Importing a player to the USA from the UK - yes, it works!

[GrouchoDis]

Looking at the state of region-free players, it looks like you're either stuck with a bottom of the barrel player that may or may not keep working, or some fairly expensive professionally modded one which, again, is a hack of an original player, so may have issues in the future, too, and may require weird tricks to play back region B content.

Nothing against hacking, but I wondered if there was an easier way - just importing an actual UK bluray player and not modifying it at all, so it should happily play all Region B content as well as take firmware updates with no danger of losing that capability.

I did some checking and ended up ordering an LG BP250, very well-reviewed on Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00TWW583Q
It turns out to be a little more bare-bones than I expected - no network connection even, firmware gets updated via USB - but not a big deal. A few dollars more will get you one with other features like streaming, 3D, etc. I only cared about bluray playback so the LG was just fine. Actual cost in American dollars, including shipping: $61.64.

Next step was power. I turned to eBay and ordered a US power adapter for the BP250 and got what looked to be a good match - it fit fine, was marked as 12v 1a like the player wants, and it turned on and the interface worked fine. But with it, the player wouldn't spin up a disc; it would try then make a clunk noise, often freezing. I figured the player had died on its trip and asked Amazon UK for another. That one did the same, so I did some more research and realized that the stock power cord works from 100-240v, so it just needs a cheap adapter to fit the USA plugs. Amazon to the rescue again - $4.36 from Amazon USA, it's even got Prime shipping! With the adapter, both players work perfectly.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LPEVVIA

So, for a grand total of $66.00, I've got a name-brand region B player that works great in the USA. I actually have two since I thought the first one was bad, so one will connect to my Panasonic PT-AE8000U projector and one to my (two-year-old or so) Sony 3D HDTV. So far, everything I've thrown at it has played perfectly. That includes a handful of Arrow blurays (Day of the Dead, Happiness of the Katikuris, etc), Burke & Hare, and some TV content - the Life's Too Short series. The HD content all works, the SD content on blurays works, and I was surprised to find that the PAL DVDs play just fine, too! This is all on my Sony TV; I have done less testing on my projector but if anything, that should support more modes than the TV.

This player does have a setting to output 50hz content at 24hz, so possibly that helps. It's also possible that I don't have any 1080i 50hz content - I don't know what Life's Too Short is, the player is woefully short on showing technical details while playing. But, the fact that it plays DVDs just fine is a good sign that it should work fine with most anything.

So, for those who haven't gotten their region free player yet, you can pick up one of these *and* a US player for less than the cost of a professionally modded region free player. I think it's a pretty good option, as long as you don't mind another HDMI connection and yet another remote!

edit: I have verified that this model does indeed convert PAL to NTSC, so it does everything but 3D.

[The Godfather]

is this for 4K or 2K with 3D HDTV??? If this is for 4K I would just get the best multi-region Player OPPO 203 here in America. It maybe pricey but it is multi-regional and u would just have one player.

[78deluxe]

Originally Posted by The Godfather

is this for 4K or 2K with 3D HDTV??? If this is for 4K I would just get the best multi-region Player OPPO 203 here in America. It maybe pricey but it is multi-regional and u would just have one player.

Oppo is great and all, but you can get a 4k Samsung player for $140 and the option above for about $70. The OPpo is three times that amount. I have one of the last DVD players oppo made and have far cheaper players that lasted linger before having issues. Some food for thought.

[GrouchoDis]

Originally Posted by 78deluxe

Oppo is great and all, but you can get a 4k Samsung player for $140 and the option above for about $70. The OPpo is three times that amount. I have one of the last DVD players oppo made and have far cheaper players that lasted linger before having issues. Some food for thought.

Exactly. Godfather totally missed the point.

If the Seiko player works for some people, great, and if you want to spend a king's ransom on an Oppo, fine, but it seems that a lot of people are still looking for other options. I'm pointing out one that works just fine with no hacking or "tricks" whatsoever and is cheap. When I went looking for this information, there was little solid info apart from vague "well, it might work" - here's specific products that do work. I took a chance when buying it and if I can help someone else get Region B playback in the USA, great.

[dcforsyth]

Sounds like a headache?

My $50 Seiki works flawlessly for All regions.

Good luck

[Cocodon]

I've thought about doing this as someone maybe looking into playing USA discs in the UK. I don't mind using my PS4/XB1 to play region B discs so it would only be one player.

Never bought anything on Amazon USA, might see what barebones options there are on there. Thanks.

[GrouchoDis]

Originally Posted by Cocodon

I've thought about doing this as someone maybe looking into playing USA discs in the UK. I don't mind using my PS4/XB1 to play region B discs so it would only be one player.

