Using a UK 4K UHD player in North America? (1 Viewer)

[Andrew Budgell]

I apologize in advance for what could very well be a dumb question! I would like to go region free, but already have a 4K UHD player. Rather than purchase a new player that has been modified to be region free, I thought I would import a 4K UHD player from the UK to play region B discs on my LG OLED. Would this work? Would I need anything other than an adapter?

Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[Jimbo64]

I apologize in advance for what could very well be a dumb question! I would like to go region free, but already have a 4K UHD player. Rather than purchase a new player that has been modified to be region free, I thought I would import a 4K UHD player from the UK to play region B discs on my LG OLED. Would this work? Would I need anything other than an adapter?

Thanks in advance for your input!

Since all 4K discs are region free I think it would be easier and cheaper to buy a multi region player for blu-rays only

 

[Josh Steinberg]

My understanding is that the UHD format in and of itself is region free. So a UHD disc from the UK or anywhere else should play fine on a USA-made UHD player.

In terms of regular BD discs, those still have region coding. I believe you would most likely be able to plug a UK player into a US TV, if a) you had the proper voltage converter for the player itself and b) your TV could handle different formats like PAL and HD 1080i50. (I think LG TVs can do this, though it's not an advertised feature on the box.)

 

[Andrew Budgell]

Jim and Josh, thank you both for your responses. Good point re: the UHD being region free. Rather than just get a modified North American player, or a standard UK Blu-ray player, I thought I would get another 4K UHD player for the upscaling capability (even if it is minimal). I'd prefer it over one that's been modified.

Josh, that's the answer I was hoping for. Thanks!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I can't 100% guarantee it will work, just to be clear - don't come at me with the pitchforks if it doesn't

Out of an abundance of caution, you might want to reach out to one of the tech guys on the forum like Robert Zohn to see if they have any insights into trying this.

And most importantly, let us know how it turns out!

 

[Andrew Budgell]

Too funny, Josh!

I'll hold off for a bit in hopes that someone else might chime in, too. And great suggestion about contacting Robert Zohn.

 

[Andrew Budgell]

Just a small update on this... it worked! I was limited in terms of the selection of players that Amazon UK would ship to Canada. They wouldn't ship any of their 4K players here, so I settled on the Pioneer BDP-180-K and bought an electrical converter locally. There were no playback issues on my OLED whatsoever. So thrilled to finally be able to watch B/2 locked discs!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Andrew, just curious, what was the total cost for the Region B player and the power converter?

 

[Andrew Budgell]

Andrew, just curious, what was the total cost for the Region B player and the power converter?

Hi Josh, I paid about $300 Canadian for the player, and only $18 for the converter. I'm sure it would have been cheaper to purchase a region free 4K UHD player, but I preferred to go this route.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

There's something to be said for having a well-made, dedicated machine that works out of the box without any modifications required.

 

[B-ROLL]

I was looking into that possibility from Amazon.uk but none of the player or game machines X-Box ONE S or X or PlayStation 3 or 4 would ship to the US