All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

Discuss internationally-released DVDs and Blu-rays or other international DVD and Blu-ray-related topics.
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jindianajonz
Jindiana Jonz Abrams
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 8:11 pm

Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#976 Post by jindianajonz » Tue Dec 03, 2013 7:45 pm

From another thread:
Zot! wrote:Keep in mind that if you're going to go region free for this, you will want a player or screen that can handle or convert 1080i50 content. This is probably a good consideration regardless for maximum flexibility.
Sorry if this is a stupid question, but how do I go about checking this? These two bluray players both talk about "watching full 1080p resolution"; does this mean they don't support the 1080i50 content? If I get one that doesn't support 1080i50 content, what sort of blu-rays will I not be able to play?

I am hoping to use this on both an old Vizio TV and a 2 year old Panasonic Viera ST series.

David M.
Joined: Sat May 10, 2008 1:10 pm

Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#977 Post by David M. » Tue Dec 03, 2013 7:54 pm

They probably don't, being American players.

Does your Vizio TV support 50hz input? Probably not also, again since it's American.

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jindianajonz
Jindiana Jonz Abrams
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Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#978 Post by jindianajonz » Tue Dec 03, 2013 7:56 pm

I'll have to check when I get home, but it's a 6 or 7 years old (and, as you say, American), so I doubt it.

So if I can't handle 1080i50, what am I going to be missing out on?

David M.
Joined: Sat May 10, 2008 1:10 pm

Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#979 Post by David M. » Tue Dec 03, 2013 8:06 pm

Some BBC shows, and the occasional bonus feature which is presented in 50hz.

50hz content is rare on Blu-ray.

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jindianajonz
Jindiana Jonz Abrams
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Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#980 Post by jindianajonz » Tue Dec 03, 2013 8:13 pm

David M. wrote:Some BBC shows, and the occasional bonus feature which is presented in 50hz.

50hz content is rare on Blu-ray.
Thanks! Out of curiosity, what would happen if I tried to play it on a TV set for 60hz?

Also, 1080i obviously only applies to blu-ray, but is there some similar spec that may limit my ability to watch DVDs if I don't buy the right thing?

EDIT: Looking at the Sony BDP-S5100 that I linked to, it has a spec "100~240V 50/60Hz Auto Switching". Does this mean it play 1080i50 on my 60hz TV, or do I need to look for something that specifically says "converts 50hz to 60hz" or something of the sort?

EDIT 2: The same player also states "Built in Video Converter PAL to NTSC that works on all USA/Canada/Japan (NTSC) TVs. REALTIME built-in video converter so that you can watch your PAL DVDs on NTSC TV"

Zot!
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 12:09 am

Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#981 Post by Zot! » Tue Dec 03, 2013 9:01 pm

jindianajonz wrote:
David M. wrote:Some BBC shows, and the occasional bonus feature which is presented in 50hz.

50hz content is rare on Blu-ray.
Thanks! Out of curiosity, what would happen if I tried to play it on a TV set for 60hz?

Also, 1080i obviously only applies to blu-ray, but is there some similar spec that may limit my ability to watch DVDs if I don't buy the right thing?

EDIT: Looking at the Sony BDP-S5100 that I linked to, it has a spec "100~240V 50/60Hz Auto Switching". Does this mean it play 1080i50 on my 60hz TV, or do I need to look for something that specifically says "converts 50hz to 60hz" or something of the sort?

EDIT 2: The same player also states "Built in Video Converter PAL to NTSC that works on all USA/Canada/Japan (NTSC) TVs. REALTIME built-in video converter so that you can watch your PAL DVDs on NTSC TV"
Playing 50hz content on an NTSC television would result in a garbled mess through an analog input (not sure if any image would appear for HDMI/DVI), in any case it is rendered unwatchable. Yes, you would need a special converting dvd player to play DVDs as well. So if you consider that an appropriate player would allow you to play all PAL DVDs and any BDs using 1080i50, and can cost as little as $50, I don't quite understand why people who love films hesitate. And I think David is underselling the usefulness of 1080i50 capability. The new Eric Rohmer set has a number of films encoded like this. Some music documentaries, like the Led Zeppelin reunion. TV shows from anywhere in PAL-land, like the original versions of the Killing and the Bridge. Even some feature films originate in 1080i50 like The Hunt, Antichrist, and a lot of other Danish productions. I'm sure I'm forgetting some other notable examples.

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jindianajonz
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Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#982 Post by jindianajonz » Tue Dec 03, 2013 9:28 pm

Thanks to both of you! So back to my original question, what specific verbiage should I be looking for to indicate this capability? Is the "Convert PAL to NTSC" and "50hz/60hz auto switching" enough?

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manicsounds
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Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#983 Post by manicsounds » Wed Dec 04, 2013 10:39 am

jindianajonz wrote:Thanks to both of you! So back to my original question, what specific verbiage should I be looking for to indicate this capability? Is the "Convert PAL to NTSC" and "50hz/60hz auto switching" enough?
Yup, that means the player converts automatically.

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Adam X
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Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#984 Post by Adam X » Thu Dec 05, 2013 4:05 am

Well, it means the player will convert PAL to NTSC, meaning you could play PAL & NTSC DVDs fine, but from what you've mentioned, I'd say it also means the player will be able to play back both 50 & 60 Hz content, but won't actually convert it, so you'd still need a TV capable of displaying 50 & 60 Hz.

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fdm
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Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#985 Post by fdm » Thu Dec 05, 2013 4:56 am

Blu-ray.com has a thread that tracks 50Hz compatible US players, listed in the first post.

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manicsounds
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Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#986 Post by manicsounds » Thu Dec 05, 2013 10:36 am

If a BD player can convert PAL to NTSC, it should definitely be able to convert 1080 50hz to 60hz. That's essentially what it is.

