What Are the Best Region Free 4K Blu-ray Players Available Going Into 2020?

Before we dive into which is the best, let’s first establish exactly what a region free 4K blu-ray player is. Blu-ray players utilize the new UHD 4K Blu-ray discs, often referred to as 4K Blu-ray discs, UHD Blu-ray discs, or Ultra HD Blu-ray discs. These same players will also work with Normal Blu-ray discs. Blu-ray discs around the world come in different ‘regions’. These include Region A, Region B, and Region C. Region Free or Multi region 4K Blu-ray players will play any of those region Blu-rays; as a result, you can purchase a disc from anywhere in the world and watch it on these specially upgraded Region Free Blu-ray players.

These devices also play Standard DVDs from any region. The standard DVD regions for different parts of the world are Region 1, Region 2, Region 3, Region 4, Region 5, Region 6, Region 7 and Region 8.

With all of that said, lets get down to the Best Blu-ray players for 2020.

 

Our Top Picks

The short answer is: it depends. It depends upon what criteria you are looking for. Do you want the absolute best Audio and Video quality, or do you want very good audio and video quality at a more moderate price? Below you will find our current favorite Blu-ray players and whom we feel they would best suit.

1. Sony UBP-X700 Region Free
   Sony’s UBP-X700 is the best region free 4K UHD players for many people In a small footprint, it packs cutting edge video and audio features. These include Dolby Vision, HDR10, Dolby Atmos, DTS:X. It will deliver excellent sound and video for most mid to high end residential home cinema’s. All the features packed with a very attractive price makes this our Favorite multi region 4K Blu-ray player at a fair price. If you own a Sony TV as well, that only adds icing to the cake as this player has unique features when used with Sony televisions.
2. LG UBK90 region free
   LG’s UBK90 region free Blu-ray player is not far behind Sony. In fact, some would say it’s even better. If you’re an owner of a LG OLED or other LG 4K TV then this will probably quickly move to your your Number 1 pick for a UHD region free 4K Blu-ray player. It boasts HDR10, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos. It also features 4K Streaming of Netflix, YouTube, and other streaming services. It’s really a toss-up between these 2 players when it comes to excellent players at attractive prices.

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A little treat for reading this article: Also look at the LG UBKM9 4K region free Blu-ray player. This device is identical to the UBK90, but can be found at a lower price! LG made it for one of the big box retailers, but has now made it available to all. It makes a great alternative to other options if you seek an even lower price point.

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Other Great 4K Blu-ray Player Choices

The Sony UBP-X700 and LG UBK90 are our top picks, but there are plenty of other high-quality options to consider. Some other 4K Blu-ray players we consider to be high quality include:

1. Sony UBP-X800M2 - This is a great player for those who do not want to compromise on Video or Audio.
2. LG UBK80 - The UBK80 is a great player with all the most desired video and audio features. It doesn’t have any streaming capabilities, but most televisions these days are Smart TVs regardless so you will likely miss out on nothing.
3. Sony UBP-X1000ES - This is Sony’s top-of-the-line model at a slightly higher price point. Despite this, it’s great for High end systems.
4. Pioneer UDP-LX500 - If you’re looking to spend a little more cash and just want the absolute best in Audio and Video, look into the Pioneer UDP-LX500
5. Samsung UBD-M8500 - If you have a Samsung TV and want to keep things simple and use the same remote, this is a great choice. Although Samsung is no longer making 4K Blu-ray players, these are the last ones they made. They have a fantastic build quality and excellent features for Audio and Video.
6. Samsung UBD-M9500 - The UBD-M9500 is similar to the UBD-M8500, but is a notable step up from the latter.

Shopping for region free 4K Blu-ray players can be intimidating, given the huge number of options available. This can be doubly true when searching for devices which will stand the test of time. The region free 4K Blu-ray players we have listed here are what we consider to be the best on the market, our personal recommendations. If you are interested in shopping for region free 4K Blu-ray players, visit 220-Electronics.com today to find the devices discussed here at unbeatable prices. If you have questions, the 220-Electronics support team can assist you with any problems you are having in regard to choosing a device.

