Momitsu BDP-899 all region BD player

[TedK]

Originally Posted by Eastcoaster

I'm right there with you. My 983 does a great job on upconverting Region-2 DVDs, so without the multi-region Blu-Ray capability on the new Oppo BD83, it doesn't have any value to me... my Panasonic BD35 does a pretty stunning job. I, too, am going to splurge on the Momitsu as a Region-B player... and it's waaaay cheaper than buying a modified American BD player!

I can see your point. We've got the best of both worlds right now! It seems to me that most of the people that are gushing over the BD83 (rightfully so, no doubt) have no prior experience with Oppo. So I can understand their delight. But to me, Oppo took a step forward and one backward, so I'm debating the Momitsu right now myself to complete my "universal" status. The only worry I have is the level of the company's firmware update support. Does anyone have any previous Momitsu experience?

[kinemax]

According to this post over at AVSforum, BDA could revoke Momitsu's security certificate making their player unable to play new BD discs containing the revocation info. (This presumably can force Momitsu into releasing a region-code compliant firmware update). I have not read up on the BD content-protection security model to judge if this is plausible.

[gekke henkie]

Maybe I am to sceptical, but since the manual does not specifically mention DTS-HD Master Audio (or MA) anywhere, it will most probably NOT decode it (like many other BD-players, unfortunately).

AFAIK, the LG BH200 (remote hackable) will also NOT decode DTS-HD MA, as well as the Australian Kogan region-free BD-player (also no DTS-HD MA decoding).

The Oppo is not region-free or zone-free yet (hopefully it will soon), so currently, this leaves the hardware modified BD-players (like the Panasonic's and Pioneers) as most desirable for me. Any thoughts?

[DigitalfreakNYC]

Originally Posted by gekke henkie

AFAIK, the LG BH200 (remote hackable) will also NOT decode DTS-HD MA.

AFAIK, that is NOT true.

[donaldheil]

Excuse my ignorance, but I was looking for information on Region Free players and found this thread.

Is MOMITSU a good brand? I never heard of it, but since nobody has said nothing negative about it here, I guess it must represent a good name.

Thank you.

[FilmmakingFiasco]

Gary from DVD Beaver has put this up on their site and reviewed the Momitsu BDP-899


http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/hardwa...su_bdp-899.htm

Excerpt from the review:

WHAT I LIKED

Plays every disc I have tried - any region Blu-ray, any region or standard (PAL or NTSC) DVD
Supports separated HD audio (PCM Stereo, PCM 5.1 Channel, PCM 7.1 channel, Bitstream HD which can include DD+, TrueHD and DTS-HD) through HDMI
It plays DVD-R discs
I LOVE the USB 2.0 feature of slideshows, video etc.
Appears to load noticeably faster than my Sony 300S
Simple set-up
Price seems reasonable (I paid more for my region-locked, slow-loading Sony than I did for this)


POSSIBLE NEGATIVES
Some may dislike the manual region-coding input (6 digits) but as a reviewer I don't mind as I can use it to tell me the code status of the Blu-ray. People are frequently requesting if I know if said Blu-ray disc is region-free or locked - I had no definitive way of knowing until now. I set the player for an alternate region and if it plays it is a region free disc!
Cannot change region-coding with a disc in the tray - it must be closed and empty.
You must be more proactive with the remote and onscreen player menu than I have had to utilize previously.
I am not sure on Firmware updating although it seems to support BD-Java and plays all of the Blu-ray discs I have tried.

As this unit appears to have been a modified player, my review only encompasses the one sold by HKFlix HERE (or clicking the logo to the right).
I suggest to you that it may be modified as the included manual gives no mention of region-free ability or the code to unlock the regions. It also states that it won't play PAL discs (which it does) even though the website states that it can. The 'code' to unlock via the remote is included on a piece pf paper from HKFlix.


BOTTOM LINE
As I determine more about this machine I will post it here, but as it stands this has a strong recommendation. I've been looking for something like this for a while. It does exactly what I want with relative ease.

[gekke henkie]

Originally Posted by gekke henkie

AFAIK, the LG BH200 (remote hackable) will also NOT decode DTS-HD MA

Originally Posted by DigitalfreakNYC

AFAIK, that is NOT true.

