Soniq QPB302B - region-free capable player

[gettodamoofies]

Hi all,

This Australian-released player has had somewhat limited exposure on the internet though with it's cheap price tag (as low as $99 AU often) and certain iterations of this model capable of being made to play all regions it's definitely worth a look in. This player is in store at JB Hi-Fi exclusively and occasionally shows up online elsewhere. I will be posting an in depth review within the next week though to start things off here's a few handy pieces of information:

Links:

Blu-ray.com database product page
Soniq website product page: Specs, manual and firmware updates
JB Hi-Fi product page: Available to buy online or in store
CNET.com.au review: 8/10 - "Great performance, decent build and a good feature set make the Soniq QPB302B Blu-ray player an absolute steal as one of the most affordable BD players on the market at the moment."


Is my QPB302B capable of playing all Blu-ray regions?

When purchasing your player confirm that the box lists a serial number in the following format: P36TF5Bxxxx or P36TF5Cxxxx. The last 4 digits will be the unique identifier. If it has the "5B" or "5C" it can be made to read all regions. If the serial number does not have "5B" or "5C" then caveat emptor. P36TF5Axxxx players have been confirmed as NOT having the ability to change region code so if you buy one of these the below process will not work. Any other serials have not been confirmed as being capable of playing all regions so bear this is mind if this is your motivation for purchasing.


How do I make my QPB302B multi region capable?

Press the setup button while at the player menu
Key in 8520
Select 0 for DVD region (once set this does not need to be changed)
Select: 1 (A), 2(B), 4(C) for Blu-ray region
Press the setup button

This player does not have an "All regions" option for Blu-ray so whenever you're trying to play a locked title you will need to manually change to the relevant region using the process above. Having said that, it is a minor requirement to have complete Blu-ray freedom for under $100AU.


Will the latest firmware update affect the ability to change the player's region for Blu-ray?

This has not been confirmed yet but a report by a member of another board states that their previously changeable player is now region locked after the firmware update. Until further confirmation is gained work under the proviso that updating your firmware WILL stop your ability to change the region code.


What's this BUDA error message I see?

If don't have the player connected to the internet the player will display and error message advising that playback errors may occur. It doesn't affect playback, it simply indicates that it won't be able to play the BD-Live components of the disc. Unfortunately taking action like disabling or prohibiting an internet connection will not remove the message, it's replaced with one of a different type. A minor annoyance but the player will function without error.

[gettodamoofies]

As of October 15 Soniq has made a firmware update available for the PQB302B. You can access the firmware update here. No confirmation as to whether this firmware update affects the ability to change BD regions so do so at your own risk until confirmed either way.

[Danny Victory]

Have you updated your player and did it affect playing region A? I'm going to get this today.

[gettodamoofies]

Originally Posted by Danny Victory

Have you updated your player and did it affect playing region A? I'm going to get this today.

I have not been game enough to give it a shot. I will only update if and when I come across any problems. At the moment the player is working just fine and has played everything I've thrown at it so I don't really have any need to risk it! I'm one of those "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" guys.

If I encounter a potential playback/compatibility problem in the future and upgrade the firmware I will of course post the results.

[gettodamoofies]

Danny, just for eases sake I've sent an email to Soniq asking whether the new firmware update will affect the ability to change Blu-ray region codes. I'm a little hesitant to make the upgrade unless necessary but if they can confirm it does not affect then I guess I'll have to be the guinea pig and test it out.

[Danny Victory]

Hopefully, it does not affect the ability to change region codes.
I got the player and changing the region code works. P36TF5Bxxxx. Now have to buy Region A Blu-Rays.

[Black13teen]

I must and will get one of these.

Hey atexp80,

do you know anything about Samsung BP-1500 players? are they able to be made region free? it wont play Twilight, Batman Begins and when it feels like it, it will play 2012 when it wants to and worst of all it wont play any of my dvds, none what so ever

Your help is most appreciated. Cheers.

[lucretia]

Originally Posted by Black13teen

I must and will get one of these.

Hey atexp80,

do you know anything about Samsung BP-1500 players? are they able to be made region free? it wont play Twilight, Batman Begins and when it feels like it, it will play 2012 when it wants to and worst of all it wont play any of my dvds, none what so ever

Your help is most appreciated. Cheers.

well i think that player must be crap since those blu-rays are

Batman Begins - Region FREE
2012 - Region FREE
Twilight - Region LOCKED
if they are the USA Region A Dics

[gettodamoofies]

Originally Posted by Black13teen

I must and will get one of these.

Hey atexp80,

do you know anything about Samsung BP-1500 players? are they able to be made region free? it wont play Twilight, Batman Begins and when it feels like it, it will play 2012 when it wants to and worst of all it wont play any of my dvds, none what so ever

Your help is most appreciated. Cheers.

Hi, I actually have a BD-P1500. It was my first player which I got as a "freebie" when purchasing my display. It was a good first player but I found that it had a number of issues. Mine had to go for warranty repair as the loader was damaged. It also seems to occasionally have issues when a combination of viewing angles and DT-HD Master Audio are on a disc. Case in point is Star Trek TOS. You can select the new visual effects or the old ones via seamless branching. Well on the BD-P1500 it would often get the audio out of sync. It also gets extremely hot. What you describe sounds somewhat similar to some issues I had with my player and a number of people online seem to have had issues with the BD-P1500.

