Region Free Blu Ray players - Toshiba BDX3200KY 3D Blu-ray Player - mini review

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Region Free Blu Ray players - Toshiba BDX3200KY 3D Blu-ray Player - mini review
There is a sparse selection of Region Free Blu Ray players out there.
Apart from the Oppo series (80, 83, 93 and 95), some other companies make mod boards for Panasonic and other mainstream players, but you will either need to send your player to them or buy a modified player from them.
Dune is another alternative, which has a simple firmware which allows this.
Sonic, Sherwood, and other lesser known brands, also make limited runs of players that allow you to change the region code via a few key presses on the remote.
Apart that these few players, you basically had to restrict your purchases to the regions or follow those forums which share the region coding of the discs like: 
However, there is a new player in the region free world – Toshiba. From the BDX 1200 to the 3100 and now the newer 3D capable BDX 3200.
Some links to reviews:
This player is available in Australia and UK mainly.
To change the region code, you need to go to set up and enter 8520 then change to A B or C. No firmware needed. For DVDs it is already set for region 0 ie region free.
Some specifications off their website:
Features:
1080p 3D Full HD: Enjoy 1080p Full HD playback of both 3D and 2D Blu-ray discs for exceptionally clear and crisp picture quality with vivid colours


HD Audio: BDX3200 supports Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master Audio Essential via HDMI. Both audio technologies deliver 100% lossless transmission ensuring that the output is identical to the original studio recording.

BD-Live™ Profile 2.0 Support: BD-Live™ gives access to interactive features enabled on selected Blu-ray discs and Bonus View support for picture-in-picture capabilities. BD live extends your movie watching experience with access to additional and interactive content and bonus features from the Internet via the Ethernet port and USD drive. You can access bonus features and exclusive downloads such as alternative endings, extra scenes and trailers, live transations to purchase products featured in the movie, online chat and trivia games.
Playable Disc Types & Formats
3D Blu-ray Disc Video, Blu-ray Disc Video, BD-R/RE2.0, BDAV DVD, DVD-Video/DVD-R/+R /DVD-RW/+RW/SVCD/CD-R/CD-RW/CD-Audio AVCHD, AVCREC disc
This is a wee piece of a player, weighing 1.5 kg, and not a lot of metal to it. The remote is a standard job, and responsive enough. There is pretty fast playback, the time taken for the drawer to emerge from a switched off position is impressive and the whole player feels spritely, especially if you come to the older 1.3 HDMI players of just a year back. Certainly on par with the Oppo and other major brands like Sony and Panasonic.
This is a HDMI 1.4 capable player, so it does 3D and plays most major formats except SACD and DVD-A. Owners of VCDs will be glad to know that this player supports them, a feature which other players usually leave out.
There is even a USB port for USB media playback. This is a basic player, and if you need wi fi, apps, DNLA or other functions, it is not for you.
It also leaves out 2D to 3D conversion. And there is no 7.1 channel analogue output either.
What it does well and simply is playback Blu Ray. And in terms of picture quality and sound for Blu Ray playback, if you are using a small screen, i.e. 50" and under, you won't feel like you have lost out much to the more expensive alternatives.
However if upscaling of DVDs and usage of larger screens is needed, or you really look for details, you will still be better off with the higher end ones. This is not surprising, as an earlier shootout indicated that the modern BR player has very similar outputs when playing BR discs.
Music playback is fair, so this player is not going to scare the audiophile orientated brands or replace that CD player of yours, but via HDMI it is reasonable since the sound quality will be more reliant on the DACs in the AV amp.
The market is crowded with basic players, so what sets aside this player is the magical Region Free Playback capability, via a few simple key presses.
This player is available in Australia and UK mainly.
To change the region code, you need to go to set up and enter 8520 then change to A B or C. No firmware needed. For DVDs it is already set for region 0 ie region free.
At Aus 180 or about UK GBP 130, this player is a nice little bargain and now you can go online and shop to your heart's delight, without worrying about region coding.
 So the bottom line is, get this if you are interested in a simple region free capable BR player for not a lot of money.

Footnote:
The firmware for region free play can be found here (only for this model):
http://de-aacs.com/bdx3200ky-region-free.php

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