Never bought anything on Amazon USA, might see what barebones options there are on there. Thanks.

Yeah, I imagine that it should work just fine going the other way. As long as the power cord accepts 100-240v (which most probably do), it should work fine there, just with one of the cheap adapters like I linked to. Good luck!

[SMOOT]

Originally Posted by GrouchoDis

Yeah, I imagine that it should work just fine going the other way. As long as the power cord accepts 100-240v (which most probably do), it should work fine there, just with one of the cheap adapters like I linked to. Good luck!

Seems like most UK players would work in the USA

Why do more people not do this the way you did?

[richieb1971]

Do remember that your TV needs to accept 50hz to play every disc from the UK. Most don't have any 50hz content but some do. Unless its steelbook packaging or something you want from the movie but also want to play the disc, its hard to justify getting 2 players.

[GrouchoDis]

Originally Posted by richieb1971

Do remember that your TV needs to accept 50hz to play every disc from the UK. Most don't have any 50hz content but some do. Unless its steelbook packaging or something you want from the movie but also want to play the disc, its hard to justify getting 2 players.

I did mention that this player has a setting to output 50hz content at 24hz, which should make it playable just fine in the USA. So far, everything I've tried has played perfectly on my TV and projector. I'll update this thread if I find anything that won't. No problems on region-free UK imports so far, either; I think there's not that much 50hz content out there on blurays.

Most people looking into a region free player already have a perfectly good local player; importing a player is cheap and easy and with none of the potential risk of a hacked player. I just watched Phantasm from the Arrow box set the other night and played through some extras on Arrow's The Thing limited release... worked perfectly.

[GrouchoDis]

FWIW, according to this old list in this thread, the LG bluray players (at least some of them) are one of the few "cheap" ones that can output 50hz as 60hz, so maybe I got lucky with my choice. If I can find a list of known PAL material on bluray and I own something on the list, I'll test it to put this concern to bed once and for all.

[mar3o]

Why would there be issues with playing UK discs if it's a region-free player? For example, looking at the region-free Sony BDP-S6700 Region Free 3D Blu-Ray Player with Wi-Fi, available online, it lists:

Plays Region A Blu-Ray (Regions B & C Optional)
Firmware can be updated via internet at any time doesn't affect regional codeing
Blu-ray Region switching - 1 Button SUPER Fast & Easy
Works With Any Voltage (110 volts to 240 volts)
Internal Pal / NTSC Conversion

For the LG BP550 110-240 volts Region Free Blu-Ray Player:

Region A Blu-Ray (Regions B & C Optional $40)
Blu-ray Zone A, Zone B, and Zone C
Firmware can be updated via internet at any time doesn't affect regional codeing
Blu-ray Region switching - 1 Button SUPER Fast & Easy
Full NTSC/PAL Conversion Built In
110-240 volts

Sounds to me like these should be able to play anything and output 50Hz/PAL material no problem to US 60 Hz sets. According to the notes both players can receive firmware updates without risk to region ability.

My Seiki is failing so I need a new region-free blu-ray player (want one with 3D support), so this will be my first time buying a modded player. Is there any reason I would want to import a UK player over buying a region-free player from 220? My budget is around $200 or less, so Oppo is out of the question.

[Vanguard]

Originally Posted by mar3o

Why would there be issues with playing UK discs if it's a region-free player? For example, looking at the region-free Sony BDP-S6500 4K 3D SMART Blu-Ray Player, available online, it lists:

Region A blu-ray (region B & C optional)
Plays Blu-ray from Any Region (A, B, & C)
Firmware can be updated via internet at any time doesn't affect regional codeing
Blu-ray Region switching - 1 Button SUPER Fast & Easy
Worldwide Voltage (works with 110-240 Volts)
Internal Pal/NTSC Conversion

For the LG BP550 110-240 volts Region Free Blu-Ray Player:

Region A Blu-Ray (Regions B & C Optional $40)
Blu-ray Zone A, Zone B, and Zone C
Firmware can be updated via internet at any time doesn't affect regional codeing
Blu-ray Region switching - 1 Button SUPER Fast & Easy
Full NTSC/PAL Conversion Built In
110-240 volts

Sounds to me like these should be able to play anything and output 50Hz/PAL material no problem to US 60 Hz sets. According to the notes both players can receive firmware updates without risk to region ability.

My Seiki is failing so I need a new region-free blu-ray player (want one with 3D support), so this will be my first time buying a modded player. Is there any reason I would want to import a UK player over buying a region-free player from 220? My budget is around $200 or less, so Oppo is out of the question.