According to the dedicated thread on AVS and according to the following link, the BH200 only Bitstreams DTS-HD MA, but does not decode it: https://www.blu-ray.com/players/play...=59&show=specs

If you think it does, do you have any reference, or other firmware-update info? That would be highly appreciated!

Oh, and by the way, the new HDI Dune's (to be released this month) will MOST probably be region/zone-free for everything, and will also bitstream and decode ALL formats, have 7.1 analog outs, HDMI v1.3, BD-live (profile 2.0), etc. (not cheap though)

[Paulo Elias]

If the Momitsu is, apparently, a player modified by a third party, what advantage could it possibly have with the competition?

If I were to try a modified player, probably my best bet would be on a player that has already been tried and experimented by others, insofar disc playback is concerned.

Also, in this case, if the Oppo ever comes to such a modification, and (I must add) will have the DVD-Audio implementation done in the near future, this will most likely be the player for this kind of choice. And I mean not for the masses but for those who are audiophiles as well as video enthusiasts.

Just my 0.02.

[ultrablue]

Looks most promising but the thing is I never heard of Momitsu.

[DigitalfreakNYC]

Originally Posted by ultrablue

Looks most promising but the thing is I never heard of Momitsu.

If you only shop at Best Buy or Amazon, you won't. It's only going to be found at specialty online stores.

[secondlanguage]

I've just bought a Momitsu and its a really nice machine overall. The dvd upscaling is worth the price alone to me, i formerly had a phillips DVP 5140 all region machine. The Momitsu has easily handled any disc thrown at, both blu ray and dvd. As the other reviewer stated, you do have to put in a code to go to a different blu ray region and you cant enter set up once a disc is playing. These are the only two drawbacks ive found thus far as well. The picture for the blu ray is a bit more detailed and sharper than my PS3 but nothing staggering. I basically wanted an all region player for both formats, so, im more than happy to have an all in one unit. Oh a funnything as well, when you first get the machine, the instructions are in english in the manual but all the settings on the machine are in japanese, you literally have to go into the machine and switch it over but the characters for english are in japanese.

[vegasranger]

Could you confirm that it can play Pal dvd's and that you have an NTSC only TV.
Thanks.

[gekke henkie]

Originally Posted by Paulo Elias

If the Momitsu is, apparently, a player modified by a third party

Where did you get that impression? A.F.A.I.K. it's region/zone-free OOTB (Out Of The Box), just like the Kogan, the HDI Dune's, and probably others that I don't know about.

If you are talking about software-modified players (like the LG BH200), or hardware-modified players (like the ones on www.BluRayMods.com), then that's a whole different story.

Like I mentioned earlier, I am looking for a player that decodes ALL the new audio formats (since BD-Live/profile 2.0 requires decoding in the player), this will leave me with the HDI Dune's and the hardware-modified players (AFAIK). Oh, and PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong, or missed a player

[Paulo Elias]

Originally Posted by gekke henkie

Where did you get that impression? A.F.A.I.K. it's region/zone-free OOTB (Out Of The Box), just like the Kogan, the HDI Dune's, and probably others that I don't know about.

If you are talking about software-modified players (like the LG BH200), or hardware-modified players (like the ones on www.BluRayMods.com), then that's a whole different story.

Like I mentioned earlier, I am looking for a player that decodes ALL the new audio formats (since BD-Live/profile 2.0 requires decoding in the player), this will leave me with the HDI Dune's and the hardware-modified players (AFAIK). Oh, and PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong, or missed a player

From the review written by Gary Tooze. And I quote:

"As this unit appears to have been a modified player, my review only encompasses the one sold by HKFlix HERE (or clicking the logo to the right)."

I know Gary Toose enough to say that he is a very reliable person. But as he clearly points out, the Momitsu appears to be modded by the reseller. If that is not the case, then anyone who is purchasing it elsewhere will have to be ready for an unpleasant surprise.

Also, if the player is indeed modded, then the codes posted by Mr. Tooze will not be applicable to other players.

I think I understand your apprehension on purchasing something that will not feed your needs entirely.

