Region-free DVD player?

[Smellincoffee]

Has anyone tried to use a region-free DVD player, one that can play any DVD regardless of what market it is produced for? I'm interested in buying one because I have an interest in a lot of DVDs that remain in region 2 (films from the UK and Europe, mostly). Sometimes they are issued in the American market, but not always. My chief concern, beyond finding one that's reliable, is the possibility of conflict with my TV set, which has an integrated DVD player in it. If I were to hook up another DVD player into it, would it cope...or explode in confusion? Has anyone done it? (I suppose make/model might make a difference; mine is an Insignia 24 inch LED TV/DVD combo...)

I suppose I could just buy a region 2 DVD player, but if I'm buying an extra player I might as well get one that covers bases worldwide, just in case I develop an interest in Russian or Brazilian cinema, right?

(DVD regions are weird if you look at a map of them.)

 

[Metryq]

First of all, your TV will accept other players—even though it has a DVD built-in—if it has additional inputs (HDMI, composite, component, VGA, etc.).

"Region free" players will play a disc from any region, but that does not necessarily mean they will convert TV standards. If you pick up a region free that does not also convert, you will need a multi-standard TV. "Insignia 24 inch" is not enough to ID the model.

Contemporary TVs (LCDs, plasmas, etc.) are more like computer monitors than older CRTs; they accept a range of aspects and frame rates. So it is possible they might actually accept any of the SD standards (NTSC, PAL, SECAM). At this time I do not have access to sources for all the older standards to test this theory.

However, there are alternatives, and digital technology makes it easy. If your computer has an optical drive (Apple has made such things optional now) you might be able to play other region discs. I know that Apple's DVD Player included with the OS will check region codes before playing a disc. It was once possible to do an end-run around that with an alternative player, like VLC, but that no longer works. The disc can be mounted, but that's it.

Still, there is one more alternative: convert the disc to digital files which can then be played on the computer, or your TV via cable or a streaming box such as Apple TV, Roku, etc. This may be illegal in some areas, so evaluate this option carefully. Multi-platform software to do the conversions include Handbrake and MakeMKV.

(Handbrake makes MPEG4 files that will play anywhere, while MakeMKV outputs Matroska files which preserve all aspects of the original disc, such as subtitles, etc. VLC is one player that recognizes MKV files.)

I've found many titles, such as COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT, available in widescreen from another region, but not in my own. (How '90s, right?) So I buy the version from another region, rip the movie to my home entertainment center, and put the disc on the shelf. (I'd never be able to play it directly. I once had multi-standard gear, but not anymore.)

 

[MacLeod]

Well I still have a region-free player (I'm in R2) and it plays R1 DVD's just fine and I had no issues with picture/sound even when I was using a CRT TV, and my DVD-R player plays some R1 DVD's just fine. Some R1 discs it won't accept.