Best region free or changeable region Blu-ray player? - Blu-ray Forum

deepseababy · 01-14-2016, 11:29 PM

So my trusty Soniq b100 more or less bit the dust a few days ago (the tray won't come out so I can't eject/insert discs anymore)... I figured it's probably more worth buying a new player all together than paying to have the Soniq fixed. I don't really know of any reasonable Blu-ray players where you can change the region code like the Soniq, or that are not region locked, so suggestions would be helpful. Something that is reasonably priced and reliable would be good.

boredandlazy · 01-14-2016, 11:47 PM

I'm not quite sure what you classify as reasonable in regards to price... But I just bought myself a region modded Sony BDP 5500 which is really good. I went with the Sony because they're the only players I could find which I was sure would play PAL content at it's native 50Hz rather than doing a PAL-NTSC conversion.

Those go for $330 shipped on ebay. Although I got it for cheaper as I bought it during the recent ebay sales. :P

deepseababy · 01-15-2016, 12:44 AM

I just scoped out some Soniq B501TD players which seem to be just like the good old B100 in that you can manually change the region with a code. The Sony 5500 sound good but probably is a little above my price range at the moment.

Russ103 · 01-15-2016, 02:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deepseababy

I just scoped out some Soniq B501TD players which seem to be just like the good old B100 in that you can manually change the region with a code.

Are you sure about that?

I had the 500, and when it died was looking at the 501, but I'm positive I read in a few places that the Blu-Ray region could not be changed, only the DVD region could. That was the one difference between the two players, other than the 501 being 3D.

I'd drop an email direct to Soniq to be sure.

StrayButler91 · 01-15-2016, 03:45 AM

I bought a Laser BD-2000 from Big W, it needed a replacement twice in 8 months (one stopped reading discs, the other didn't send audio to the left side of my home theatre speakers). So I wound up with the BD-3000 and it hasn't given me any grief.

It's a three-year warranty, so it'll do for now.

dav2708 · 01-15-2016, 05:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deepseababy

So my trusty Soniq b100 more or less bit the dust a few days ago (the tray won't come out so I can't eject/insert discs anymore).

I'm a complete electronic dunce but I managed to fix and replace an Xbox laser with no experience whatsoever on first attempt. All I had was some you tube clips and was able to do the job.
You've got nothing to lose by trying to fix your Soniq 100. Your tray problem sounds pretty generic and I imagine there are plenty of instructional clips to fix the issue
Luckily I bought 2 of the Soniq 100 and have a spare if the other truly goes bust.

StrayButler91 · 01-15-2016, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dav2708

Luckily I bought 2 of the Soniq 100 and have a spare if the other truly goes bust.

Smart, I seriously regret not buying more than one of the hackable Audiosonic 3D players, they were amazing. But now Kmart doesn't sell any Blu-ray players anymore

Anamnesis · 01-15-2016, 05:53 AM

I bought a modded Pioneer BDP-150 from these guys. They don't sell it anymore, but if you are after a modded brand name player I can't recommend these guys enough! Their Sony models start from $250 with free shipping too!!

If you are technically minded you can also just buy a mod kit directly from them and do it yourself.

deepseababy · 01-16-2016, 12:42 AM

^ Thanks for that link! The Samsung BD-J5500 is getting my attention, it's 3D and multi region for only $290. I'm tossing up between the Sony BDP 5500 or the Samsung.

boredandlazy · 01-16-2016, 02:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deepseababy

^ Thanks for that link! The Samsung BD-J5500 is getting my attention, it's 3D and multi region for only $290. I'm tossing up between the Sony BDP 5500 or the Samsung.

Not sure how much you care about size, but the Sony 5500 is tiny. It's only 23x19x4cm.

Norbie · 01-28-2016, 05:13 AM

The KOGAN players are region free for blu-ray and DVD, and there is no need to get them modified. Just put in some numbers and of you go.

Link to the players -
https://www.kogan.com/au/shop/televi...lu-ray-player/

Link to how change region settings -
https://www.kogan.com/au/help/region...r-kabrp3dwfia/

I've had a Kogan player for 7 years and it's almost given up the ghost so I'll be getting another one in the next 4 weeks.

LordCrumb · 01-28-2016, 05:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Norbie

The KOGAN players are region free for blu-ray and DVD, and there is no need to get them modified. Just put in some numbers and of you go.

