The Criterion Collection

[hariseldon]

Originally Posted by jw007

This whole discussion of 4k blu-ray players that are region-free greatly interests me.

I just discovered that Oppo no longer is making blu-ray players any longer. I was all excited to see they made a 4k player (OPPO UDP-203) until I saw it was discontinued (same for the UDP-205 too).

Is there a 1 player solution that combines pristine 4k playback AND the ability to play region-free regular blu-rays? Luckily 4k blu-ray discs are all region-free so that is a relief.

I'm guessing this isn't the case, since Oppo was my go-to solution until they left the business.

220Electronics and Bombay sell many region free modded 4K players . Personally I'm convinced it better and cheaper to get a good Region Free BD/DVD and a normal 4K player. The 203 are incredibly expensive on Ebay, the 93/103 aren't cheap though aren't terrible and are simple to DIY Region Mod. A 103 with a Panasonic 420/820 woudl be cheaper than a 203 and probably only slightly more than a modded 820.

Originally Posted by jw007

I saw the Sony X700 listed as a region-free UHD player, but the unit came out in 2016... so its a bit old. Also I'm worried that all the Sony players freeze up as I read. I might go with Panasonic though. Too bad their highly touted Panasonic DP-UB820 Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray Player isn't region-free.

Not out of the box (nor is any other current 4K player) other than the locked Blurays it can play with the Top Menu trick
Several dealers sell region modded 820 though at a steep premium considering the regular 820 can be had under 400 (BBY had it 350 last Black Friday and 400 a couple months ago)

https://www.220-electronics.com/pana...k-wifi-3d.html

[jw007]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

220Electronics and Bombay sell many region free modded 4K players . Personally I'm convinced it better and cheaper to get a good Region Free BD/DVD and a normal 4K player. The 203 are incredibly expensive on Ebay, the 93/103 aren't cheap though aren't terrible and are simple to DIY Region Mod. A 103 with a Panasonic 420/820 woudl be cheaper than a 203 and probably only slightly more than a modded 820.




Not out of the box (nor is any other current 4K player) other than the locked Blurays it can play with the Top Menu trick
Several dealers sell region modded 820 though at a steep premium considering the regular 820 can be had under 400 (BBY had it 350 last Black Friday and 400 a couple months ago)

https://www.220-electronics.com/pana...k-wifi-3d.html

Thanks for that link! $750 isn't terribly high for a great 4k player that's been modded for region-free. Much better than the $2000-3000 I'm seeing for the Oppo 4k player on Amazon. I might buy through that link in the near future.

The other thing I should consider is that I only have about 7 or 8 region-free blu-rays out of nearly 700 region-A discs in my entire collection, so maybe its not even worth getting a modded 4k player unless I seriously decide to invest in buying more foreign blu-rays. Its just nice to have that option to play any type of blu-ray on a single player though. Just that I'll pay another $250-300 for that option.

[BunyipPouch]

Originally Posted by jw007

Thanks for that link! $750 isn't terribly high for a great 4k player that's been modded for region-free. Much better than the $2000-3000 I'm seeing for the Oppo 4k player on Amazon. I might buy through that link in the near future.

The other thing I should consider is that I only have about 7 or 8 region-free blu-rays out of nearly 700 region-A discs in my entire collection, so maybe its not even worth getting a modded 4k player unless I seriously decide to invest in buying more foreign blu-rays. Its just nice to have that option to play any type of blu-ray on a single player though. Just that I'll pay another $250-300 for that option.

Aren't decent region-free blu ray players like $150? Then you can just buy a separate 4K player.

I'd rather just have 2 players than pay hundreds extra for a combination. They're small anyways and my entertainment shelf has plenty of space so I don't mind.

[DimitriL]

Originally Posted by The Dook

Did anyone else buy Nightmare Alley on blu ray? What's with the stupid cards that are included? I thought my disc was broken when I bought it.

Tarot plays an important part in Nightmare Alley, so the tarot cards are a nice little nod to it.

I ordered early and for some reason I didn’t get them. I was disappointed as they aren’t going to be available in later pressings, but Criterion customer service was nice enough to ship me a set.

