Multiregion DVD Players

Multiregion DVD players. Are they DVD Hollywood’s dirty little secret? Most DVD aficionados, like myself, know the benefit of owning a DVD player that can play DVDs for all six regions DVDs are encoded for.

Having a multiregion or code-free DVD Player opened the rest of film world up to me, different versions of films were available. I am able to acquire films that are not yet released in the United States or that are still in theater. This was the case with Wolf Creek. After I saw this horror film in theater, I came home and looked it up. And there it was, available for DVD purchase on a non-US (Region 1) encoded disc. I didn’t buy the DVD but I had the option to. That’s the point. I am able to watch movies from Regions 1,2,3,4,5 & 6.

The most utilitarian aspect of the multiregion DVD players showcased below (I chose Philips DVD Players because that is the brand I own, not because it is the only game in town) are that almost all of them play DivX, Mpeg4, Mp3s, Jpeg (Images), WMA, CDs, VCD, DVD,DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW. They all play PAL/NTSC DVDs as well.

The best aspect, above all of the aspects and features described thus far, are their price. You can purchase a multiregion DVD player that does the job for just under $80. I would go with the DVP5140 or the DVP5990. The DVP5140 has a faster processor than the one I have (DVP642) and the DVP5990 has USB support (which mine doesn’t have). And there are firmware upgrades for increased functionality for some of the units as well (you download the file, burn it to a CD and then load it once the CD is inside the DVD player). The codes to make the DVD Players region free are on the Amazon page for each player and online as well.

Well, now you know. You don’t have to be living in a certain part of the world to get the version of a film you want. Now all you have to do is research which version you want.

Philips DVP3040 – $35.44

• Plays CD-R/CD-RW, CD, DivX, DVD, DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/-RW, Video CD/SVCD.

Philips DVP3140 – $48.00

• Progressive Scan component video for optimized image quality; Plays CD, (S)VCD, DVD, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW; DivX for standard playback of all DivX media files; Plays DivX, MP3, WMA and JPEG digital camera photos Progressive Scan.

Philips DVP642 – $33.12 (This is the one that I own.)

• Plays CD-R/CD-RW, CD, DVD, DVD+R/+RW, DVD-R/-RW, Video CD/SVCD, JPEG, MP3, MPEG-4, DivX 3.11/4.x/5.x files.
• Optical and coaxial digital-audio terminals pass Dolby Digital and DTS surround signals.
• Progressive Scan; SmartPicture and 4x video up-sampling.

Philips DVP5140 – $47.99

Not Pictured

• Plays CD-R/W, DivX, DVD, DVD+R/W, DVD-R/W DVD-Video, MP3, MPEG4, Picture CDs, VCD, and SVCD.
• The DVP5140 is “DivX Ultra” certified. The DVP5140 uses a 12 bit/108 MHz video system instead of the 10 bit/54 MHz system used in the DVP642.
• Progressive Scan.

Philips DVP5990 – $76.99

• Plays DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, VCD/SVCD, MP3, WMA, DivX, DivX Ultra, JPEG, MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 formats.
• 108MHz/12-bit video digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion; 192kHz/24-bit audio digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion.
• Built-in USB port.
• 1080p up-conversion for standard DVDs.

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