Where to get multi-region DVD player?

[Caustic Saint]

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).

But even if you don't have a Costco card, you can use The Flying Pig buyers' club. They've got the region-free LG dvd player for 12,980yen DVD Player DVP-L36

[Big Booger]

taro,
You hit it. I cannot wait. I wished they'd change the farking name.. seiyu sounds so crappy. Wal-mart. Now there's a name that sounds aggressive and borderline "Iron Curtainish" LOL

Everytime I go into Wal-mart stateside I feel like I have entered the Orwellian Twilight Zone.. I see all those black globes and cameras everywhere.. feels like a trip inside the Bellagio.. or one of those other Cajinos

[kamome]

I get around the non-international shipping retailers by maintaining a P.O. Box in the States. Have a retailer, like Wal-Mart, ship the package to your PO Box, then have the PO Box ship the package to you in Japan. Problem is, it adds extra shipping charges. Benefit is that it's pretty hassle-free.

[Captain Japan]

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.

My DVD player is from nihon. All the sites I've checked don't include the model no. in their lists. Anyone know of such a site in Japanese? Or anyone know roughly what the heck I'd type into google in Japanese to find one?

[NeoNecroNomiCron]

My DVD player is from nihon. All the sites I've checked don't include the model no. in their lists. Anyone know of such a site in Japanese? Or anyone know roughly what the heck I'd type into google in Japanese to find one?

Dont you know that Japanese never circumvent the rules!!

[Captain Japan]

Dont you know that Japanese never circumvent the rules!!

This crossed my mind as being a potential problem...

[Taro Toporific]

[Taro Toporific]

Dont you know that Japanese never circumvent the rules!!

Except for the mosaic hackers. :P

Oh my Buddha!
Do you mean all Japanese girls don't look chunky down there?

[Blah Pete]

I brought DVDs from 3 regions when I bought my DVD to test the capability. The sales guy told me almost all JVC and some Pioneer are All Region. It is actually against the rules here to advertise as All Region.

[Caustic Saint]

[13]

Hey! I haven't bought anything from this place myself but............:


http://www.primepc.jp/audio_video/share.php?contents=tw-3033&m=n

7.980 Yen!!! You can't beat the price.

Hang on.....: http://www.1-s.co.jp/sales/
Click on DVD players (use altavista's translate tool if your Japanese is not on top , like mine), the "ZTO-010" model is region free for 6.990 Yen!!!!!!!
And......
The " Cyber storm TK -0024 " description says it's "region 0", usually that means regionfree(but check first), price: 5.480 Yen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This shop is actually a PC store in Nipponbashi, Osaka.Great store!

Shop on!

[cstaylor]

Ultra - dumb question, can I walk into a Japanese electronics store and buy a Toshiba SD-4900, or are they sold in Japan under a different model number?

[Caustic Saint]

Media Land in Akihabara has one that goes for 9,900 yen.

See it here.

I saw this one at a few other places as well, but everybody had it for the same price.

[blackcat]

hi Im looking for a region free DVD player in Japan...I had a el cheapo but it died...looking for something better with warranty.

this site looks good
http://www.world-import.com/dvd.htm
and the Yamaha S550 looks good
http://www.planet3000.com/MSDVD_YAMH_dvd-s550_DTL.shtml
anyone have one or know where I can get one in japan?
Thanks

[GuyJean]

hi Im looking for a region free DVD player in Japan...I had a el cheapo but it died...

What brand was it?

I'm satisfied with my LG, via Flying Pig:
http://www.theflyingpig.com/tfp/shop.asp?SC=173&PR=363&LN=1

Also, try here:
http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3209

GJ

[emperor]

the Yamaha S550 looks good

Thats a great little dvd. I point that one out to all my favourite customers in work... when im not fleecing them for really over-priced bose products

[Blah Pete]

I bought a DVD player about 2 years ago and the guy at the store in Akihabara said that all JVC players and some Pioneer were All Region.
They can't advertise as All Region is Japan though.

Take a collection of DVDs from different regions and go to your local electronics store and try the JVCs and Pioneers. Don't forget to make a full report back to FG for the next time this question comes up.

[XIII]

Some players can be modified with your remote control.

Check this site for different models: http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks

[blackcat]

the el cheapo I had was a momitsu....played all regions but died pretty fast.

the next wave looks OK a friend of mine has one....but it seems the Yamaha is the best...important it can play on all tVs.

[Pencilslave]

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

Forgive my ignorance, but why do they have region encoding on dvd's and dvd players in the first place?

[Caustic Saint]

Forgive my ignorance, but why do they have region encoding on dvd's and dvd players in the first place?

So the studios can control when movies come out in different parts of the world, and then charge more in certain territories than they do in others.

[Skankster]

Forgive my ignorance, but why do they have region encoding on dvd's and dvd players in the first place?

So the studios can control when movies come out in different parts of the world, and then charge more in certain territories than they do in others.

Its called economies of scale.
(not really]Region Free [/b]DVD players? (4 PC)
and does anybody know the drawbacks or limitations w/ Region Free Players?

[GuyJean]

But in the meantime does anyone know a shop that has Region Free DVD players? (4 PC)

Edit: Nope.. Sorry, man.

GJ

[emperor]

Some countries have larger economies than others. They can use this to exploit higher pricing in some (more profitable) regions.
Terrible isnt it!?!?!