Link to the players -
https://www.kogan.com/au/shop/televi...lu-ray-player/

Link to how change region settings -
https://www.kogan.com/au/help/region...r-kabrp3dwfia/

I've had a Kogan player for 7 years and it's almost given up the ghost so I'll be getting another one in the next 4 weeks.

That's the same code for the Soniq and Veon players. I think Atexp80 confirmed the Veon and Soniq used the same chipset, so It looks like Kogan does too.

adamclark83 · 01-28-2016, 11:36 PM

The Pioneer players are region locked for Blu-rays but free for DVDs.

80sfanboy · 01-29-2016, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anamnesis

I bought a modded Pioneer BDP-150 from these guys. They don't sell it anymore, but if you are after a modded brand name player I can't recommend these guys enough! Their Sony models start from $250 with free shipping too!!

If you are technically minded you can also just buy a mod kit directly from them and do it yourself.

I can also safely recommend Gatti Audio. That's where I purchased my Oppo BDP-93

dean1700 · 01-29-2016, 02:25 AM

I've got a Laser BD-2000 as well which I got from Officeworks and never had a problem with it. I wanted to get a second one for another room but they've been superceded by the BD-3000 which I'm sure I'll get soon enough.

Quote:

Originally Posted by StrayButler91

I bought a Laser BD-2000 from Big W, it needed a replacement twice in 8 months (one stopped reading discs, the other didn't send audio to the left side of my home theatre speakers). So I wound up with the BD-3000 and it hasn't given me any grief.

It's a three-year warranty, so it'll do for now.

Anamnesis · 01-29-2016, 02:57 AM

I had a Kogan, but they basically stopped supporting it and it was in desperate need of a firmware update (which it still is and they have no intention of fixing) - won't play any discs from 20th Century Fox.... pity because otherwise it was a pretty decent player for its price.

Blackman · 02-02-2016, 05:18 AM

I love my Oppo 103D and I have to thank it due to NO DTS X movies in Australia yet

rip63 · 02-02-2016, 10:21 PM

They seem a little hard to get, but I was lucky enough to score the new Laser BD3000 the other day at an Officeworks outlet in Melbourne CBD. They only had two left, one of which became mine, and I have to say it seems to be Laser's most sound machine yet. Picture quality is excellent, with black blacks and vivid colours (it evidently uses a Sony manufactured laser or so they say). It's so simple to change the region code too and it even has firmware update capability, not to mention a 3 year warranty. But I've decided to continue using my regular Sony as the main player and only use the Laser as a back-up for playing region A Blu's and any other disc that the Sony might have an issue with. That way, it's life is extended at least.

Nightopian · 02-04-2016, 02:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anamnesis

I bought a modded Pioneer BDP-150 from these guys.

If you are technically minded you can also just buy a mod kit directly from them and do it yourself.

+1 for the Pioneer BDP-150. I bought it on release with firmware 1.02 so I was able to update the firmware myself via USB to allow region free for Blu-ray. I think if you have a more recent player with any firmware version above 1.02 then you can't update manually and you'll have to buy one which has been chipped. After it's updated all you have to do is change the region manually to A, B or C depending on your disc before you watch it via the remote control. No different to any other region free player really. DVD is region free out of the box.

Anamnesis · 02-04-2016, 03:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nightopian

+1 for the Pioneer BDP-150. I bought it on release with firmware 1.02 so I was able to update the firmware myself via USB to allow region free for Blu-ray. I think if you have a more recent player with any firmware version above 1.02 then you can't update manually and you'll have to buy one which has been chipped. After it's updated all you have to do is change the region manually to A, B or C depending on your disc before you watch it via the remote control. No different to any other region free player really. DVD is region free out of the box.

I needed mine chipped so I could install a dodgy firmware to get Netflix on it (as the Australia version wasn't out at the time and the app was only available on the U.S firmware)

01-14-2016, 11:29 PM	#1
deepseababy Expert Member Member since:Aug 2015 Location:South Australia 4K collection:29 Blu-ray collection:266	Best region free or changeable region Blu-ray player? So my trusty Soniq b100 more or less bit the dust a few days ago (the tray won't come out so I can't eject/insert discs anymore)... I figured it's probably more worth buying a new player all together than paying to have the Soniq fixed. I don't really know of any reasonable Blu-ray players where you can change the region code like the Soniq, or that are not region locked, so suggestions would be helpful. Something that is reasonably priced and reliable would be good.

