Region-Free BD Player: Momitsu BDP-899?

[Jay G.]

Just to be clear, the CMMBX72 is not a Momitsu clone, and there a no known hacks to make it region free.

Brands like Curtis Mathes and Insignia that just rebrand other manufacturers' devices will often buy and rebrand from a variety of manufacturers. I've read that the CMMBX72 may be made by Funai.

[asianxcore]

After lots of questions in this forum (Thanks to everyone who answered!) and lots of research, I decided to pull the trigger on my first Region-Free Blu-Ray Player.

Picked up the Curtis Mathes CMMBX130 from a Third Party Seller on Amazon. I waited a couple days too long and ended up paying $40 more, but I'm fine with it.

Thanks again to Jay G. for recommending the 4X1 Powered HDMI Switch on Monoprice. I ordered that tonight as well as a HDMI Cable to go with it (since the Curtis Mathes already comes with one)

Really excited right now. I don't have a Region B BD to test at the moment, but I do have a French BD with PAL menus that I was unable to play in my PS3. Good enough

[Gregbert]

I see Target is advertising the Memorex MVBD 2520. Based on the limited research I have done, I do not know if this can be region hacked or not. It is going for $99 at the moment but it is only available in stores and not online.

I would lovr ot know if anyone had been able to find a way to play Region B discs off of this. I got burned (well burned myself) by buying the wrong Curtis Mathes player.

Any help would be appreciated.

[zombeaner]

HKFlix raised the price of the BDP-799 to $300. Very disappointing. I still want it, but this will certainly make me hesitant.

[zombeaner]

BTW does anyone know if the BDP-799 is region free out of the box? HKFlix says:

"With our modification, the Momitsu BDP-799 sets a new price-performance standard for an all-region Blu-Ray player."

Do they actually do a modification?

[asianxcore]

Originally Posted by zombeaner

BTW does anyone know if the BDP-799 is region free out of the box? HKFlix says:

"With our modification, the Momitsu BDP-799 sets a new price-performance standard for an all-region Blu-Ray player."

Do they actually do a modification?

I think so. Some of the things I've been hearing on various forums have mentioned that actually Momitsu manual mentions it does not play PAL discs.

It's mentioned a little bit in DVD Beaver's review of the 899
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/hardwa...su_bdp-899.htm

Also it's worth mentioning that not every player Target throws on discount is quite like the Curtis

Originally Posted by zombeaner

HKFlix raised the price of the BDP-799 to $300. Very disappointing. I still want it, but this will certainly make me hesitant.

That sucks. Though I guess it does make sense for them with the 899 being OOS because of manufacturing issues.

[zombeaner]

Originally Posted by asianxcore

I think so. Some of the things I've been hearing on various forums have mentioned that actually Momitsu manual mentions it does not play PAL discs.

It's mentioned a little bit in DVD Beaver's review of the 899
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/hardwa...su_bdp-899.htm

Manuals can be deceiving, and I doubt that the PAL thing is true. Momitsu isn't advertising it as region free.

[asianxcore]

Originally Posted by zombeaner

Manuals can be deceiving, and I doubt that the PAL thing is true. Momitsu isn't advertising it as region free.

This is from the DVD Beaver 899 review:

"I suggest to you that it may be modified as the included manual gives no mention or region-free ability of the code to unlock the regions. It also states that it won't play PAL discs (which it does) even though the website states that it can. The 'code' to unlock via the remote is included on a piece pf paper from HKFlix"

I probably would not have pulled the trigger on the 799 if it was $300 (as it is now), but I definitely kept it in mind when I was searching for a Region Free BD player.

Still waiting on the Curtis Mathes CMMBX130 I ordered. Hope to get it by next week.

[moviemaker]

Here are the codes for the BDP-799.
From a nice person over at Momitsu. I bought mine from extremepcgear.com and they were kind enough to pass on my request. Oh, and it does come region free out of the box. extremepcgear.com made no modifications.

Here is the email:

Momitsu BDP-799 Region Changing Instructions

You can alter the player's region code at any time using the remote control.
*
1) Keep no disc loading , and press 8751+0+1 or 2,
0 stand for DVD free zone,
1 or 2 stand for BD A or BD B zone.
can not enter BD free mode or open mode. But it can be changed at anytime

You have 3 codes which you input and enter via the player's remote control:
875101 is Region A plus all 6 DVD regions.
875102 is Region B plus all 6 DVD regions.
875103 is Region C plus all 6 DVD regions
*
2) Please set the DVD region as "1"
Because some of DVD disc require player to be region 1 in order to play.
It is the disc set up so just match the player with disc region sould be fine.
*
875111 is Region A plus US DVD region1.
875112 is Region B plus US DVD region1.
875113 is Region C plus US DVD region1.
*
*
Thank you
Momitsu Support

[manicsounds]

That's nice that Momitsu themselves gave you the code, but I heard HKFlix specifically asked people who bought the machine, to not post the codes online.

I was assuming this was Momitsu's request. Did the email from Momitsu say you could post these codes online?

[zombeaner]

Hmm, okay, I'll probably order a BDP799 tonight then. HKFlix is $50 more than any other retailer on this player. Now I just need to wait a month or so before ordering the HTIB I want. I'll have to go with a Coaxial audio connection for a few months.

Update: I ordered it from xpcgear.com for $250 with free shipping. Here's hoping for the best! How I just need the HT-S6200...

