Region-free Dvd Players

[Dario]

Does anyone know where I can buy a "region-free" DVD player here in Bangkok?

[bonsaimax]

go for those "disposable" DVD players. Available everywhere (even Big C, The Mall, Home Pro etc.) for between 1200-2000 Baht. Make sure it comes with at least a 1 year guarantee.

[Dario]

go for those "disposable" DVD players. Available everywhere (even Big C, The Mall, Home Pro etc.) for between 1200-2000 Baht. Make sure it comes with at least a 1 year guarantee.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for your feedback! How do you know for sure they're region-free?

Edited November 23, 2005 by Dario

[bonsaimax]

I have both an "Aconatic" and "Missile" DVD player, and so far, they've played all my DVDs from the UK & US, and of course those from LOS.

I heard AJ is also region-free.

[solo siam]

Actually I thin just about ALL dvd players out here are region free, if your not sure, stay away from the big electronics boys (Sony, Philips, Pioneer etc...).

[yeti]

Just ask the sales guy he will tell you which ones are not region free (most players are region free, or can be made region free by the sales guy).

You can also bring a DVD from another country for testing.

Got a Pioneer, not expensive (don't remember the exact price), can play every DVD, VCD, DivX, ...

[buadhai]

The very nice Sony DVD player that came "free" with our TV is region free. It says so right on the back and plays every DVD in our collection -- some from the US (Region 1) and some bought here and elsewhere.

[Dario]

Thanks everybody for their feedback.

I already have a Samsung DVD player and after all those messages I simply contacted Samsung and the nice lady on the phone asked me the model and within minutes the thing was unlocked and plays now DVDs from everywhere.

No need to even pay anyone in a shop because they simply gather all the info from the producers and "sell" it to their customers. So, for those of you who have an "unlocked" DVD player, just contact the local distributor and they'll help you over the phone.

[Morbius]

go for those "disposable" DVD players. Available everywhere (even Big C, The Mall, Home Pro etc.) for between 1200-2000 Baht. Make sure it comes with at least a 1 year guarantee.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Do these "cheap" DVD players made in Thailand/China really have the same image quality as those from the "big boys" (Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, Samsung, Philips, ...)? I have heard some people suggesting that the image quality is inferior. How can we know for sure?

[Crossy]

go for those "disposable" DVD players. Available everywhere (even Big C, The Mall, Home Pro etc.) for between 1200-2000 Baht. Make sure it comes with at least a 1 year guarantee.

Do these "cheap" DVD players made in Thailand/China really have the same image quality as those from the "big boys" (Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, Samsung, Philips, ...)? I have heard some people suggesting that the image quality is inferior. How can we know for sure?

If you're watching on a regular TV you won't see any difference.

Giant projector, maybe

[solo siam]

Actually the Chinese DVD players coming out now at about the $150 mark are better quality than most 'brand name' players. Especially the upscaling / DVI ones.

I have a $150 Soken DVD player that blows any other DVD player I have used out of the water, Its Projected onto a 110" screen and feeds the projector via a DVI cable.

[h90]

go for those "disposable" DVD players. Available everywhere (even Big C, The Mall, Home Pro etc.) for between 1200-2000 Baht. Make sure it comes with at least a 1 year guarantee.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Do these "cheap" DVD players made in Thailand/China really have the same image quality as those from the "big boys" (Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, Samsung, Philips, ...)? I have heard some people suggesting that the image quality is inferior. How can we know for sure?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

just the laser might fail after some time so you need warranty

[astral]

Actually I thin just about ALL dvd players out here are region free, if your not sure, stay away from the big electronics boys (Sony, Philips, Pioneer etc...).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Even the big brand names are Region Free.

Most dealers will happily demonstrate a Region 1 (USA) dvd for you to

make the point.

[bkk_mike]

go for those "disposable" DVD players. Available everywhere (even Big C, The Mall, Home Pro etc.) for between 1200-2000 Baht. Make sure it comes with at least a 1 year guarantee.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Do these "cheap" DVD players made in Thailand/China really have the same image quality as those from the "big boys" (Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, Samsung, Philips, ...)? I have heard some people suggesting that the image quality is inferior. How can we know for sure?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

just the laser might fail after some time so you need warranty

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A warranty on a 2,000 baht DVD player?

