multi-region blu-ray player - £200 max - recommendations?

Stuart P

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any suggestions guys? haven't had a blu-ray player before and it has been ages since i had a dvd player so completely out the loop tech wise 😬
 
thanks! wow bit of a mine field to me ☺ having no idea where to start, any model recommendations out of those within my £200 budget?
 
thanks! wow bit of a mine field to me ☺ having no idea where to start, any model recommendations out of those within my £200 budget?
As I haven't got any of them I can't give a recommendation based on experience. I'd sugest you choose the Sony and Panasonic models at the top of your budget which would be the Sony BDPS6700 and Panasonic BDT380 and look at the reviews for them on amazon.

Then do the same with the next two down from each make until you start hitting the badly reviewed ones. And then come back up again. However keep in mind the MR adds around £75 - £100 to the cost of the players vs UK only ones and as you go down the price range at TPS you are getting into fairly cheap budget player land so I'd suggest spending as near the top of your budget as you can if you are wanting all the frills and features.

As I said previously I prefer Panasonic players as I've found them quieter than Sony ones and to have far better picture adjustment controls available. Cheap Sony ones can have poor build quality and noisy drives. Even the more expensive ones too. Looking at my order history at amazon I returned a £180 Sony player due to noise.

If all you are wanting to do is play discs I'd suggest Panasonic. If you also want to playback files over USB/Network or use streaming services it may not be so clearcut as Panaonic has not been the best for this in the past and a Sony may be a better option.
 
It depends on whether you need DVD + BR multiregion, or just DVD. Bear in mind that 4K discs are region free (something that I learnt only recently, I hasten to add). If it’s just DVD, then a standard Panasonic player can be hacked easily with a remote control bought off eBay, which is what I did with my new Pannie player. Bear in mind too that if you go for a fully-modded device then your warranty will be with the modder, not Panasonic or Sony. Future firmware updates may also cause issues.

There aren’t too many differences between regions nowadays when it comes to BRs, in my experience, which was certainly not the case when DVDs were king.

Clem
 
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thanks guys for the detailed replies! i would be needing the blu-ray to be region free aswell as the dvd element. i understand restrictions on blus aren't like they were with dvds years ago but would prefer to be free all round just in case.

so is it normal for players to be a £100+ extra on top of the regular price for it to be multi-region?
 
No idea, never bought one. The whole region coding thing is a PITA, but if you need MR BR and DVD then your options are limited. For MR BR discs are we talking mainly A and B? If so, what about getting a US player and a UK one? It’s something that I have often toyed with.

Clem
 

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