For those reasons it was relegated to the bedroom where it now serves as a secondary player. I personally wouldn't buy a Samsung player again based on my experience, though I can say that I have had no problems with their displays. To my knowledge I believe that the player can be made region free by chipping it, but I never looked into it that much due to the above mentioned issues so don't take what I say as gospel in that respect. What I will say though is that if there is a chip for the player it would most likely cost as much or more than buying the Soniq! So your options are chipping an old player which already has playback problems or getting a brand new player which can be made region free in 10 seconds at no extra cost for less than the chipping would set you back.

I replaced the Samsung with a Sony BDP-S360 and I would highly recommend that player (or the newer S370) if region free capability is not a priority for you. I never had problems with it at all. I then moved to Kogan last month for the region free capability, though their player crapped out after only 10 days with it completely failing to play discs. I sent it back and got a refund and again won't be purchasing players from them in the future due to the player issues and their customer service. That was two weeks ago and I purchased the Soniq instead. Since that time the Soniq has performed without issue. I wouldn't say it's the best player ever and I would hesitate to recommend it outright yet as I simply haven't had it long enough to give it my 100% backing but I can say that in these past two weeks I have tried a significant number of discs and the player hasn't had an issue at all.

I'd be happy to answer any questions about the Soniq if you're trying to decide whether to purchase one as their site doesn't say much. From the sounds of it your Samsung might be reaching the end of the line because as lucretia has indicated the majority of titles you listed are region free so they really should play regardless of whether your player is multi-region capable or not.

A few more things I've checked out today are the players ability to decode lossless audio codecs and the USB functionality. I usually bitstream and let my receiver do the decoding but I tested the player and it didn't have any issues decoding TrueHD or DTS-HD MA on a number of discs. The USB also successfully played back DIVX, MKV and XVID files that I tested. I will incorporate all my findings into a review once I'm satisfied I've put it through it's paces sufficiently.

[gettodamoofies]

Originally Posted by Danny Victory

Hopefully, it does not affect the ability to change region codes.
I got the player and changing the region code works. P36TF5Bxxxx. Now have to buy Region A Blu-Rays.

A member on the Whirlpool forums has commented that the firmware update DOES remove the ability to change the player's region. For the time being it would be wise not to update. I am still waiting on a response from Soniq.

[Black13teen]

Originally Posted by lucretia

well i think that player must be crap since those blu-rays are

Batman Begins - Region FREE
2012 - Region FREE
Twilight - Region LOCKED
if they are the USA Region A Dics

Yes, this player is crap. I only bought it for the Mad Max 2 commentary track, so the purpose was served. All is good now.

[Black13teen]

Originally Posted by atexp80

Hi, I actually have a BD-P1500. It was my first player which I got as a "freebie" when purchasing my display. It was a good first player but I found that it had a number of issues. Mine had to go for warranty repair as the loader was damaged. It also seems to occasionally have issues when a combination of viewing angles and DT-HD Master Audio are on a disc. Case in point is Star Trek TOS. You can select the new visual effects or the old ones via seamless branching. Well on the BD-P1500 it would often get the audio out of sync. It also gets extremely hot. What you describe sounds somewhat similar to some issues I had with my player and a number of people online seem to have had issues with the BD-P1500.

For those reasons it was relegated to the bedroom where it now serves as a secondary player. I personally wouldn't buy a Samsung player again based on my experience, though I can say that I have had no problems with their displays. To my knowledge I believe that the player can be made region free by chipping it, but I never looked into it that much due to the above mentioned issues so don't take what I say as gospel in that respect. What I will say though is that if there is a chip for the player it would most likely cost as much or more than buying the Soniq! So your options are chipping an old player which already has playback problems or getting a brand new player which can be made region free in 10 seconds at no extra cost for less than the chipping would set you back.

I replaced the Samsung with a Sony BDP-S360 and I would highly recommend that player (or the newer S370) if region free capability is not a priority for you. I never had problems with it at all. I then moved to Kogan last month for the region free capability, though their player crapped out after only 10 days with it completely failing to play discs. I sent it back and got a refund and again won't be purchasing players from them in the future due to the player issues and their customer service. That was two weeks ago and I purchased the Soniq instead. Since that time the Soniq has performed without issue. I wouldn't say it's the best player ever and I would hesitate to recommend it outright yet as I simply haven't had it long enough to give it my 100% backing but I can say that in these past two weeks I have tried a significant number of discs and the player hasn't had an issue at all.

I'd be happy to answer any questions about the Soniq if you're trying to decide whether to purchase one as their site doesn't say much. From the sounds of it your Samsung might be reaching the end of the line because as lucretia has indicated the majority of titles you listed are region free so they really should play regardless of whether your player is multi-region capable or not.

