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My Man Godfrey wrote:Well, my cheapo Seiki just bit the dust after about six months of use. Little star, you burned bright during your short life! The thing was inexpensive enough that I can't be too irritated.

Currently following the herd to that Sony all-region player...

Can you point me in the direction of the Sony you are talking about? And does it have a good smart player interface?

Drucker wrote: Can you point me in the direction of the Sony you are talking about? And does it have a good smart player interface?

While I can't speak to the specific player referred to here, I can say that Sony has a terrible "smart player interface", IMO. Through multiple players in multiple households over a handful of years, it's been slow, clunky, and Netflix freezes a lot. In the same house, I had no trouble with an LG player and ended up buying a Roku for streaming purposes (which is rock solid and well worth the $).

markymark wrote:

Drucker wrote: Can you point me in the direction of the Sony you are talking about? And does it have a good smart player interface?

While I can't speak to the specific player referred to here, I can say that Sony has a terrible "smart player interface", IMO. Through multiple players in multiple households over a handful of years, it's been slow, clunky, and Netflix freezes a lot. In the same house, I had no trouble with an LG player and ended up buying a Roku for streaming purposes (which is rock solid and well worth the $).

I got the version (S1500) that -- I believe -- isn't "smart" at all. My TV drives me crazy -- please just be a TV and stop updating programs I'll never use!

markymark wrote:

Drucker wrote: Can you point me in the direction of the Sony you are talking about? And does it have a good smart player interface?

While I can't speak to the specific player referred to here, I can say that Sony has a terrible "smart player interface", IMO. Through multiple players in multiple households over a handful of years, it's been slow, clunky, and Netflix freezes a lot. In the same house, I had no trouble with an LG player and ended up buying a Roku for streaming purposes (which is rock solid and well worth the $).

Is said LG player region-free? My set-up is pretty complete, with a trusty OppO to do my region-free lifting. I have another room with a TV though, which I'd like to also get a region free blu for, but hopefully for cheaper than the Oppo.

I got the Sony S5200 from 220 electronics last summer, and have been happy so far. I haven't had any issues with the streaming services, but I also don't have the longer history with Sony products markymark does.

Drucker wrote:

markymark wrote:

Drucker wrote: Can you point me in the direction of the Sony you are talking about? And does it have a good smart player interface?

While I can't speak to the specific player referred to here, I can say that Sony has a terrible "smart player interface", IMO. Through multiple players in multiple households over a handful of years, it's been slow, clunky, and Netflix freezes a lot. In the same house, I had no trouble with an LG player and ended up buying a Roku for streaming purposes (which is rock solid and well worth the $).

Is said LG player region-free? My set-up is pretty complete, with a trusty OppO to do my region-free lifting. I have another room with a TV though, which I'd like to also get a region free blu for, but hopefully for cheaper than the Oppo.

Both my Sony and LG are region-free players (hardware) via 220 Electronics. I just don't know the models off of the top of my head. FWIW, LG doesn't have an Amazon app if that matters to you (at least my player doesn't and 220 told me it was not added in the pending FW update I've been ignoring for about a year now). If you rely on streaming apps and your budget can afford it (though they're pretty cheap), the Roku 2 is tiny, plenty fast/responsive and pretty cheap. I have a Roku 2 and a 4 and will never rely on TV or BD apps again. The difference in my streaming experience has been night/day with the switch.

I've actually had a great smart player set-up with the new Samsung I have, it's just not region free!

So what's the deal with the Seiki? Are they simply done with blu-ray players?

(Mine continues to work so simply and beautifully I live in fear of the day it dies.)

This seller on eBay has "more than 10" of the Seiki SR4KP1 players available for $99.99 each. The "best offer" option basically guarantees that you can get it for less. My SR212S had its first hiccup a few weeks ago, which sent me into a paranoid frenzy in which I purchased two back-up region changeable players. I initially offered to the seller $80 each for a pair, which was auto-rejected, but my offer of $90 each was promptly accepted. Plus, I messaged the seller beforehand and he/she agreed to ship them both for a combined rate of $10.

The seller's feedback is perfect, so I don't imagine I have to worry, but I'll report back when I receive the players today or tomorrow.

SlySoft (the makers of AnyDVD) are closing their doors. It looks like legal pressure finally became too much. This is a massive blow to the future of HTPCs. Fuck.

TMDaines wrote:SlySoft (the makers of AnyDVD) are closing their doors. It looks like legal pressure finally became too much. This is a massive blow to the future of HTPCs. Fuck.

DVDFab HD Decrypter is still up though, wonder if that software is going to be taken down as well?

feckless boy wrote:DVDFab HD Decrypter is still up though, wonder if that software is going to be taken down as well?

What DVDFab product does one need if one just wants to play (and make screen shots) of any and all BluRays?

I believe you just need Passkey for Blu-rays (I admittedly haven't tried it yet).

My poor old Sherwood has finally given up the ghost. (I'm amazed that it lasted as long as it did.) If you were in the US and wanted to buy a new BD player that is all-region and will output 1080i 50Hz video at 60Hz (gotta get that Alan Clarke box), what would you choose?

