I heard about the Philips 642/17 and 642/37 playing DVD's from all over the world out of the box. I thought it was too good to be true, and looked for further information. It was too good to be true. The owner's manual states clearly that the unit only plays DVD's from region "1" and "ALL". Still wanting further confirmation (since everybody advertises it as multiregional), I e-mailed Philips. The answer came this morning and I quote: "Dear Mrs. Virginia XXXXXXX, Thank you for your e-mail regarding the DVP642/17 unit. The models you have indicated are not region free models but have the ability to playback discs that are labeled region code "1" and "ALL". Unfortunately you would not be able to locate a region free unit in the United States, as the US models are region one. If there is anything else we can assist you with, please do not hesitate to contact us at our website which is www.philipsusa.com Sincerely, XXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX Philips USA, Customer Support" Now, I'm a little confused about this and I'm pretty sure by now, you all know that I don't know the first thing about region code free DVD Players. I just need a cheap, good one. I'm from Brasil, married an American and moved here and now I can't watch movies made in my own country, that my family send me as a present (bought from the store) because they're region "4". I think this is so unfair! Can you help me? Will the 642/17 really play region 4 or is it false advertisement? Do you know any others that will, a cheap one please, cause we already have 3 DVD players in the house. I didn't find the codes to make none of them region code free. Thank you in advance and please, do post about it.
Here is a link to the region hack for the DVP642 http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks.php?elect=Philips+DVP+642