01-14-2016, 11:47 PM	#2
boredandlazy Power Member Top contributor Member since:Jul 2009 Location:Perth, Australia 4K collection:615 Blu-ray collection:1948 DVD collection:48 Trading Score:5	I'm not quite sure what you classify as reasonable in regards to price... But I just bought myself a region modded Sony BDP 5500 which is really good. I went with the Sony because they're the only players I could find which I was sure would play PAL content at it's native 50Hz rather than doing a PAL-NTSC conversion. Those go for $330 shipped on ebay. Although I got it for cheaper as I bought it during the recent ebay sales. :P

01-15-2016, 12:44 AM	#3
deepseababy Expert Member Member since:Aug 2015 Location:South Australia 4K collection:29 Blu-ray collection:266	I just scoped out some Soniq B501TD players which seem to be just like the good old B100 in that you can manually change the region with a code. The Sony 5500 sound good but probably is a little above my price range at the moment.

01-15-2016, 03:45 AM	#5
StrayButler91 Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Feb 2012 Location:Australia 4K collection:990 Blu-ray collection:3976 DVD collection:173 iTunes collection:291 Blu-ray reviews:1 Trading Score:45	I bought a Laser BD-2000 from Big W, it needed a replacement twice in 8 months (one stopped reading discs, the other didn't send audio to the left side of my home theatre speakers). So I wound up with the BD-3000 and it hasn't given me any grief. It's a three-year warranty, so it'll do for now.

01-15-2016, 05:53 AM	#8
Anamnesis Contributor Top contributor Member since:Jul 2010 Location:Australia 4K collection:82 Blu-ray collection:2030 DVD collection:13 Blu-ray reviews:1 Trading Score:29	I bought a modded Pioneer BDP-150 from these guys. They don't sell it anymore, but if you are after a modded brand name player I can't recommend these guys enough! Their Sony models start from $250 with free shipping too!! If you are technically minded you can also just buy a mod kit directly from them and do it yourself.

01-16-2016, 12:42 AM	#9
deepseababy Expert Member Member since:Aug 2015 Location:South Australia 4K collection:29 Blu-ray collection:266	^ Thanks for that link! The Samsung BD-J5500 is getting my attention, it's 3D and multi region for only $290. I'm tossing up between the Sony BDP 5500 or the Samsung.

01-28-2016, 05:13 AM	#11
Norbie Power Member Top contributor Member since:Oct 2010 Location:The Milky Way Blu-ray collection:698 DVD collection:131 Blu-ray reviews:9	The KOGAN players are region free for blu-ray and DVD, and there is no need to get them modified. Just put in some numbers and of you go. Link to the players - https://www.kogan.com/au/shop/televi...lu-ray-player/ Link to how change region settings - https://www.kogan.com/au/help/region...r-kabrp3dwfia/ I've had a Kogan player for 7 years and it's almost given up the ghost so I'll be getting another one in the next 4 weeks.

01-28-2016, 11:36 PM	#13
adamclark83 Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Nov 2011 Location:Melbourne, Australia 4K collection:61 Blu-ray collection:1419 DVD collection:1245	The Pioneer players are region locked for Blu-rays but free for DVDs.

01-29-2016, 02:57 AM	#16
Anamnesis Contributor Top contributor Member since:Jul 2010 Location:Australia 4K collection:82 Blu-ray collection:2030 DVD collection:13 Blu-ray reviews:1 Trading Score:29	I had a Kogan, but they basically stopped supporting it and it was in desperate need of a firmware update (which it still is and they have no intention of fixing) - won't play any discs from 20th Century Fox.... pity because otherwise it was a pretty decent player for its price.

02-02-2016, 05:18 AM	#17
Blackman Member Member since:Nov 2015 Location:Brisbane Australia	I love my Oppo 103D and I have to thank it due to NO DTS X movies in Australia yet

02-02-2016, 10:21 PM	#18
rip63 Special Member Member since:Sep 2011 Location:Australia Blu-ray reviews:2	They seem a little hard to get, but I was lucky enough to score the new Laser BD3000 the other day at an Officeworks outlet in Melbourne CBD. They only had two left, one of which became mine, and I have to say it seems to be Laser's most sound machine yet. Picture quality is excellent, with black blacks and vivid colours (it evidently uses a Sony manufactured laser or so they say). It's so simple to change the region code too and it even has firmware update capability, not to mention a 3 year warranty. But I've decided to continue using my regular Sony as the main player and only use the Laser as a back-up for playing region A Blu's and any other disc that the Sony might have an issue with. That way, it's life is extended at least.

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