If it goes wrong, after the manufacturer's warranty runs out, just buy another one... It's probably cheaper than the warranty...

[kbaboom]

A warranty on a 2,000 baht DVD player?

If it goes wrong, after the manufacturer's warranty runs out, just buy another one... It's probably cheaper than the warranty...

???

[Dario]

I would like to thank everybody for their contributions. Let me tell you what I did.

I already had a Samsung DVD player since about a year. My (Thai) wife told me just to call Samsung and asked them for help. That's what I did. I told a very friendly lady that having bought one of their machines and being a foreigner I wasn't able to watch any foreign DVD's.

"So you would like to unlock it?" she asked me.

She asked me for the model number and a minute later she gave me a code to feed into my remote control and bingo! ... my DVD player was unlocked. Thanks for an excellent after-sales service, Samsung!

[lomatopo]

You can just Google your DVD player's make and model number along with the keyword "hack" to get the unlock code.

http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks

[remmy]

Today I went to Big C trying to buy those disposeable DVD player, the salesman asked me to buy Phillips one which can play most discs available as of today and he said that it can play all region. I checked the booklet and it clearly said that it will play only DVD's labbeled All region and region 3 only. It will not play DVD's labelled for other region. The salesman did not understand that and said it plays all region cause it contain the word "All Region"

I asked him if he has region free player he said No and he did not even bother when I asked to view booklet for other brands like AJ , Akira etc. I did not read the first few post carefully that those players are region free. I will have to go there again.

[spog]

Today I went to Big C trying to buy those disposeable DVD player, the salesman asked me to buy Phillips one which can play most discs available as of today and he said that it can play all region. I checked the booklet  and it clearly said that it will play only DVD's labbeled All region and region 3 only. It will not play DVD's labelled for other region. The salesman did not understand that and said it plays all region cause it contain the word "All Region" 

I asked him if he has region free player he said No and he did not even bother when I asked to view booklet for other brands like AJ , Akira etc. I did not read the first few post carefully that those players are region free. I will have to go there again.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If it is the little, white player that a lot of places are selling, then it will quite happily play all regions.

The simplest method to test is to ask for a demo and simply pull a region 1 disk from your pocket and try it yourself

[remmy]

what i tried to buy was not that model, but yes i also read the booklet of that small white square philips model, it said it will play only discs coded "All region" and "region 3". Yea next time I will carry DVD from other region to see if it works.

Thanks...

[meadish_sweetball]

Pioneer 585-KS is the DVD Player model I bought after reading another thread on this subject started by Yeti - it plays almost anything, including XviD and DivX movies, mp3 files, can view jpeg pictures - and has a karaoke function too. . The price was 3950 baht at the audio/video section of Central. There is an earlier model (the one Yeti bought) and if it's available, it is cheaper (but has no karaoke ) at 3450 baht.

hth

Meadish

[foucachon]

Does anyone know where I can buy a "region-free" DVD player here in Bangkok?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi, I don't know about one locally, But I know where you can get one that ships internationally. Here's the link: www.foucachon.com It should be the first post.

[foucachon]

I have "region-freed" 2 players in the US, and one in France. What I recommend (if you feel up to doing it yourself) is to research first one that is easy to region free, then buy instead of looking up your model after. Some are easy to region free, other are not.

Hope this helps

[foucachon]

go for those "disposable" DVD players. Available everywhere (even Big C, The Mall, Home Pro etc.) for between 1200-2000 Baht. Make sure it comes with at least a 1 year guarantee.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for your feedback! How do you know for sure they're region-free?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Most (at least the big names) don't sell region free players, but that doesn't mean they can't be hacked... Big names are generally harder to hack than off brands, so you save money too

[solo siam]

I've never encountered any DVD player in Thailand that isnt region free, including any Sony, Philips, Pioneer etc... DVD players that I have tried.

[britmaveric]

Make sure you get a pal converter built in - bit annoyed the dvr/burner I got for crissie didnt have this feature.