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I'm looking for a DVD player which is region-free and will play discs from any region, as well as allowing me to skip unskippable titles (usually ads). Like VLC Media player on PC can do, but I'm looking for a standalone DVD player.

Additionally, I'm looking for:

  • Ability to remember where I was when I turn it off, so that it can resume playing from the same point, and that it can do so reliably.

  • Bonus points if it does HDMI upscaling.

Price-wise, lower is better, and I'm also fine with flashing or hacking the firmware.

Are there any such players ? If so, any recommendations ?

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  • it sounds like you need a HTPC with a DVD drive that you can just run VLC on, or does it have to be a dedicated player?
    – Adam Comerford
    Sep 23, 2015 at 21:03
  • @Adam, I would prefer a dedicated player, as I currently don't need a HTPC, plus it's much cheaper.
    – Jonas Czech
    Sep 23, 2015 at 21:05
  • AFAIK the "DVD consortium" would never approve a DVD player that lets you skip the ads, so your only option in this respect is a non-official player and I don't think a company could sell such a player without being sued. VLC is slightly different since it relies on the dvdcss library (which is not considered part of VLC itself, IIUC, yet is the part over which they would risk being sued).
    – Stefan
    Oct 4, 2015 at 3:22
  • @Stefan, Even So, I wouldn't be surprised to see some company in China making them and selling on eBay. Firmware hacks are also very possible too.
    – Jonas Czech
    Oct 4, 2015 at 17:10
  • If you do end up considering an HTPC you could try a Raspberry Pi and a USB DVD drive.
    – Mark A. Ropper
    Dec 10, 2015 at 20:23

1 Answer 1

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In doing some quick research it would appear that on several DVD players it is possible to make it region free. That would open up your options drastically. However, if you want to go with an easier approach. There are a number of them that are for sale on amazon. You should be able to search for "region free dvd player" and get good results.

Here is one by phillips that appears to meet most of your needs.

From all that I am able to find, there is no DVD player that will allow you to skip through the content that is not meant to be skipped through (anti-piracy, FBI Warning, etc.). If you truly need that experience, your best bet might be to do an HTPC. This will cost quite a bit more potentially, but will allow for what you are asking.

If you get a region free dvd player like the Phillips one it will have upscaling and should remember where you left off. There are some shortcut button combinations to allow DVD items to be skipped, though they may not provide that much benefit.

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  • I don't only want it to be region-free, I also want it to allow me to skip unskippable titles.
    – Jonas Czech
    Sep 23, 2015 at 20:56
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    Can you elaborate on a specific one, and explain why it helps?
    – HDE 226868
    Sep 23, 2015 at 20:57
  • My apologies, I skipped right over that requirement. The Phillips dvd player i linked to does upscaling as well as playing region free, but it does not allow you to skip the unskippable ads.
    – Death259
    Sep 23, 2015 at 21:00
  • I'm unable to find any dvd player that allows you to skip the items in question. It does appear that you can skip them with the use of certain button combinations on the remote.
    – Death259
    Sep 23, 2015 at 21:05

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