Updated: 01/31/2020

 

Now that 4k is really starting to explode in popularity, we feel that it's important for us to cover the basics about 4k UHD Blu-ray Players, including their region-free capabilities. As region-free specialists, it's our duty to get this information out there so consumers can make informed decisions about their purchases; more importantly, so they can be sure they're getting the product & features that they're looking for and expect.

There have been a lot of misconception floating around the web regarding the idea that all 4k UHD Blu-ray Players are region-free. How did these rumors start and what are the facts? We're not sure exactly how they started, but let's take a closer look at the facts.

Also read our related article on the Current Best Region Free 4K Blu-ray Players!

What is Region-Free?

By default, most Blu-ray Discs and DVDs utilize a special region coding within disc. What this coding does is provide information that's read by the Blu-ray or DVD Player to determine if the disc is compatible with the player. Around the world, Blu-ray Discs and DVDs from specific regions are embedded with a code that is native to that region only. Likewise, most Blu-ray and DVD Players around the world are designed to only play discs that are encoded for the local region. For example, a Blu-ray Player sold in the United States is only setup to read and play discs sold in the United States. A Blu-ray Player from Asia is only setup to read and play discs sold in Asia. Attempting to play a disc from Asia in a Blu-ray Player purchased in the United States will result in an error message, and the disc simply will not play. The player is reading the disc, recognizing that it's from a different region and determining that the disc is incompatible.

The reasons for region-coding discs are many, but to keep it simple and understandable, the main reason for region-coding is that movies are not always released at the same times around the world. In some countries, movies are still being shown in the theaters while other countries already have them on Blu-ray. In order to protect profits and ensure that people aren't importing discs from overseas before movies are in theaters, the production and distribution companies (in conjunction with electronics manufacturers) developed region-coding.

Region-coding works as follows: Blu-ray discs feature 3 separate regions - A, B, and C. On the other hand, DVDs feature 9 different regions - 0 through 8. You can see a region-code map here for more information. The only discs that will play on your player are the discs sold in the same region where your player was bought; and the only way around this is to purchase a region-free Blu-ray player. But we'll get to that later.

Are all 4K UHD Blu-ray Players Region-Free?

No, and this is where the misconception and misinformation come into play. For some reason, manufacturers have decided not to code 4K discs by region. In other words, if you have a 4K movie title, it should play in any 4K player, regardless of what country the disc came from. However, this is only true for 4K discs. Any other disc, such as a non-4K Blu-ray or a DVD, will not play in the 4K player.

The rumors that have been circulating claim that all 4K UHD Blu-ray Players are region-free. This has created a lot of debate and confusion, and it also has many consumers deciding that they need to purchase a new 4K UHD Blu-ray Player so they can watch movies from anywhere in the world. Again, this could not be further from the truth.

A real region-free player will play any disc, from anywhere in the world. The ability of 4k Players to play any 4K disc does not make the player region-free. In fact, as 4k becomes more widespread on the global marketplace, the discs may very well be region-coded. For all we know, the only reason these discs aren't being coded as of yet is to help promote growth of 4K technology - nothing more than a marketing tactic. While we cannot verify the reasoning behind 4K being regionless, we can definitely assure you that a 4K Player will not play standard Blu-ray or DVD discs from any region.

Region-Free 4K, Blu-ray and DVD Players

The only way to ensure that you can play any disc - be it 4K, Blu-ray or DVD - from any region in the world is to purchase a Region-Free 4K Blu-ray Player. These units are not available in stores, and they're sold only through retailers who specialize in Region-Free electronics. These specialty retailers professionally modify their units and carry the same exact models as major retailers.

One of the biggest problems is that people will see a specific brand & model of Blu-ray Player being sold by a Region-Free retailer and assume that they can purchase that same model from Best Buy and it too, will be region-free. These people will then purchase foreign discs and attempt to play them, only to realize that the player is not region-free, leaving them in a state of confusion. The ONLY way to get a region-free model is to purchase one from a region-free retailer.

As specialists in region-free electronics and with over 35 years in the industry, we hope that this article was able to help clear up some of the confusion. While we'd hope that anyone who is looking to shop for a region-free player would purchase one from us, we're more concerned with spreading correct information. The bottom line is that there's only one way to acquire a true Region-Free 4K Blu-ray Player: By purchasing one from a reputable, region-free retailer.