That and the rights to distribute the movies are sold to different film distribution companies in various countries and continents..

the guy at the store in Akihabara said that all JVC players and some Pioneer were All Region.

The Pioneer dvd player we sell in my shop are modified by the distibutor in ireland not Pioneer.
The dvd-drives in Bose lifestyle systems come unlocked to all regions
(i think bose do that themselves as we get our stuff direct from them)

[fatslug]

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

hong kong

[jingai]

Computer DVD drives are so cheap, what's stopping you from installing 2 (one US, one JP region)? To make it less wasteful, get one that's a DVD-RW drive and one that's just a regular DVD drive.

[FG Lurker]

Just noticed this thread, figured I'd add my 2 yens' worth too.

I've had two region free DVD players and bought another for a friend.

The first one I had was a Samsung (model 511?) that was hackable via its remote. Worked fine, but was NTSC only.

Bought an LG from Costco for a friend, it was both region free and PAL/NTSC multi-format. Worked great for her, so I went back about a week later to get one for myself. Sold out.

The next time I went they didn't have any more LGs, now they carry a region free & PAL/NTSC multi-format player made by "by d:sign". Yah, weird name. It works really well though, was dirt cheap (7,000yen), and the remote layout is much better than the Samsung or the LG. PAL/NTSC multi-format is great!

Anyway, for anyone who wants a multi-region and/or multi-format player I suggest getting one at Costco, or if you are too far from a Costco then get it through the Flying Pig.

As for PCs, many drives can be umm, "adjusted" via firmware updates to work in region free (aka RPC1) mode. Lite-on and LG are two brands that are known for this, some Pioneer drives too. I have a Lite-on that was easily set to region free with a utility from within Windows XP. Works perfectly.

This part might be going out towards the edge of the forum rules... But if you have a region locked (aka RPC2) DVD drive in your computer, and you can not or do not want to adjust the drive itself, a fantastic piece of software called AnyDVD will let you play any region of DVD that you wish. It's not free, but it is quite cheap. Search for it on Google if you want more info. They have a 3 week trial period too, so you can check it out before you buy. Highly recommended!

One more item... I recently bought a combo DVD/hard drive unit. It's not a recorder, the hard drive can be loaded with music or video for playback on the TV. Called a "Mpeg HD Gate". Strange name, came in an orange box. It is also region free and multi-format. Will play standard DVDs, MP3, VCD, SVCD, DiVX, xvid, and a bunch of other stuff. It crashed a few times when I first started using it but after a quick firmware update it's perfect now. Really pleased with it! (The only thing I don't like is that it is not whisper-quiet. It has a fan that cools the hard disk bay so makes some noise.)

I think that about covers it for now!

Ian

[Big Booger]

I have hooked into my TV a micro ATX PC with CD burner, DVD ROM drive, 80GB hdd, TV tuner card etc...

I can surf the net, listen to music, watch TV, record tv, play DVDs, VCDs, SVCDs, etc...

Load photo CDs and view them on my TV, make photo cds etc..

Also, I went and bought a Logitech wireless duo keyboard and mouse for this particular setup so I being the lazy couch potato I am can do all this from the comfort of my kotatsu or from my couch..

I recommend this setup if you truly want versatility and the ability to watch nearly any DVD you want.

ANd there is a program called anydvd that allows for free region playing of any and all DVDs.

You can get anydvd at the link below:

http://www.slysoft.com/en/anydvd.html

And it is totally legitimate.

[Caustic Saint]

I found a place in Akihabara selling a batch of different DVD players. I've not bought one from them (mine's working fine), but they have a good selection and would be worth a look from anybody shopping for a player.

Here's how to get there:

1. Take JR to Akihabara Station
2. Exit through the Electric Town Exit
3. Once you go through the ticket gates, turn left and exit the station.
4. Once outside, turn right and head up to the main road.
5. Cross the main road at the first crosswalk on your right.
6. Once you've crossed the street, turn right, then take the first
street on your left (Club Sega will be on your immediate right as you
start down this street).
7. Take the first right turn.
8. The shop you're looking for is about one block down on the left.

It is a corner shop on the left side of the street and has red awnings. It has a very "as seen on TV" or "things that fell of the back of a truck" feel to it, but it's a great shop. They carry six different (as of Sunday, 27 Feb.) DVD players from 4,000 (for a basic one) to 23,800 (for a super-high tech model). The most expensive low-end one was 7,699 when I was there today. They've even got one with a 5.1 surround sound setup that goes for about 7,000.

The 4,000 model is very compact and looks like it'd be perfect for people short on space. There are no region codes on any of the boxes, so I'm assuming they're all region free. Just an assumption mind you, but I think it's a pretty safe one to make.

If anybody gets a player from this place, can you post here which one you got and what your opinon of it is?

[Grumblebum]

I've used this place several times:

http://www.noguchi-nagoya.co.jp/eindex.htm

They also do multi-standard TVs and stuff.

Bought a video standards converter from them some years back, and got my multi-region JVC DVD player from there. I think most of their multi-region players are imported from Hong Kong or similar - mine actually has a Region 3 symbol on the back.

In terms of pricing they probably aren't the cheapest, but they were pretty prompt when I dealt with them. Not sure what their English is like though - all my dealings were in Japanese..