Oppo 103 region free or buy dedicated player?

[nikita70]

I bought an Oppo 103 last year. Love it. Great player. My original intention was to mod it for region free for blu and DVD. I haven't purchased the mod yet. I really don't buy region B or C blurays but I do have a few region 2 DVDs.
So I'm looking for opinions. The Oppo is my main player. I have a Sony S5500 which is my 2nd player primarily used for DVDs that have CC but not subs.
Bottom line, should I mod the Oppo or buy a region free DVD player? The Oppo works so great I'm afraid to mess with it. There's a Samsung region free DVD player on the bay for $32 delivered.
As of this date I've never bought a different region blu. Possibly might in the future. I was just thinking the Samsung is so cheap I might get it for now and if/when the situation arises that I need to play other region blus I could then modify the Oppo.
Opinions?

[uncledougie]

I recently purchased the 103D and love everything about it (had a glitch when out of the box it wouldn't recognize the wireless network, but their great customer service talked me through some steps, and when I rebooted the player all worked fine). Frankly, since it would likely affect any warranty you have left, you might best go with the inexpensive alternative Samsung, or possibly find one of the older Philips models that were easily modified to be region free, or find one of the older modifiable Oppo DVD or Blu-ray players online to purchase where warranty issues aren't part of the picture. I only have a few alternate region DVDs, and some were rendered pointless when a U.S. version was later issued (like the uncut Novecento (1900) or Eyes Wide Shut). Since an older player isn't going to be used all that much playing only a few DVDs, reliability worries shouldn't be an issue.

[fdm]

There are external mods that can be hooked up to the back of your Oppo for allowing your player to change regions (both blu-ray and dvd). About 60 bucks (ebay). (There are also more expensive options, but they all seem to require you to open up your player; this one does not.) Works fine for me.

But... there is also some free software that can be run that will make it region free (but only with dvds - which is all that you need now). So in your case you just need to do this SuperDisc, if you have a cd burner handy. This also works fine for me.

(Check out the Unofficial Oppo 103 FAQ for further details.)

[KenHurd]

I also recommend the external mod. That's the one I have for my Oppo, and you don't have to put in any codes to change the DVD regions, it just automatically recognizes them. You do have to put in a code to change the blu-ray region, though. Since it just plugs into the back of the player, it's easy to remove if you need to remove it.

[nikita70]

Thanks for everyone's help.
I had forgotten about the SuperDisc, I think that's what I'll go with until I get a different region blu. It will enable me to watch the few region 2 DVD's I have.
From what I've read about it no one has had any issues with SuperDisc. Right?

[fdm]

Originally Posted by nikita70

Thanks for everyone's help.
I had forgotten about the SuperDisc, I think that's what I'll go with until I get a different region blu. It will enable me to watch the few region 2 DVD's I have.
From what I've read about it no one has had any issues with SuperDisc. Right?

I've never run across anyone having problems with it. It's what I was running with prior to adding external kit to my 103. (And the external kit was mostly just to have it in case my 93 decides to crap out some day (I bought the 93 "new" but with the internal mod added by the seller).)