It's not a big thing, but I was curious if there is a way around the Region Code protection on Sony DVD player?

There are places that will "re-chip" your player. I dont know any but I have family in England and they had it done locally for about $50.

I wonder if anyone in US would do that....
Is that legal though?

At least in the UK.

Theres plenty of companies that do it - its not specificaly illigal.

Manufacturers cant release Multiregion players because of the aggreement they have to sign - it doesnt stop them from making it easy though ( if they didnt people would buy someone elses player).

In the UK it IS illigal for companies to sell R1 disks because there not rated by the BBFC, thats the only reason - its OK to buy from abroad and import though.

Your best bet is to look at :
http://www.techtronics.com
or
http://www.dvdchips.co.uk/
or
http://upgradeheaven.co.uk/
and get the DIY chip pack - they should have on for your sony.

The main problem you'll have though is a lot of non R1 disks will be PAL not NTSC and your player/tv probably wont cope (not a problem here though,pal is usualy 'bolted on' to NTSC ).

is it really illegal? i remember going to a store in london (legitimate store - i think it was called something like Film Nostalgia Center?) and being offered R1 dvds.