the above.

I used it when I purchased my last APEX DVD player (IMHO they are the best).

They make firmware hacks that effectively remove the region issues.

by **GuyJean** » Tue May 06, 2003 6:50 pm

by **Taro Toporific** » Wed May 07, 2003 9:06 am

GomiGirl wrote:I am such a DVD newbie, I wouldn't know what to buy....

Hell, I'm in the business and I don't know what to buy. It's an ever confusing dog-eat-god world of DVD standards out there...

From J@pan Inc Magazine: _ G A D G E T _ W A T C H _

Name: Sony BDZ-S77
Category: DVD/AV
Price: 398,000 yen
Release date in Japan: April 10, 2003

The Gist: It's a world first, and it's set to change the DVD scene forever, folks. Please welcome the BDZ-S77 from Sony, the first ever released Blu-ray recorder! Blu-ray discs are the successor to DVD and the living proof that for every marketing professional you manage to bury 10 feet down in the Nevada desert (just a suggestion), another 100 will pop up and spring another gadget format on you. Just when everyone is being persuaded to surrender their old videotapes and convert to the heavenliness that is DVD, your marketing department of your average consumer electronics conglomerate ups and produces yet another new system you simply can't live without. But whether you welcome Blu-ray with open arms or view it as the next threat to the well-being of your pocketbook, the format is here to stay because it's bigger (the Blu-ray discs are 23GB and the max capacity of discs is said to be 27GB on one side), it's clearer (it can cope with high def images without compression losses), and it's faster, with a transfer rate of 36Mbps.

The new format is backed by Matsushita, Philips, Sony, Hitachi, LG, Pioneer, Samsung, Sharp and Thomson, so resistance is, clearly, futile. The BDZ-S77 has a built-in BS Digital television tuner, so the machine can record two hours of programs in both 1080i and 720p and, if you're quick, you can snap one up in stores such as Yodabashi or Bic Camera in Shinjuku for under 400,000 yen (the manufacturer's suggested retail price is 450,000 yen).
More info: http://www.sony.jp/products/Consumer/BD/index.html

From J@pan Inc Magazine:
G A D G E T W A T C H
The Hottest Gadgets and Gizmos from Japan
Issue No. 99, Friday, April 25, 2003

by **bejiita** » Wed May 07, 2003 12:24 pm

I was also looking for a region-free DVD player a couple of months ago.

What did I do? Ended up buying a Shuttle mini system.

I then slapped in a DVD drive, large hard disk and TV card. Since this Shuttle system had TV out, I now have a PVR system plus a region-free DVD player via DVD Genie software.

Seriously, these little multimedia all-in-one systems are the future replacements for all of the separate turn-key units. Another plus is you can load it up with all the divx/xvid codecs out there.

Finally, with a USB remote control, you can control this system from the comfort of your own couch.

by **Hana_Mizu** » Wed May 07, 2003 12:50 pm

bejiita wrote:I was also looking for a region-free DVD player a couple of months ago.

What did I do? Ended up buying a Shuttle mini system.

I then slapped in a DVD drive, large hard disk and TV card. Since this Shuttle system had TV out, I now have a PVR system plus a region-free DVD player via DVD Genie software.

As dedicated DVD player/recorders are upwards of 80,000 Yen, I thought about doing that myself. How much did the whole setup cost you?

by **bejiita** » Wed May 07, 2003 3:50 pm

Total price was about US$600 for a PIII 1GHz, 512MB SDRAM, 80GB HD system.

by **gpvillamil** » Wed May 07, 2003 3:56 pm

Come on, I lived in HK all last year, and you could just walk into a shop and buy a region-free DVD player! Surely this is possible in Japan? Or perhaps I should just have bought the player in HK...

by **Hana_Mizu** » Wed May 07, 2003 5:26 pm

bejiita wrote:Total price was about US$600 for a PIII 1GHz, 512MB SDRAM, 80GB HD system.

That doesn't sound too bad at all. PC component prices are dropping like crazy at the moment too. Hmmm, looks like I have myself a project for this summer

gpvillamil,

You really should have bought one in H.K. when you had the chance! Not only are most of the players multi-region, but they're dirt cheap too!

by **canman** » Wed May 07, 2003 5:43 pm

I have two DVD players one is a Samsung and one is an LG and both of them have hacks that I found on the Internet. I read that the Korean makers make their hacks available, but that the Japanese makers won't. Also I am no tech master and it was quite easy for me to make them region free. Then whenever I am home, or I want a DVD that won't be coming here for a while I just call my brother in Canada and get him to send it to me. At a big saving too!
The web site for the hacks is;
http://www.dvdrhelp.com/dvdhacks.php
I hope it helps

by **gpvillamil** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 1:36 pm

OK, I found what I was looking for.