[JasonMichael]

Originally Posted by The Dook

Did anyone else buy Nightmare Alley on blu ray? What's with the stupid cards that are included? I thought my disc was broken when I bought it.

You signed up for the site to complain about a free bonus?

[Hellspawn28]

I got a 4K UHD player for my birthday around $400 in 2019, and it plays great. I can understand why some people don't want to jump on the 4K train yet because buying a 4K TV is not cheap (given that the times that we live in). I didn't even jump on the HD train until 2010 when I got my first HD TV because HD TV pre-2010 were expensive.

[AdmiralNoodles]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

220Electronics and Bombay sell many region free modded 4K players . Personally I'm convinced it better and cheaper to get a good Region Free BD/DVD and a normal 4K player. The 203 are incredibly expensive on Ebay, the 93/103 aren't cheap though aren't terrible and are simple to DIY Region Mod. A 103 with a Panasonic 420/820 woudl be cheaper than a 203 and probably only slightly more than a modded 820.

Not out of the box (nor is any other current 4K player) other than the locked Blurays it can play with the Top Menu trick
Several dealers sell region modded 820 though at a steep premium considering the regular 820 can be had under 400 (BBY had it 350 last Black Friday and 400 a couple months ago)

https://www.220-electronics.com/pana...k-wifi-3d.html

Got my 4K player awhile ago from 220 Electronics. It's in my signature.

Originally Posted by BunyipPouch

Aren't decent region-free blu ray players like $150? Then you can just buy a separate 4K player.

I'd rather just have 2 players than pay hundreds extra for a combination. They're small anywhere and my entertainment shelf has plenty of space so I don't mind.

You already are spending an arm, a leg, and more black market body parts for Criterion on BD. Might as well go for top of the line.

Glad I didn't need Criterion to go 4K disc.

[fdm]

Originally Posted by nathan_h

I'm finding that access to the CC via the service is nice, but its really been useful for the other stuff they bring through there each month. Always seems to be a few gems that make me feel like I got my $8.25 worth for the month.

That other stuff is what keeps me there too. Sometimes it almost feels like they've caught up with FilmStruck in that regard.

Though () at least FilmStruck provided dolby digital audio when it was available, so that will apparently always be a Criterion Channel negative for me since it doesn't seem anybody else really gives a sh*t and so nothing will ever be done about it.

[MifuneFan]

As if someone is complaining about a free bonus. It actually prompted me to buy my copy sooner than I would have because I love cool extras like that.

[GoCeltics]

Originally Posted by jw007

This whole discussion of 4k blu-ray players that are region-free greatly interests me.

I just discovered that Oppo no longer is making blu-ray players any longer. I was all excited to see they made a 4k player (OPPO UDP-203) until I saw it was discontinued (same for the UDP-205 too).

Is there a 1 player solution that combines pristine 4k playback AND the ability to play region-free regular blu-rays? Luckily 4k blu-ray discs are all region-free so that is a relief.

I'm guessing this isn't the case, since Oppo was my go-to solution until they left the business.

I was able to order a region free kit for my 203 online.

[mmarczi]

Originally Posted by aloop

You can use the coupons during the 50% off sale.

Originally Posted by jshaide

I dunno, they’ve been really cutting down on that.

Originally Posted by Egbert Souse

Not for the last year or two.

Just wanted to comment on this. I am a charter subscriber to the Criterion Channel and I've also been able to use the $10 discount coupon they give out to subscribers before every sale, during every single sale. I'm even able to combine that coupon with the $50 coupons earned through loyalty points. I believe they have started limiting the $10 coupons to one per order, though.

[Egbert Souse]

Originally Posted by mmarczi

Just wanted to comment on this. I am a charter subscriber to the Criterion Channel and I've also been able to use the $10 discount coupon they give out to subscribers before every sale, during every single sale. I'm even able to combine that coupon with the $50 coupons earned through loyalty points. I believe they have started limiting the $10 coupons to one per order, though.

Sorry, I misread the comment I replied to as being about the B&N sale, not Criterion's flash sale. Which you can use as many gift certificates and coupons as you want.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by BunyipPouch

Aren't decent region-free blu ray players like $150? Then you can just buy a separate 4K player.

