This one is a lot of fun: You borrow a DVD from a friend, or you buy one online somewhere.You stick it in your player.And then, disaster strikes!You get a message like “Region not allowed”, and the movie won’t play.WTH?!Welcome to the glorious world of Region Codes!Sometimes, it’s possible to bypass this restriction, but it depends on your DVD/Blu-ray player.Region codes explainedRegion codes are basically DRM (digital rights management) techniques that allow studios to control the release of films in various regions. So, for example, they can release a new movie in the USA first, and then the UK, and then elsewhere.If you’ve ever looked for movies on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, you’ll notice that DVD and Blu-ray movies are usually released in the USA first, and then a month or two later, they’ll appear for sale in the UK.Why the movie studios do this is anybody’s guess, but mine is that they’re trying to make as much money as possible. Shocking, I know.Now, let me just say that I don’t support pirating movies. But, here’s the thing: If I want to buy a movie in another country, I’m still paying for it.
It’s not piracy. If I want to buy a movie in another country, in another currency, and if they’ll ship it to me, then what’s the biggie?
There isn’t one, except that Uncle Hollywood says, “No!”Well, screw you, Uncle Hollywood. You’ve got enough money, I’m not shortchanging anyone, I’m not pirating anything, and goddammit, I wanna watch my movie! П™‚The following is a color-coded Region map for DVDs:Blu-ray discs also have region codes, but most studios don’t enforce the region code restrictions, which are way more lax than for DVDs.
There are a few exceptions to this rule, so there are no guarantees. Also, hacks that exist for Blu-ray players usually don’t turn off the region code setting for Blu-ray discs – it usually just makes playing DVDs a region-free experience. Sometimes, it also unlocks the Blu-ray region code, also.As for DVD players, some are hackable, and some are not.
Some are hackable until you update the player’s firmware (via ethernet, WiFi, or an update file on a USB stick). Then, the player is no longer region-free. YMMV (your mileage may vary), so be careful. Hacked OffRight, so: How do you hack your player?That depends. Some manufacturers basically don’t allow it. Toshiba is kind of famous for having non-hackable players.
Sony usually requires downloading a CD image, burning it to a disc, and playing the disc in your player. Samsung players are often hackable, but then they’ll issue a firmware update that resets the region code and disables the hack – lame! My personal preference is Philips, because almost all of their players are hackable.The hacking process for some players is quite simple:. Go here:.
Search for your model number, i.e. “ Philips DVP2880“. Go through the list of instructions, and try it out!The instructions will usually be something like this ( this is just an example, specifically for the above player):.
Power ON the DVD player with no disc inside. Goto SETUP and go to Preferences. With preferences highlighted, Press NEXT CHAPTER , PREVIOUS CHAPTER , PREVIOUS CHAPTER.
12 February 2019 at 11:51Been trying for days, no luck! Desperate!My model bought in Europe, region 2 and B is: Blu-ray Samsung BD-J4500R/XN and on my remote it says AK59-00149A in case that’s important.I want to play region 1 dvds from the USA!Tried every code, every number, nothing works! Press repeat (fast or 5 seconds, tried both) then code for region number (tried all) then no black window on top left with a number where I’m told to quickly press 9. Nothing appears on screen!Please HELP!!!. 26 July 2019 at 03:40Hi,I’ve just purchased a Panasonic DMR-PWT560 (GN) as many had written that it could be set region free by Panasonic Authorised service centres at no cost, and this was confirmed by customer service.Though I understand any firmware update would overwrite the mod.Can the region unlock be achieved by end user (me)?I understand this would pertain to the DVD, not Bluray so can the remote also be used to manually change between A, B and C if/as needed?Thanks,BradComment navigation.
After trawling the net and not finding a multi-region hack for the Sony S3100 I decided to do some experimenting myself, subsequently I have tried this and it worked successfully with my own Region-2 Sony BDP-S3100 player. This makes the player multi-regional for DVD playback, I have no idea if it alters Blu Ray region playback, I only have region B and they play fine after this hack. It may be worth trying this with other models in the 2013 S range as it would appear they all contain the same hardware.I did this with a OneForAll URC-7562 remote, although it probably works with most OneForAll remotes.1. Hold the magic button until the TV LED flashes twice.2. Switch to DVD by pressing the DVD button.3.
Press 0533 (DVD LED flashes twice)4. Hold the magic button until the DVD LED flashes twice.5. Press 994 (DVD LED flashes twice)6.
Press Magic Key (don't hold)7. Press 001898. Press 1 (This sets it to key 1 DVD LED flashes twice, if not repeat steps 4 to 8)9. Hold the magic button until the red led flashes twice.10.
Press 994 (DVD LED flashes twice)11. Press Magic Key (don't hold)12. Press 0025513. Press 2 (this sets it to key 2 - DVD LED flashes twice)14. Hold the magic button until the red led flashes twice.15. Press 994 (DVD LED flashes twice)16. Press Magic Key (don't hold)17.
Press 0009518. Press 3 (this sets it to key 3 - DVD LED flashes twice)19. Hold the magic button until the red led flashes twice.20. Press 994 (DVD LED flashes twice)21. Press Magic Key (don't hold)22. Press 0022123.
Press 4 (this sets it to key 4 - DVD LED flashes twice)24. Hold the magic button until the red led flashes twice.25. Press 994 (DVD LED flashes twice)26. Press Magic Key (don't hold)27.
Press 0007928. Press 5 (this sets it to key 5 - DVD LED flashes twice)-The remote is now programmed and ready to use, to make the Sony BDP- S3100 region free:1. Use the Sony remote that came with the player to bring the player out of standby and make sure there isn't a disc in it.2. Make sure you have a clear line of sight with the S3100. Press 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 on the OneForAll remote, one after each other, firmly and with a slight delay between the numbers. There is nothing to indicate that it has worked at this stage.3.
