DVD players for foreign DVDs


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Old 08-21-17, 05:07 AM
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DVD players for foreign DVDs

I want to be able to play DVDs that I acquire in other countries, so I went and looked around for a "universal" DVD player online at retailers like Amazon and Best Buy. I got pretty confused quickly, especially after reading reviews.

First, they seem to use the term "zone", "region", "code" interchangeably. I think they are the same thing, right? When they say "region free" it's the same as saying "zone free" correct? or is there a subtle difference?

Second, it seems there is a difference between players that are labeled as "REGION FREE" and players that are labeled as "MULTI REGION" because the same manufacturer would label two different DVD players one as "region free" but another one as ""multi region". Some specs say they would play regions 1-6, some say 0-8, yet reviews by actual customers seem to suggest hits and misses saying it didn't work for them, or they had to hack it with entering in some remote codes to get it to work. My understanding is region 0 and 9 are kind of undefined regions and DVDs marked as 0, 8, 9 are made to play on all DVDs, so essentially a player advertised to play 1-6 is as "universal" as a player advertised to play 0-9? Or no?

Anything else I should be mindful of when shopping for these players?

Thanks in advance!
 
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Old 08-21-17, 06:19 AM
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I'm not into DVDs but "region" is the word that I remember that determines what can be viewed where. Region free is what you want.

Make Your DVD Player Region-Free in Seconds

Scroll down for the steps to take.
 
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Old 08-21-17, 09:58 AM
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Many "region free" players are only that once. Many require that you setup a region when you first start using the player. Once you set it to your region that's the region it will be for the rest of its life. So, make sure you get one that is truly region free or can be changed anytime you want.

I did not have luck finding a region free player here in the US where it is more highly regulated. Europe is slightly better but Asia is the place to look. You might try Ebay and seek out a foreign purchase, maybe something shipped from Hong Kong or Singapore. I picked mine up in Shanghai years ago and it still works but the Chinese have really been clamping down on pirate goods so combined with the decline of the DVD I haven't seen them as often on my recent trips.
 
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Old 08-21-17, 03:54 PM
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I'm assuming by DVD you mean standard definition, not BlueRay?

I'd stop by your local thrift store, look through the $10-$20 DVD players,
bring a smartphone so that you can check which ones can be set to region free.
 
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Old 08-21-17, 04:13 PM
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In addition, standard definition DVDs come in different video standards, NTSC (a 480i format) and PAL (a 576i format). being the most common.
 
 

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