Most hardware modded players can play 50Hz/PAL stuff just fine. So long as the seller explicitly states it. However, do not get the Sony S6500, its has some built in filtering at 1080P that ruins Blu-rays, and DVD playback is atrocious. DNR city. Check this thread: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=298106 That LG BP550 would be great though!

Also, be very careful when applying firmware updates. I had bought a hardware modded Samsung J-5100 player, and a firmware update broke the region mod. Which prompted me to get that modded S6500, which I regret. Bottom line, if it works, dont bother with a firmware update.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by Vanguard

Most hardware modded players can play 50Hz/PAL stuff just fine. So long as the seller explicitly states it. However, do not get the Sony S6500, its has some built in filtering at 1080P that ruins Blu-rays, and DVD playback is atrocious. DNR city. Check this thread: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=298106 That LG BP550 would be great though!

Also, be very careful when applying firmware updates. I had bought a hardware modded Samsung J-5100 player, and a firmware update broke the region mod. Which prompted me to get that modded S6500, which I regret. Bottom line, if it works, dont bother with a firmware update.

Interesting info. Thank you. I always hear good things about Sony players so I'm surprised about the DNR filtering baked into that player. I might check out the LG. I'd love a player with a front display but that's getting harder to find these days. I would also like a quiet player - the Seike made a ton of noise, even just spinning the disc during playback.

The 220 site claims they offer lifetime support guaranteeing region-free playback. I don't know the details though - if an update breaks region-free, do I need to pay shipping to get it fixed? A warranty isn't much good if I have to pay shipping both ways.

That LG is a couple years old it seems (2015). I wonder if there's a newer model modded LG player?

[BLMN]

Originally Posted by Vanguard

Most hardware modded players can play 50Hz/PAL stuff just fine. So long as the seller explicitly states it. However, do not get the Sony S6500, its has some built in filtering at 1080P that ruins Blu-rays, and DVD playback is atrocious. DNR city. Check this thread: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=298106 That LG BP550 would be great though!

Also, be very careful when applying firmware updates. I had bought a hardware modded Samsung J-5100 player, and a firmware update broke the region mod. Which prompted me to get that modded S6500, which I regret. Bottom line, if it works, dont bother with a firmware update.

I have the S6500 and to be honest I don't see any atrocity with the picture on bluray or DVD playback, and yes I have other players to compare.

[Vanguard]

Originally Posted by BLMN

I have the S6500 and to be honest I don't see any atrocity with the picture on bluray or DVD playback, and yes I have other players to compare.

Blu-ray playback is nowhere near as bad as DVD. DVD playback has what really looks like DNR slathered all over it. Maybe the ICOS mod ruined DVD playability? Happens to NTSC and PAL DVDs equally. I'll try to get some comparison pictures.

Edit: Here is a link to my post with the screen shot comparison. I put it in that thread so we dont side track this one.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...9&postcount=13

[GrouchoDis]

Originally Posted by mar3o

My Seiki is failing so I need a new region-free blu-ray player (want one with 3D support), so this will be my first time buying a modded player. Is there any reason I would want to import a UK player over buying a region-free player from 220? My budget is around $200 or less, so Oppo is out of the question.

Well, that Sony is already out of your budget... that's $210 w/region hack.
The LG is $160.

For 3D, there aren't as many choices - looking at only Prime-shipping ones at Amazon UK, there's the Samsung J5500 for 59 or the Panasonic for 69, both out of stock.

But really - how many region-locked 3D discs are there? I imagine there are some, but I'm not aware of them. I've imported a ton of 3D UK blurays (lots of Disney, most recently picked up GOTG2 and Kong Skull Island), no region locks yet.

My home theater setup is a Sony BDPS5200 for region A/3D content and the LG BP250 for region B, living room is a PS3 or PS4 for 3D and another BP250 for region B. I also have HTPCs with bluray players if I get desperate! You can get a US 3D bluray player and the LG BP250 for the same price as one of the region free players, and no worries about a firmware update killing the region-free functionality.

My point with the whole thread is for $66 out of pocket, you get drama-free Region B playback in the USA. Hell, you could get three of them for less than your $200 limit.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by GrouchoDis

Well, that Sony is already out of your budget... that's $210 w/region hack.
The LG is $160.

For 3D, there aren't as many choices - looking at only Prime-shipping ones at Amazon UK, there's the Samsung J5500 for 59 or the Panasonic for 69, both out of stock.

But really - how many region-locked 3D discs are there? I imagine there are some, but I'm not aware of them. I've imported a ton of 3D UK blurays (lots of Disney, most recently picked up GOTG2 and Kong Skull Island), no region locks yet.