I am an early adopter myself, who was forced to spent around 2,262.34 US dollars (at today's rate) for an officially launched Panasonic BD10A in this country. In a relatively short period of time, it became clear that the BD10A was lagging behind a number of audio features, namely its capacity to bitstream advanced audio codecs. In those days I didn't realize that I was going to buy a new player so soon, but since I spent so much in the first one, when the time came I gave it to my younger son.

The truth is that we are more or less going back to the early days of DVD, when there was no progressive scan, no upscaling, and no HDMI.

Sometimes, it is better to wait and see what happens, in order to avoid regretting buying the wrong stuff sooner. But I guess that this is the price we pay for early adoption, and quite frankly I think Blu-Ray is so good that I never hesitated to make my first investment in it!

[DigitalfreakNYC]

Originally Posted by Paulo Elias

From the review written by Gary Tooze. And I quote:

"As this unit appears to have been a modified player, my review only encompasses the one sold by HKFlix HERE (or clicking the logo to the right)."

I know Gary Toose enough to say that he is a very reliable person. But as he clearly points out, the Momitsu appears to be modded by the reseller. If that is not the case, then anyone who is purchasing it elsewhere will have to be ready for an unpleasant surprise.

Also, if the player is indeed modded, then the codes posted by Mr. Tooze will not be applicable to other players.

I think I understand your apprehension on purchasing something that will not feed your needs entirely.

I am an early adopter myself, who was forced to spent around 2,262.34 US dollars (at today's rate) for an officially launched Panasonic BD10A in this country. In a relatively short period of time, it became clear that the BD10A was lagging behind a number of audio features, namely its capacity to bitstream advanced audio codecs. In those days I didn't realize that I was going to buy a new player so soon, but since I spent so much in the first one, when the time came I gave it to my younger son.

The truth is that we are more or less going back to the early days of DVD, when there was no progressive scan, no upscaling, and no HDMI.

Sometimes, it is better to wait and see what happens, in order to avoid regretting buying the wrong stuff sooner. But I guess that this is the price we pay for early adoption, and quite frankly I think Blu-Ray is so good that I never hesitated to make my first investment in it!

I'm not understanding the bolded part.

Plus, Momitsu's DVD players were ALWAYS region-free, AFAIK. Why would this be any different?

[secondlanguage]

My tv is a Samsung LN32A550 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV and i have pal dvds and a pal region B blu ray and it plays them all without hesitation in my experience. I've only had the Momitsu for a few days but i love it, it plays all my region 2s without problems and as i stated before my one and only pal region B blu ray. Im not a tech master but i will try to answer any questions that you have in an honest way.

[kinemax]

Originally Posted by secondlanguage

My tv is a Samsung LN32A550 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV and i have pal dvds and a pal region B blu ray and it plays them all without hesitation in my experience. I've only had the Momitsu for a few days but i love it, it plays all my region 2s without problems and as i stated before my one and only pal region B blu ray. Im not a tech master but i will try to answer any questions that you have in an honest way.

The Momitsu's manual states (in the BD Disc Compatibility section) "Discs with PAL programs recorded on them cannot be played using this product". Are you sure that the Region B Blu-Ray disc you tested contains PAL SD material?

[secondlanguage]

the blu ray region B i own is Salo, it states that its region b blu ray on the box.

[kinemax]

Originally Posted by secondlanguage

the blu ray region B i own is Salo, it states that its region b blu ray on the box.

But perhaps the content of the disc is entirely in HD?

[gekke henkie]

Originally Posted by Paulo Elias

From the review written by Gary Tooze. And I quote:

"As this unit appears to have been a modified player, my review only encompasses the one sold by HKFlix."

I know Gary Toose enough to say that he is a very reliable person. But as he clearly points out, the Momitsu appears to be modded by the reseller. If that is not the case, then anyone who is purchasing it elsewhere will have to be ready for an unpleasant surprise.

@Paulo:
Good point! If he is correct about this, then this would be an unpleasant surprise indeed.

Originally Posted by DigitalfreakNYC

Momitsu's DVD players were ALWAYS region-free, AFAIK. Why would this be any different?

Because this is a BD-player, and the BDA (and others) are much more strict about not being multi-region/zone; just like Oppo's DVD-players are region-free, but their new BD-player is not (Out of the box, that is). I hope most BD-players will become 'free' when more cheap (Chinese?) players have hit the market.