Bushcat's Codefree DVD & Other Stuff

This is me wearing my new Virtual Nonsense goggles. I used to work at a company in Japan which produced catalogues for the mail order business, technical manuals for industry in most languages, and web sites. I was the general dogsbody, running the PC and Mac networks and proofing some of the wacky English that was delivered to us for improvement. That's when the Virtual Nonsense goggles came into their own. If there was something which was virtually nonsense on the page in front of me, the goggles went opaque and the Sound Advice earphones muttered "Go home" or "Time for a beer".

Codefree DVD in Japan

This is quite out of date, but still gets hits so maybe it still helps someone from time to time.

Codefree DVD needs for Japan are slightly different to those for Europe: UK is Region 2 PAL, and most TVs can handle pseudo-NTSC signals (PAL60 format) output by DVD players. Japan, on the other hand, is Region 2 NTSC, and standard DVDs can't cope with a PAL signal output by a Euro Region 2 DVD.

Japan

Region 2 (like Europe), NTSC (like USA). So, a region-free DVD player that outputs NTSC allows viewer to watch US and Japanese DVDs on a standard Japanese NTSC TV. This is what most people want to see: US & Japanese movies.

A standard region-free DVD player with a Region 2 Europe disk will output a PAL signal, which a standard Japanese NTSC TV cannot handle. In contrast, a standard region-free DVD player in Europe will play most disks on the planet because modern TVs in Europe will cope with NTSC and/or PAL60.

Solutions I've used in Japan

Sony FX1 portable: bought mid-2000, aftermarket chip, regions 1 & 2 only, outputs same signal as disk, i.e. NTSC for US & Japanese DVDs, PAL for UK DVDs. So, needs multistandard TV or have to watch UK DVDs on the internal screen. Costs about 100,000 yen.

Aiwa XD-DV178, 25,000 yen at Laox, sold as Region 3 but is actually Region 0. Demonstrated playing Regions 1 and 2, but outputs PAL for UK DVDs. Region free hack is:

  • On front panel, turn unit off.
  • On front panel, press and hold OSD, Top Menu and Menu simultaneously for a couple of seconds until the display shows "FACTORY".
  • On front panel, turn unit off again.
  • Insert any disk & play it.
    This hack also works on the Aiwa XD-DV170 and presumably other XD units. Aiwa remote control hacks may also work.

    Marantz DV4200: bought October 2002, 19,800 yen in Akihabara, 2nd floor of the building opposite the ticket machines. Beware, some machines are bargains and some are decidedly not. Region free via remote.

  • Turn player off and on.
  • On remote, press pause.
  • On remote, press 314159.
  • Player display shows "Code x", where x is the current region.
  • On remote, press 1 - 6 for the new region, or 0 for region free.
  • On remote, press pause.
  • Turn player off and on.
    The obvious choice is to choose "0", but some Region 1 RCE disks object to this.

    The Marantz DV4200 also has a neat trick which is rare in the Japanese market: it will convert PAL DVDs to NTSC output. However, on one of the disks I have tried (Region 4 PAL [Australia]) there is a lot of screen jitter. For the few PAL disks I have, it's acceptable. Note that other reviewers claim "perfect" pictures, so maybe my player is hosed.

    The Marantz DV4200 is available in many markets, but the back panel layout differs. In some markets, the back panel includes 2 SCART connectors and a slide switch next to the optical output for PAL, NTSC and AUTO. This switch is missing on the Japanese DV4200 (but may have pads on the PCB: I'll check this out).

    Places to buy in Japan

    Remember it's no longer necessary to pay a premium to get a region-free player.

    If you don't speak enough Japanese to explain what you want and don't want to do much research, go to T-Zone Minami in Akihabara (halfway down the main drag) or Laox Duty Free (7th floor, near the station). T-Zone doesn't seem to have the cheapest region-free DVD players out there. Laox is interesting: they have Region 1, Region 2 and Region 3 players. Half the Region 3 do seem to be Region 3, but the other half will play anything. The staff seem to be largely Region 3, too: half of them will tell you that Region 3 players are only Region 3, the other half will demo Region 1 and 2 disks in them.

    If you feel more adventurous, try the 2nd floor of the block next opposite the ticket machines at the station. It's actually quite hard to find the way in: walk halfway down, check for an alleyway into the building and an escalator just to the right. At the top, jig left then right. There is some region-free stuff here, with the occasional bargain among the overpriced kit. On the same floor is a shop with a large selection of US DVDs, but they're very expensive.

    The best way is to research what region-free solutions are available.

    In general, stuff manufactured in Korea and China seems to have the best chance of being made region-free. Aiwa is very good but not always settable using the remote that comes with the machine. LG & Samsung OEM to Marantz & Hitachi, for example. Check out the front panels of stuff in the stores against the panels shown on the sites below if you're feeling adventurous. Any region-free Sony will have always had a third-party chip installed. Forget Sony if you want region-free: you'll pay far too much. Finally, the new machines hitting the market below 10,000 yen seem to be hackable.

    DVD Reviewer for a huge list of region-free tricks.
    DVD Players Hacks for more of the same.
    AI Trading sells interesting stuff. I'm looking for a local version of the Malata.

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