what's the bestest (but affordable) multi-region dvd player

do peeps play divx files of CDRs? do they just burn them as data discs?

Here's an old review:

http://www.onhometheater.com/product/20040901.htm

and thanks for all the info!

This hack was successfully applied to the Philips DVP1540/12.

1. Turn on the unit
2. Open the loading tray
3. Press the "Setup" button on the remote
4. Navigate to the "Preferences" page using the right arrow key
5. Enter 138931
6. You will now see the current region code displayed
7. Use the Up/Down arrow keys to select the region required or "0" for all regions
8. Press the "Play" button on the remote

(i was a little worried cuz i couldn't look at the remote in the store and i am picky about remotes but it looks fine!)

ok I need a new one

what are the chances that I could even buy a modern non-Sony DVD player and it wouldn't be region unlockable via some fancy konami-code remote shenanigans I can find on the web somewhere?

Philips 5960

has hdmi upscaling and will play xvid/ffmpeg avis off a usb flashdrive. firmware can be flashed via cdr

component out and composite out -- only part i dislike is the lack of s/video when i needed it

will upscale on component also

ok so like any philips DVP series does this apparently?

i have the 5960 too. occasionally wonky but largely pretty awes. has some stupidness like only reads fat drives and terrible menus. but shit does it all and it's cheap.

tom u def want upscaling homie

Can anyone recommend a region-free blu-ray player? Arrow's upcoming Walerian Borowczyk box set has finally pushed me over the edge, but I have no idea who makes a cheap, reliable multi-region box since I've been playing all my media on video game consoles for the last 10+ years...

I've been thinking about getting one too. My old Phillips multi-region player has served me well but it doesn't handle some DVDs very well in the picture quality. Thinking I'll probably need a bluray player eventually but I'm very reluctant to get anything single region. I've heard some people saying physical discs are in real trouble so maybe it won't be as good an investment as I'd hope.

Someone on another thread says OPPO makes multi-region bluray players.

Maybe they can start making all players multi-region because most piracy is on file sharing now.

I just looked up bluray players and it seems some play multi-region DVDs but not blurays or maybe they haven't been described properly.

The OREI BDP-M2 seems well regarded. I own an Oppo DVD player, and as they've grown in prominence they've backed away from the legal issues with out-of-the-box multi-region players.

Oppo's line of blu-ray players can be modified to play all blu-ray regions, but sell new at about $500 or higher (unmodded). You might be able to find a used modified BDP-80 or BDP-83 for less (though they don't play 3D discs, if you care about those).

I think manufacturers can't make a blu-ray region-free player without violating copyrights or something (it's much stricter this way than it was for DVD), so you have to "fix" them yourself or buy from someone who's already done so (at extra cost).

Criterionforum.org's long-running multi-region thread has a lot of recommendations for 220 Electronics, and there are some cheaper ($150ish) Toshibas that look like they'd do the trick- all regions for both DVD and blu-ray, and PAL/NTSC conversion. The biggest problems people seem to have is accidentally updating their player's firmware, but is there something worse I should watch out for- low quality, I reliability, cheap manufacture, stuff like that?