A small shop in Akasaka, run by a Chinese family, sells a wide range of DVD players from Japanese manufacturers, all region-free or multi-region. They had models from Pioneer (29,800), Sharp (19,800) and JVC (19,800) with all the bells and whistles. All the models support MP3, VCD, SVCD playback, etc.

Their details are:

Dai-Ichi-Onkyo Corp
Sansui-Kaikan Bldg.
3-6-12 Akasaka
Minato-ku
Tokyo 107-0052

Tel: 3583 4620
Fax: 3505 6058

by **Caustic Saint** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 1:46 pm

You can get one online from The Flying Pig, a service that shops at Costco for non-menbers.

They carry an LG Region Free DVD Player for 11,980. I'm not sure what their shipping costs are.

by **Caustic Saint** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 1:51 pm

Caustic Saint wrote:You can get one online from The Flying Pig, a service that shops at Costco for non-menbers.

They carry an LG Region Free DVD Player for 11,980. I'm not sure what their shipping costs are.

DOH! I posted too soon. No, the price is good, I just found detailed specs for that unit is all.

In Japanese

In English (Babelfish translation0

by **GargoyleTS** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 3:34 pm

I don't know about buying a decoder, but as soon as I get my Xbox I am gonna try: Video In from Xbox via ATI USB TV Tuner to Computer to Video Out from Geforce 4 MX440. I can't test this yet as I don't have either a second VCR or the Xbox yet.

by **Caustic Saint** » Sun Feb 08, 2004 8:36 pm

I'm in the market for a region-free player myself, so I thought I'd bump this up and share some of the info I've found.

The best selection I've seen online for region-free player is from YesAsia.com. They've got 17 different models to choose from. The two that've piqued my interest are:

The Giec GK-6000 (YesAsia page & mfr's page)

and the Mizuda DVD-888 (YesAsia page & mfr's page).

Both are compact players (260x48x215mm vs. 110X270X300mm), and the look of the Mizuda is pretty cool. I didn't care too much for the slot-load drive at first glance, but the disc tray on the Giec looks pretty thin, which may make it prone to breakage.

Best of all, YesAsia has free shipping to just about anywhere in the world.

I'll probably wait until after I unload my PS2 (I never use it anymore) before picking one of these units up, but when/if I do get one, I'll post my opinion of it here.

by **kamome** » Mon Feb 09, 2004 1:39 pm

bikkle wrote:The Toshiba SD-4900 is available in the US for under $100. It plays all region discs with a few clicks of the remote and correctly converts PAL signals to NTSC. It's supposedly a rebadge of an LG model.

Is it possible to have this model shipped to Japan through an online retailer?

by **NeoNecroNomiCron** » Mon Feb 09, 2004 4:07 pm

I know ultra discourages this kind of shit being discussed, But seriously guys. Expats a small member of a population and big companies dont really cater for you. But they do cater for piracy, why do sompanies like sony invest so much in anti coping yet sell the copiers. Same will mutli region DVD players, the pirates saw a market hole and filled it. Then the big companies saw it as being profitable to sell multi region player. Enough of that aimless rant.
You know even tv dvdplayers(as opposed to computer ones) the region can be changed by a simple code. Because of greed and mass production. The codes of every country are often inside the DVD player and can be unlocked by using the remote control. There are loads of websites with make and model information and how the region can be changed easily.

by **Caustic Saint** » Mon Feb 09, 2004 5:39 pm

bikkle wrote:
kamome wrote:Is it possible to have this model shipped to Japan through an online retailer?

I dunno, but Amazon has it.

On Amazon it's provided by Office Depot, but they don't ship internationally.

Shopping.com lists it at 24 different online retailers. One of them may ship to Japan.

by **Big Booger** » Mon Feb 09, 2004 6:18 pm

I hate the fact that Amazon doesn't ship electronics internationally.. that blows.

And walmart doesn't ship internationally nor accept International CCs... sucks ass!

by **Taro Toporific** » Mon Feb 09, 2004 6:45 pm

Big Booger wrote:I
And walmart doesn't ship internationally nor accept International CCs... sucks ass!

Of course. Walmart owns the controlling interest of SEIYU Dept. Stores and Supermarkets so expect that to change soon.

Cost-Co won't ship to Japan because their stores charge double here (which is still 50% less than the rest of the retail theives here).

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Where to get multi-region DVD player?

Where to get multi-region DVD player?

Re: Where to get multi-region DVD player?

Re: Where to get multi-region DVD player?

Re: Where to get multi-region DVD player?

A tecchie question I can answer!

Welcome to the confusing dog-eat-god world of DVD standards

there has to be an easier way...

Don't buy a Japanese model

Found shop selling multi-region DVD players

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