Of course there are better (albeit more expensive) alternatives, but, as I mentioned a page back, the Seiki SR4KP1 is still available for $99.99 or best offer (hint: this means the seller will take less) from a seller on eBay. My two players from this seller arrived safely. My only complaint is that they were shipped simply by wrapping the blu-ray player boxes in plastic. The boxes arrived a little dinged up, but the players were fine. I've been intensely testing them with all kinds of different discs over the last few weeks, and I still haven't run into any problems.

I was a little concerned about Seiki's claims about the player's noise reduction capabilities, but I simply made sure to turn that and other auto-"enhancements" off, and I haven't noticed any issues.

I don't know of any 50Hz content that I have, but Oedipax confirmed in the Dissent and Disruption thread that the player converts 50Hz to 60Hz quite nicely.

Once last thing: those SquareTrade warranties offered on the eBay listing seem like a rip-off, but I was actually very satisfied the one time I bought one for my first region free player (the good ol' Insignia WBR-DVD2.) The player ended up lasting only about a year, but I had a two year warranty, so they refunded my purchase price (and paid to have the player shipped to them) with basically no questions asked. Since it's a stretch for most modern electronics to work for three years without issue, I paid the $15 for a three year warranty on the Seiki. Only time will tell if it was worth it.

Seiki it is, then. I wouldn't have minded spending a little more on something of higher quality, but I was unable to get an email reply from anyone at 220 Electronics regarding the framerate conversion. Shame OPPO stopped making relatively affordable players.

That was quick: AnyDVD is now back under the banner of RedFox.

I'm buying an American-bought region A Playstation 3 in order to play region A Blu-Rays over here in Sweden. Because it features universal power supply compatibility, using it should as far as I am aware not be any problem. This is rather just me double-checking, seeing if there's any reason to be cautious. Could there be any issues in playing region A-locked Blu-Rays (I don't care about DVDs) via an American PS3 to my Swedish TV? As far as I know (it says so on the back) the TV supports both 50 and 60Hz. I'll of course be using an HDMI cable.

I guess what I'm asking is whether or not there could be some sort of "lock" between the two devices, rendering a Blu-Ray unplayable on certain TVs.

Sorry if it's a silly question, I'm not very tech-savvy -- at least not when it comes to stuff like this.

Could there be any issues in playing region A-locked Blu-Rays (I don't care about DVDs) via an American PS3 to my Swedish TV?

No. All TVs in Europe support at least 50hz and 60hz timing. All new ones also support 24hz.

As far as I know (it says so on the back) the TV supports both 50 and 60Hz.

That means the frequency of the power supply in the TV, which isn't related to the frame rates it can display, but it's irrelevant because European HDTVs can play everything.

David M. wrote:

Could there be any issues in playing region A-locked Blu-Rays (I don't care about DVDs) via an American PS3 to my Swedish TV?

No. All TVs in Europe support at least 50hz and 60hz timing. All new ones also support 24hz.

Fantastic. Thank you.

How is something like this Sony S1500RF Multi System Region Free Blu-Ray Disc DVD Player?

I just want to be able to play the Artificial Eye UK Mizo Blu-ray box set. [-o<

I'm in the UK, but have a Pioneer with an ICOS chip. Never found anything it didn't play.

Hello, bit of an annoying question and wonder if anyone could give any advice?

Bought a Seiki SR4KP1 blu-ray player as recommended in this thread. Was using it at my parents' house and they lost the remote! Been trying to find a replacement through Seiki customer service but they won't sell one. Tried to program an RCA universal remote but it didn't work. Any ideas? Has anyone successfully programmed this player with a universal remote? Or any leads on a spare remote?

So I've been using an older Momitsu BDP-899 for literally YEARS up until now, and fairly recently it's been annoyingly on the fritz on Blu playback, and since I can't possibly figure out a way to just get another one, I've been consulting this thread for options. From what I'm gathering, I should in fact go with the Seiki that keeps being recommended, which currently on Amazon for $100:

https://www.amazon.com/Seiki-SR4KP1-Up- ... 1_1&sr=8-1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It seems to have all the functionality I'd need in terms of region free playback for DVD/Blu, and that's really all I'd need it for. The upconversion bit is nice, but unnecessary (as long as it does true 1080p playback that's all I'd care about), so I'm fine with a no frills unit of this type, I just was curious if this is a "Get what you pay for" kind of thing where because it's considerably cheaper than other Region-free players I've run across if this is more of a short term solution or something I can reliably depend on to last me years down the road.

I've also seen people mention a Sony in this thread although it's unclear which one is being addressed. I'm not looking to pay hundreds unnecessarily, but I want something of a solid long term quality. If anyone here who owns the unit can confirm that it's a good investment for the money, I'll go ahead and pull the trigger, but just want to confirm real fast that this is a good overall option (as I'll admit the reviews indicate), and not a "Well since you don't want to pay $400..." option in a pinch. Thanks.

I've had mine for 2 or 3 years & it's worked flawlessly. I was debating whether to get an Oppo, but figured I'd rather save the $ & stick with my existing Sony region A player & set the seiki for region B. So I'm not sure how easy it is to toggle back & forth if it's your sole player.

Some people have complained that it has some inbuilt processing/sharpening that you can turn down but not truly off. I turned mine all the way down & don't notice it (into a Panasonic st-50)

I just saw that one of the amazon reviews claims it doesn't play PAL dvd's. I'm pretty sure it DOES, but will check later.

Zero regrets.