My home theater setup is a Sony BDPS5200 for region A/3D content and the LG BP250 for region B, living room is a PS3 or PS4 for 3D and another BP250 for region B. I also have HTPCs with bluray players if I get desperate! You can get a US 3D bluray player and the LG BP250 for the same price as one of the region free players, and no worries about a firmware update killing the region-free functionality.

My point with the whole thread is for $66 out of pocket, you get drama-free Region B playback in the USA. Hell, you could get three of them for less than your $200 limit.

For price, I'm slightly flexible. I'll pay $10-$15 more if I need to.

As far as region locks, both the upcoming Valerian and Terminator 2 3D titles are expected to be region-locked and they're not getting a US 3D release, and I'm expecting this to happen more frequently sadly. I had to import Beauty and the Beast (live action) but thankfully that was region-free.

I won't buy a Samsung player after the issues I had with my last 2 Samsung players. I used to like Panasonic but my last Panasonic died in less than 2 years of moderate use.

[mar3o]

I wasn't aware until just now that Germany and Australia is also region B, along with the UK. I think in that case buying an LG player direct from amazon.uk will suit me fine for region B material as I don't own any region C discs and probably won't. So thanks for this information.

Is that power adapter you link to on Amazon the only thing I would need to buy to get this to run in the US?:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LPEVVIA

Are there any other brands/current models on amazon.uk that support both 3D and also PAL/50Hz conversion to 60 Hz? My LG UHD set doesn't handle 50Hz material so I need to make sure I can convert the 50Hz/PAL extras to 60Hz for my TV.

Also, since it's meant for the UK, isn't the initial setup from the factory 50Hz output? My TV won't display 50Hz so I won't be able to display the signal in order for me to see the menu and select 60Hz output, unless by default the LG models auto-detect the TV and outputs the correct signal? This would be the one problem I think - I'd need to be able to access the settings to set 60Hz but how can I do that if my TV won't display the 50Hz signal the player is sending out of the box?

@GrouchoDis,

Does your LG player have a menu option to output 1080p@60Hz? I know you mentioned it can output 50Hz as 24Hz, but is there a 60Hz option? What is it set at by default out of the box? Is it set to auto?

[GrouchoDis]

Originally Posted by mar3o

As far as region locks, both the upcoming Valerian and Terminator 2 3D titles are expected to be region-locked and they're not getting a US 3D release, and I'm expecting this to happen more frequently sadly. I had to import Beauty and the Beast (live action) but thankfully that was region-free.

Ditto on Beauty and the Beast (and so many other Disney 3Ds!), but I hadn't heard about Valerian! I am really looking forward to that one, so that may be a problem for me - or I play it through one of the PCs.

Originally Posted by mar3o

Is that power adapter you link to on Amazon the only thing I would need to buy to get this to run in the US?

For my setup, all I needed was the player and the adapter as listed in the original message.

Are there any other brands/current models on amazon.uk that support both 3D and also PAL/50Hz conversion to 60 Hz? My LG UHD set doesn't handle 50Hz material so I need to make sure I can convert the 50Hz/PAL extras to 60Hz for my TV.

Dunno. (Sorry, better no information than bad information!) As I mentioned before, there wasn't much choice for 3D players on Amazon UK.

Also, since it's meant for the UK, isn't the initial setup from the factory 50Hz output? My TV won't display 50Hz so I won't be able to display the signal in order for me to see the menu and select 60Hz output, unless by default the LG models auto-detect the TV and outputs the correct signal? This would be the one problem I think - I'd need to be able to access the settings to set 60Hz but how can I do that if my TV won't display the 50Hz signal the player is sending out of the box?

I don't believe so; I think normal output is 1080P 60hz, not 1080i 25hz.

@GrouchoDis,

Does your LG player have a menu option to output 1080p@60Hz? I know you mentioned it can output 50Hz as 24Hz, but is there a 60Hz option? What is it set at by default out of the box? Is it set to auto?

As said before, they work perfectly out of the box without any special tweaking on my Sony television and Panasonic projector; I have an older Visio but hadn't connected them to that. The menu setting is only for converting 50hz to 24; I don't know if it also does slowdown. UPDATE: I just looked over the manual and apparently that setting is just for movies encoded at 24fps; it can convert them to 50 if your (UK) TV can't handle 24fps. Additionally, down in the specifications, it specifically mentions that it outputs PAL/NTSC, so maybe that's the key bit of information. So if buying a different player, maybe check the manual online and look for that info.

I still don't think there's much HD PAL content out there on blurays, I found a couple lists (here and at AVS) and both hadn't been updated since 2012, and there wasn't all that much on them. One thing I was surprised was Planet Earth, which I do have the UK version of, but it always played fine on my US players. (It's region-free but supposedly PAL.) Maybe only the 6-disc is PAL - I have the 5-disc.