I'd rather just have 2 players than pay hundreds extra for a combination. They're small anyways and my entertainment shelf has plenty of space so I don't mind.

Yeah, you're probably right. Just have 2 separate players and for the rare time I want to play a foreign blu-ray, I'll just dust it off and hook it up (or just have it hooked up to begin with... still will want to dust it off though).

Originally Posted by AdmiralNoodles

Got my 4K player awhile ago from 220 Electronics. It's in my signature.

You already are spending an arm, a leg, and more black market body parts for Criterion on BD. Might as well go for top of the line.

Glad I didn't need Criterion to go 4K disc.

Yeah, top of the line is Oppo but now that's a bit outdated probably so I'll go with the newer tech from Panasonic, Sony or LG.

Originally Posted by GoCeltics

I was able to order a region free kit for my 203 online.

How much did that cost you?

[meckel]

Originally Posted by jw007

Yeah, top of the line is Oppo but now that's a bit outdated probably so I'll go with the newer tech from Panasonic, Sony or LG.

How much did that cost you?

I paid $89 for mine from 220 Electronics. It’s the external mod kit. Took less then 10 minutes to set up

[GoCeltics]

The high end 203 is hardly outdated. There are no current players that I would even consider replacing it with. It’s been a great match for my JVC NX7 native 4K projector.

[hariseldon]

Originally Posted by GoCeltics

I was able to order a region free kit for my 203 online.

The kit's the easy part though it's not $50 anymore like it was for years -- the $1000-1500 for the 203 is the hard part

Originally Posted by jw007

Yeah, top of the line is Oppo but now that's a bit outdated probably so I'll go with the newer tech from Panasonic, Sony or LG.

Not really, they're still updating the firmware and many of even the high end 4K players are missing features that the 203 included.

Oppo's still even doing servicing on their players.

I forgot to ask -- you mentioned OPPO being your go-to player, do you already have an OPPO BDP. The same region mod works on 93 through 205. Actually it works on the 80 level players too.

[Rayjg]

I still have a 205 in the box. Bought at Best Buy when it was announced production was ending. Just waiting to upgrade the TV...

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by BunyipPouch

I'd rather just have 2 players than pay hundreds extra for a combination. They're small anyways and my entertainment shelf has plenty of space so I don't mind.

Originally Posted by jw007

Yeah, you're probably right. Just have 2 separate players and for the rare time I want to play a foreign blu-ray, I'll just dust it off and hook it up (or just have it hooked up to begin with... still will want to dust it off though).

Having separate players is good if it is economically advantageous, and one has the space. But in such a case, it will be good to alternate one's playlist to regularly play both region discs, because in majority of cases, players go bad because of lack of use and consequent accumulation of moisture and dust on the lens.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

The kit's the easy part though it's not $50 anymore like it was for years -- the $1000-1500 for the 203 is the hard part




Not really, they're still updating the firmware and many of even the high end 4K players are missing features that the 203 included.

Oppo's still even doing servicing on their players.

I forgot to ask -- you mentioned OPPO being your go-to player, do you already have an OPPO BDP. The same region mod works on 93 through 205. Actually it works on the 80 level players too.

No Oppo here, but before they stopped manufacturing disc players, they were on my radar as my "go to" solution in terms of a high quality region-free player. But I never did end up purchasing an Oppo machine of any kind.

It's great they're still doing service repairs and updating firmware.

Originally Posted by ravenus

Having separate players is good if it is economically advantageous, and one has the space. But in such a case, it will be good to alternate one's playlist to regularly play both region discs, because in majority of cases, players go bad because of lack of use and consequent accumulation of moisture and dust on the lens.

I will probably just stick with a standard 4k BDP for now, since 4k BDs are all region-free. Of course I will also play all of my regular Region-A BDs on there too. I only have a handful of Region-B discs anyway.

[mande2013]

The Dolby Vision vs HDR10 format war makes buying a UHD player all the more frustrating. I see Sony players for around 200 that support DV, but they apparently have freezing issues whereas none of the Panasonic players in that price range appear to support DV. Any advice? I'm based in France, for the record.