[asianxcore]

Originally Posted by zombeaner

Hmm, okay, I'll probably order a BDP799 tonight then. HKFlix is $50 more than any other retailer on this player. Now I just need to wait a month or so before ordering the HTIB I want. I'll have to go with a Coaxial audio connection for a few months.

Update: I ordered it from xpcgear.com for $250 with free shipping. Here's hoping for the best! How I just need the HT-S6200...

I think this code (if it still works) XPCREGIONFREESLICK would've dropped it to $225 w/ Free Shipping.

Also good luck with xpcgear.com. I read some reviews about their store/site and most of them are pretty horrid.

[moviemaker]

Originally Posted by manicsounds

That's nice that Momitsu themselves gave you the code, but I heard HKFlix specifically asked people who bought the machine, to not post the codes online.

I was assuming this was Momitsu's request. Did the email from Momitsu say you could post these codes online?

No problem posting. This whole thing about keeping codes secret is just complete BS. No one cares.

[zombeaner]

Originally Posted by asianxcore

I think this code (if it still works) XPCREGIONFREESLICK would've dropped it to $225 w/ Free Shipping.

Also good luck with xpcgear.com. I read some reviews about their store/site and most of them are pretty horrid.

I called them and got them to apply the coupon this afternoon. On the phone they were very accommodating and I am encouraged by that.

Thanks for the hint!

[Senor Javi]

From those purchasing the 799 from a retailer other than HKFlix, can you post saying whether it plays all regions and both NTSC/PAL or not? I was going to pull the trigger today until I saw the price increase. Wondering if there really is an exclusive HKFlix modding.

EDIT: OK, nevermind about the all region thing, but what about NTSC/PAL? On the 799 page on xpcgear.com, it says that the 899 does both, but this can either be 1) a typo and they mean 799 or 2) a sloppy copy and paste from the 899 where they forgot to remove the features that the 799 lacks.

[asianxcore]

Originally Posted by zombeaner

I called them and got them to apply the coupon this afternoon. On the phone they were very accommodating and I am encouraged by that.

Thanks for the hint!

No problem. I remember seeing that coupon because when I was considering the 799 I found it on some random forum talking about the 799.

Also stupid question coming....

If my Philips 727 480p DVD Player converts PAL-->NTSC fine on my set (and I'm able to watch the films), will the Curtis Mathes CMMBX130 I ordered play fine as well?

I've been reading lots of reviews on Region B discs and hearing that many U.S TV's do not handle PAL signals has me randomly worried

[zombeaner]

Originally Posted by asianxcore

No problem. I remember seeing that coupon because when I was considering the 799 I found it on some random forum talking about the 799.

Also stupid question coming....

If my Philips 727 480p DVD Player converts PAL-->NTSC fine on my set (and I'm able to watch the films), will the Curtis Mathes CMMBX130 I ordered play fine as well?

I've been reading lots of reviews on Region B discs and hearing that many U.S TV's do not handle PAL signals has me randomly worried

According to DVDBeaver the 899 converts PAL->NTSC in the player. I wouldn't imagine you'll have a problem.

[cine]

Originally Posted by asianxcore

...
If my Philips 727 480p DVD Player converts PAL-->NTSC fine on my set (and I'm able to watch the films), will the Curtis Mathes CMMBX130 I ordered play fine as well?

I've been reading lots of reviews on Region B discs and hearing that many U.S TV's do not handle PAL signals has me randomly worried

The Curtis Mathes CMMBX130 converts PAL materials on BD and DVD just fine, so there should not be any issue with your TV.

[asianxcore]

Originally Posted by cine

The Curtis Mathes CMMBX130 converts PAL materials on BD and DVD just fine, so there should not be any issue with your TV.

Thanks!

[Gregbert]

OK, so with all of the posts, I am getting confused.

Is the Momitsu BDP-799 able to play all regions (A,B, etc) with the above codes or just all regions (1,2 etc) if you catch my drift....

I just want to make sure before purchasing.

[zombeaner]

It will play any Blu Ray or DVD in the world as far as I can tell. I'll have mine on Monday and I'm psyched.

[Gregbert]

Originally Posted by zombeaner

It will play any Blu Ray or DVD in the world as far as I can tell. I'll have mine on Monday and I'm psyched.

Thanks for the reply. I ordered mine earlier today. I ordered a Curtis Mathes earlier in the month but didn't read the thread thoroughly enough and got the wrong model. No biggie, I can use that too.

I just wanted to make sure I didn't make the same mistake again.

[asianxcore]

More dumb questions,

For those of you who own the Curtis Mathes CMMBX130, do you have to set anything to get it to upscale normal DVD's, or does it do that automatically?

Just got mine and I'm messing around with the settings in the manual to get things right.

Also with an HDMI Switch, you can't calibrate your inputs differently can you?

[trespoochies]

Answer to your first question is no, it will do it automatically. You will probably have the resolution set at 1080p, so it'll upscale to that setting since you are using HDMI. But in regards to your second question, I'm not so sure since I don't have a switch, I just do it straight through my receiver.

[asianxcore]

Originally Posted by trespoochies

Answer to your first question is no, it will do it automatically. You will probably have the resolution set at 1080p, so it'll upscale to that setting since you are using HDMI. But in regards to your second question, I'm not so sure since I don't have a switch, I just do it straight through my receiver.

Thanks for the heads up!

Also I'm assuming the player reverts back to R1 for SD's and A for BD's when the player is turned off? I thought I read somewhere the SD code is only done once, but maybe I got that confused all the other Region Free SD/BD models out there.