New Zealand - Region free DVD players?

skibumwa

11th February 2008, 09:34 PM

CJ22

11th February 2008, 09:40 PM

Hi John, in fact most DVD players are region free if you know how :)

You can generally unlock them by an obscure combination of key presses on the remote control, allowing them to become region-free. Each brand is different.

Google for "region free dvd player" for various sites that list unlocking codes for various DVD players. DON'T pay anybody any money - there's a couple of sites that appear to be trying to sell various solutions to the unwary. There are free sites that will do the trick quite nicely.

This one is a good one:
http://www.dvdhacks.co.uk/

Croft

11th February 2008, 10:18 PM

Some of the modern ones are getting more difficult to crack, but still possible. For some of the more difficult players the simplest way is to buy one of the many remote controls on the market that are designed to replace multiple controllers, They have a 'magic' button which allows reprogramming - you don't have to continue to use the controller, it's a once only process. Otherwise you have to download a program onto your Pocket PC or laptop (anything with an IR port) and do it that way - cheaper but more complex!

dilanium

11th February 2008, 11:30 PM

Just be careful with Sony's. I've heard they are ridiculously hard to crack.

For now why not get a cable and plug your Macbook into your TV and do a dual display? Very easy. If you have a bluetooth mouse and keyboard then you don't even need to get up once you set it up!

Mels

11th February 2008, 11:37 PM

mikewalkerfrom

11th February 2008, 11:45 PM

or you can just go to Bond and Bond and buy a multi region dvd player! Take your american dvds along and test them in the shop to be sure

CJ22

12th February 2008, 12:41 AM

It switches off the region-checking feature, so you can play DVDs of any region or none (not all DVDs have a region encoding). The region-protection is an entirely artificial block, designed to stop the importing of DVDs across regions. It's just a flag set on the DVD itself. If the DVD player doesn't check the flag, then it will play the DVD quite happily. The formatting of the disk is no different (although the video content itself will be in either NTSC or PAL, but I assume you've resolved that problem already).

DVD region encoding is a highly dubious practice. For a start, it makes no account for people like you who have a stock of DVDs purchased in one region who simply want to move somewhere that's in another region. It also means you can't buy DVDs while on holiday in a region other than the one to which your player belongs. Stoopid. By the way, it is not illegal to switch off the region-checking of your DVD player, which is why so many manufacturers leave in a back-door and the solution 'leaks' onto these internet sites. Region-encoding is not in the interests of DVD player manufacturers.

Croft

12th February 2008, 01:21 AM

Just be careful with Sony's. I've heard they are ridiculously hard to crack.

Yes, they are - hence my allusion to the more recent players being harder to hack. We just got a Sony DVD recorder (half Nectar points offer, a bargain) and I'm going to have to do some really fiddly stuff to crack it. Our old player was just insert a Region 1 DVD, press a couple of keys on the remote, turn the DVD off and hey presto!!

CJ22

12th February 2008, 01:25 AM

Well Sony are a major content owner too, so not really that surprising :)

Croft

12th February 2008, 01:48 AM

Well Sony are a major content owner too, so not really that surprising :)

True! Hadn't thought of that...

Caco

12th February 2008, 02:55 AM

You can also remove the code protection from the dvd re recording it into a dvd-r, you can use anydvd or dvddecrypter.

My two cents....

kanatakiwi

12th February 2008, 05:22 AM

we bought a multi region DVD player here, didnt cost any more than the other ones. The manual gave instructions on how to change region codes. This is what it says:

The instructions below allow you to set your DVD player to allow discs with any "region code" (zone) to be played back. It is recommended you only follow these instructions if you are having problems playing back DVDs that were not intended for New Zealand (ZONE4).

EJECT the disc-tray and remove any disc that may be present.
With the disc-tray OPEN, press "2812" to display a special "Setup Menu" on the TV (screen).
Select the "DVD" region option in the menu using the "enter" key. The numbers on the "menu" correspond to the six regions⁄zones. For example, "1" is "Zone1", "2" is "Zone2", etc.
Use the "arrow keys" along with the "enter" key to set the required region. (Note: "9" allows for "Multizone" playback)

IanW99

12th February 2008, 05:52 AM

Does anyone know where I can buy a 'region free' DVD player here in NZ? Preferably in Welly or nearby. I suppose if they are sold in Auckland, I can have a mate mail it to me. Please let me know, because my US dvd player broke and all of my DVDs are coded region #1 (US) so now I am sort of up the creek without a paddle unless I want to use my Apple MacBook Pro (bought in Oregon, USA) laptop as my permanent DVD entertainment system.