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jindianajonz
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Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#987 Post by jindianajonz » Thu Dec 05, 2013 11:53 am

manicsounds wrote:If a BD player can convert PAL to NTSC, it should definitely be able to convert 1080 50hz to 60hz. That's essentially what it is.
Thanks, that's what I was thinking, but the changes in terminology kept throwing me off. I emailed the guys at 220-electronics and they said the Sony S5100 is capable of playing 1080i50 content, so it looks like that's the player for me! (I could have gone a less expensive route, but my girlfriend wanted something with WiFi so she could stream netflix in the bedroom)

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Adam X
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Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#988 Post by Adam X » Fri Dec 06, 2013 4:59 am

manicsounds wrote:If a BD player can convert PAL to NTSC, it should definitely be able to convert 1080 50hz to 60hz. That's essentially what it is.
No, of course, your right. I wasn't thinking clearly, as my multizone player has no problem playing variously formatted discs (Oppo 103). The player's clearly doing the conversion before spitting it out.
Presumably the Sony player would do the same... and for a hell of a lot less $$$

Zot!
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 12:09 am

Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#989 Post by Zot! » Fri Dec 06, 2013 10:57 am

The one thing that remains hard to determine is the quality of conversion that occurs. In my experience this varies greatly between players and displays. To overcome this, I wanted to purchase a display that supports PAL natively, but this is still very limited in the states, and many of the same models that support it in Europe, do not in the US (the recent Panasonic plasmas, for instance, although they do convert, strangely enough). Some of the convertors do an admirable job however, depends how sensitive you are to stutter.

David M.
Joined: Sat May 10, 2008 1:10 pm

Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#990 Post by David M. » Fri Dec 06, 2013 11:31 am

Frame rate conversions will stutter - no two ways about it. Some disguise it better than others, like you say.

Zot!
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Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#991 Post by Zot! » Fri Dec 06, 2013 1:08 pm

David M. wrote:Frame rate conversions will stutter - no two ways about it. Some disguise it better than others, like you say.
I tested, and those Panasonic Plasmas (ST60,ZT60) did as good of a job as I've seen, but it still ticked me off that they couldn't just accept a 50hz signal natively. The same exact models do this in Europe.

Hail_Cesar
Joined: Thu Jan 17, 2008 7:20 pm

Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#992 Post by Hail_Cesar » Thu Jan 30, 2014 8:00 pm

My old region free DVD player is officially dead. Now I figure its time to try to get a Blu-ray player that would play all the RB blu-rays of all my dual formats movies.

What is the cheapest way to go Region Free for a Canadian (Montreal) in store or online?
or
Is there any cheap RB player I could order online on a website that would ship in Canada?

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jindianajonz
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Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#993 Post by jindianajonz » Thu Jan 30, 2014 10:32 pm

Are Canadian and US devices compatible? I bought my region free blu-ray player from 220-electronics.com, based out of Illinois, and its working great.

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manicsounds
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Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#994 Post by manicsounds » Fri Jan 31, 2014 2:03 am

I've read the budget Seiki brand players available at Canadian Walmarts can be made region free.

wllm995
Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2008 10:45 am
Location: Canada

Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#995 Post by wllm995 » Fri Jan 31, 2014 2:34 am

manicsounds wrote:I've read the budget Seiki brand players available at Canadian Walmarts can be made region free.
I can confirm that - I have had mine for over a year with no problems at all.

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willoneill
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Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#996 Post by willoneill » Fri Jan 31, 2014 7:48 am

My Seiki has been going strong for over 3 years ... it even outlasted my regular Samsung player (probably because I only use the Seiki for Region B discs). That said, I haven't seen them available at Walmart for a long time, but take a look, you might get lucky.

Applesauce
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Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#997 Post by Applesauce » Fri Jan 31, 2014 1:10 pm

After following a link posted earlier in this thread for the Seiki (through Sears), I also managed to find one (in Michigan). They appear to have been discontinued so you'll likely have to call; I wasn't able to find it by searching the Sears site, only through that direct link.
It has only been about a month, but so far it's a great little player. And only $29! Thanks to all who suggested it in this thread.

Hail_Cesar
Joined: Thu Jan 17, 2008 7:20 pm

Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#998 Post by Hail_Cesar » Sat Feb 01, 2014 3:06 pm

Yeah I know about the Seikki but we can't find them anywhere anymore...
jindianajonz: Canada and USA do have all the same configuration its just that some website don't ship electronic devices outside their country...
About a link for a website that ships cheap European blu-ray players oversea? I know Eureka posted a link for one on their facebook page but I forgot to bookmark it.
(BTW It would be useful to have a new thread on the topic with a regularly updated list of useful links on the first post...)

I might try that one: http://www.amazon.ca/Orei-BDP-M2-Multi- ... ray+player" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

shaky
Joined: Mon Jul 29, 2013 2:52 pm

Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#999 Post by shaky » Tue Feb 04, 2014 1:08 pm

So jindianajonz,

Just be 100% clear, you went ahead and got the Sony BDP-S5100 player from 220-electronics and it successfully converts 1080/50i content to 60hz thus making it playable on those U.S. tvs which cannot play that 50i PAL HD content? And the player disguises conversion stutters well?

If this is the case, then I'm going to immediately snag it up along with the Eric Rohmer box set.

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jindianajonz
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Re: All-Region DVD and Blu-ray Player Advice

#1000 Post by jindianajonz » Tue Feb 04, 2014 2:01 pm

I haven't actually tried anything that I've known was 1080/50i (My Region B library is pretty small) but I have the Eric Rohmer set sitting at home unopened. If you'd like, I can pop something in when I get home and make sure it works.

Does anyone know of a special feature that is definitely in 50i that I can use to test it out?

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