A few more things I've checked out today are the players ability to decode lossless audio codecs and the USB functionality. I usually bitstream and let my receiver do the decoding but I tested the player and it didn't have any issues decoding TrueHD or DTS-HD MA on a number of discs. The USB also successfully played back DIVX, MKV and XVID files that I tested. I will incorporate all my findings into a review once I'm satisfied I've put it through it's paces sufficiently.

I just bought the Soniq player. Perfect. Thanks mate

[Danny Victory]

Originally Posted by atexp80

A member on the Whirlpool forums has commented that the firmware update DOES remove the ability to change the player's region. For the time being it would be wise not to update. I am still waiting on a response from Soniq.

Well, as you have said "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"

[broccoli]

Hey I just picked one of these up from JB a few weeks back. Love it, got multi-region working. Great PQ.

However, I have noticed one problem. With regards to DVD playback (and upscaling), I love the image it produces, except that for some reason the bottom part of the screen is tinted green. For PAL movies this is about a quarter of the way up the screen (thus the bottom 25% of the screen is tinted green), and for NTSC movies it is maybe the bottom 10 percent. Anyone else having this problem? I know its not my display or the HDMI cable.

Everything else seems fine; no BR issues, no AVI issues. Only DVDs.

[gettodamoofies]

Sounds like a fault. I'd take the player back to JB to swap it.

[broccoli]

Originally Posted by atexp80

Sounds like a fault. I'd take the player back to JB to swap it.

As it is no longer sold, I got the B100 instead, which is its sequel. The DVD playback was fixed on this one, but the BR playback was all janky; this disc worked fine in the 302B and on my laptop, so its not the disc. Man I have bad luck. I will try out a new B100 tonight to see if its the model or my bad luck. maybe since its my third trip they will give me a discount on the player or on a blu-ray.

Have to admit, JB is the best about this stuff. They never hassle me about returning stuff. They've taken back opened blu-rays and everything, fixed my girlfriend's kids Guitar Hero controller cause we are frequent customers. And they have good prices and a huge selection.

[gettodamoofies]

^ Hmm, that's a bit of bad luck alright. BTW, mine both still have heaps of the 302B's in stock.

Let us know if you can get the B100 multi-region for Blu-ray also. That would be handy to know.

[broccoli]

Yeah the B100 is also region free-able using the same code. However, I have now tried 2 of those B100's, and I still have the same problem; when I play I Love You Phillip Morris (blu-ray from the UK), the screen skips a bit throughout the movie (like 70 or 80 times). Its always in the same spots. I tried this on a Soy VAIO laptop (with a Matsushita BD-Rom from 2008) and it plays perfectly in the spots where the B100 has trouble. Also, the 302B has no problems in these spots. It may just be this film, but if its screwy with one movie I'd guess it'll be screwy again. By comparison, the B302 has played loads of BRs perfectly.

Moving away from the image skipping problem, the playback on the B100 has a bit more judder than the 302B. Black levels appear to be a bit better on the 302B (less crush), but the colors on the B100 may be a tad more vivid (I think; hard to tell, my girlfriend disagreed). This is probably because I put the B100 on the vivid setting that the 302B doesn't offer, which represents another difference: the B100 doesn't offer brightness/contrast/saturation/hue controls, instead allowing you to choose between Standard, Vivid, and one other option. The B100 is MUCH smaller, but feels a bit cheaper structurally and makes a rather loud humming noise during playback (the 302B seems virtually silent) that both my girlfriend and I noticed during quiet moments. Overall, despite the larger size, I recommend the 302B. I kept my 302B while I tested the B100s (in case there was a problem or it was region locked, and there was indeed a problem), and will stick with this model.

I live in Melbourne and they are sold out of the 302B's except in the outer suburbs, so I am going to ask JB to either have a new 302B (the B or C series) sent internally to their store for me to pick up or to issue me a discount on the model I have because of its SD DVD playback problems. I think its a fair request after 3 trips to JB and no fully working player.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

I picked up the B100 today for $79 at JB and watched two region A locked discs. Both played perfectly all the way through and I didn't experience this humming noise some people mention. I had a discussion with the guy selling them and made it clear that I'm no fool and that I know enough about them that I'll know if I'm being lied to. I specified that, that wasn't aimed at him specifically but as a lot of us know, the people who work at JB are generally pretty lazy or just lie to get the sale.

Anyway, we had a good laugh about how forward I was about that before even mentioning anything about what I wanted to buy and he recommended the B100 or a Toshiba which was about $50 more. He said that the only problems they've had is that a few people have come in with the discs stuck in the machine. All that needs to be done is the screws need to be taken out at the sides and you can take the disc out very safely. Naturally this isn't exactaly ideal knowing it could happen but for an extra $22 you can get an extra 2 years replacement warranty ontop of the 1 year warranty that comes with it.

I haven't had it long obviously but I'm really happy with it so far. Extremely easy to change the region (you can pick up any B100 and the same unlocking code works). Have to wait and see but it plays silently and smoothly so far.

[gettodamoofies]

Yep, I've had a B100 since April of last year and it hasn't missed a beat. No issues with any discs. Works fine and it cops a lot of use.