Put the player back into standby with the Sony remote.4. Hard reboot machine by unplugging it completely from the power, after a few seconds plug it back in5. Next time you turn on the player it should be region free for DVD playback.6. If this doesnt work the first time it is worth trying again as it is easy to get part of the process wrong.
Did you use the correct device code? If the last keypress turned the player off, my guess is that you have used the device code that controls the player 'normally'.The step 3 is performed with the Sony remote for this reason as you cannot turn the device off using the OFA remote when it is using the 0533 device code.At least with S1100 there is no indication that the keypresses did anything when using the correct code but if you enter the sequence when OFA is in the 'normal' control mode for these players, the fifth key sends a power off command. I can confirm that the below hack also works for the Sony BDP-S5100 DVD player.
I only tested it with USA, European, and China/Hong Kong region protected DVDs. I have not tested it with Blue Ray disks. As noted by other posters there is no software hack for Blue Ray region protection. It is probably cheaper to buy a second machine on the internet than pay for a hardware hack.I used the URC-7740 Universal Remote to make the hack.One point which isn't clear in the below instructions is that you should use the Sony Remote to put the DVD player to sleep (OFf) before carrying out the instructions 1 to 28 below. So all the flashes you see are on the Universal Remote's LED, not on your TV or your DVD player.Also, after entering 1,2,3,4,5 ' Press 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 on the OneForAll remote, one after each other, firmly and with a slight delay between the numbers.
There is nothing to indicate that it has worked at this stage.' I noticed the DVD player displayed the message 'OK'After un-plugging and plugging in again (final steps), there is a small delay while the hardware or software updates itself.If you don't have a Universal Remote with a magic button, you can buy one on EBay for about £4.Region Hack for Sony BDP-S5100 DVD player using One For All URC-7740 is repeated below.
After trawling the net and not finding a multi-region hack for the Sony S3100 I decided to do some experimenting myself, subsequently I have tried this and it worked successfully with my own Region-2 Sony BDP-S3100 player. This makes the player multi-regional for DVD playback, I have no idea if it alters Blu Ray region playback, I only have region B and they play fine after this hack. It may be worth trying this with other models in the 2013 S range as it would appear they all contain the same hardware.I did this with a OneForAll URC-7562 remote, although it probably works with most OneForAll remotes.Use the Sony remote to put the DVD player to sleep (OFF) with no disk in the tray.1.
Hold the magic button until the TV LED flashes twice. The LED ON THE REMOTE2. Switch to DVD by pressing the DVD button.3.
Press 0533 (DVD LED flashes twice)4. Hold the magic button until the DVD LED flashes twice.5. Press 994 (DVD LED flashes twice)6. Press Magic Key (don't hold)7.
Press 001898. Press 1 (This sets it to key 1 DVD LED flashes twice, if not repeat steps 4 to 8)9. Hold the magic button until the red led flashes twice.10.
Press 994 (DVD LED flashes twice)11. Press Magic Key (don't hold)12. Press 0025513.
Press 2 (this sets it to key 2 - DVD LED flashes twice)14. Hold the magic button until the red led flashes twice.15. Press 994 (DVD LED flashes twice)16. Press Magic Key (don't hold)17. Press 0009518.
Press 3 (this sets it to key 3 - DVD LED flashes twice)19. Hold the magic button until the red led flashes twice.20. Press 994 (DVD LED flashes twice)21.
Press Magic Key (don't hold)22. Press 0022123. Press 4 (this sets it to key 4 - DVD LED flashes twice)24. Hold the magic button until the red led flashes twice.25. Press 994 (DVD LED flashes twice)26. Press Magic Key (don't hold)27. Press 0007928.
Press 5 (this sets it to key 5 - DVD LED flashes twice)-The remote is now programmed and ready to use, to make the Sony BDP- S3100 region free:1. Use the Sony remote that came with the player to bring the player out of standby and make sure there isn't a disc in it.2.
Make sure you have a clear line of sight with the S3100. Press 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 on the OneForAll remote, one after each other, firmly and with a slight delay between the numbers. There is nothing to indicate that it has worked at this stage. The Sony DVD player should briefly display 'OK'3. Put the player back into standby with the Sony remote.4. Hard reboot machine by unplugging it completely from the power, after a few seconds plug it back in5.
Next time you turn on the player it should be region free for DVD playback.6. If this doesnt work the first time it is worth trying again as it is easy to get part of the process wrong. This is just to update this thread with the info that the BDP-S3100 can be made region free using the Blank Frank method at, using a laptop with an IRDA port.
The same 'remote.txt' file should be used, but I am not quite sure if the process changed. Since there is no front display panel on the 3100, you don't see any confirmation that the process has worked (on the other two players I done this with, it showed 'success' or something on the front display). I initially tried it with the machine in standby, but this didn't seem to have worked, so I tried it with the player powered on and also with the disc tray open. I couldn't tell at what point the procedure worked, but the next minute I popped in a Region 1 dvd and it no longer gave the 'prohibited by region lock' message and the movie began to play. 100% confirmed working. I bought a modded Sony S3100 on eBay. It was modded to be fully region free.
View 1 Region Code Comment
What's odd, however, is that a recent firmware update seems to have made me unable to play R2 PAL discs which I own. What's especially peculiar, however, is that I can manually reset the Blu region by hand, but it's not cooperating with DVD regions.
Free Download Program Multi Region Hack Sony Player
When I purchased this unit, the information indicated that the firmware updates wouldn't interfere with it's region free status, which cost me an extra $100. I've contacted them and am awaiting a reply, but any idea why this would happen? Is there a region mod which can be done with the unit's remote?