Cheers,

John

Most shops in NZ appear to already sell multi-region DVD players if you ask them.

If you want a 'cheap' player then it most DVD players sold in the Warehouse are already region free, I guess this is because they sell DVDs from various regions.

When buying our last DVD player in NZ, we just asked if it could play other regions and either they said yes, or they went behind the counter and got out a list of instructions for the DVD player to switch it to multi-region.

If you go somewhere that doesn't know then either test it, or do a quick google for this model to confirm that there is a simple 'code' to enter to switch the region.

Ian

IanW99

12th February 2008, 06:14 AM

good site CJ22, added it to favourites in readiness.

Quick question though, do these 'hacks' make the DVD player able to play UK and NZ DVD's, or does in switch it to only NZ - I know 'girly' question

Mels

Sort of already answered by CJ22 but thought I would answer again :)

DVD players are normally set to only play one region e.g. 2 in UK or 4 in NZ.

Now when you use a 'hack' to change the setting you will have the option of which region to change it to e.g. you could change it from 2 to 4 which would now allow you to play only NZ DVDs and not UK ones.

But as you are more likely to want to play UK and NZ DVDs you can change the region to 'non' (normally set it to 0) which will allow you to play any DVD from any region.

Ian

djchicane

12th February 2008, 06:43 AM

a useful site, should you have decided on a brand/model:

http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks

will show you wether there is a remote control hack or wether it need's chipping.

Cheers,

Dave

Wahlet

12th February 2008, 06:56 AM

It works! I have a Trutech T600-D and googled for the product name and "code unlock". A few minutes of filtering, and I found a variety of hacks, one of which worked. So now I can bring my cheapie DVD player instead of buying a cheapie upon arrival in NZ. :) :nice1

CJ22

12th February 2008, 07:58 AM

I love it when a plan comes together.

Familyofmonkeys

12th February 2008, 12:56 PM

We bought a family pack of 2 region 0 DVD players from K-mart recently for only $79. They were some unknown brand (Magnavox), not quite as robust compared to your Sony etc from UK, but work just fine for all our DVD's.

Ebeee

14th February 2008, 10:17 AM

Hi guys,

I've just bought a 'region free' player from Farmers on Cuba Mall in Welly for $50.00. They were $59.00 but reduced in the sale. It's a PYE PD435 if anyone needs a cheap player. It will play DVD R+/-'s, photo discs, and the chap that sold me it gave me the code to make it region free so it plays everything. It goes great so far!

Cheers,

Ian. (Now back in NZ!!!)

CJ22

14th February 2008, 10:48 PM

I'll be bringing a 'de-regionalised' machine with me, as I need one with XVid/DivX compatibility and a HDMI output. In fact, they're still quite cheap, but they may not be in NZ.

dilanium

14th February 2008, 11:27 PM

Is there no Magnavox in the UK? huh...

CJ22

15th February 2008, 01:17 AM

In what sense?

Familyofmonkeys

15th February 2008, 09:06 AM

Is there no Magnavox in the UK? huh...

No....never heard of them in UK.

Croft

15th February 2008, 08:19 PM

No....never heard of them in UK.

Had a look on Wiikipedia as I'd never heard of them either. Owned by Philips apparently.

sweetpea

19th February 2008, 06:45 PM

I bought a multi-region Magnavox DVD player from Kmart for only $20 more than the single-region version. That was almost two years ago, no problems yet, plays US and NZ discs no problem.

skibumwa

24th February 2008, 08:20 AM

Dick Smith Electronics (DSE) here in Wellington told me first hand this, but it's not in the user manual how to do it. :confused: Their DVD players can all be region free, but here's what you have to do:

Buy a DSE brand DVD player:

Eg. DSE 5.1 Channel DVD Player Black (G3031) - about $99 NZD

Directions:

a) Open the DVD tray
b) Use the remote and key in "9, 7, 3, 5" to enter region code settings
c) use the arrows to choose the "0" for your region code (0 = region free)
d) Press ENTER to confirm your code
e) use arrow keys to exit set up
f) Press ENTER to exit region code setting

DONE! :cheers