Great video, Frank! I finally used the hack earlier this week when I opened my Bruce Lee arrow Box Set. I was happy. Thanks for the heads-up on the International studios that work.
I reside in the UK and I have both an 820 that I constantly update, and an old Panasonic 4K player from 2017 that I have not updated since 2018 since I hacked the firmware. I use this hack to play imported Region A Criterion BD’s on my 820. Mind you it only works for Criterion BD’s that were released post mid 2010s (imported the Criterion edition of Repulsion many years ago and seeing as this was released in 2009, it didn’t work with that hack so I decided to just get the Region B edition which Criterion released in the intervening years) All other Region A titles like Shout Factory I need to rely on my firmware hacked player.
Here's a bit of extra information about the players features. I have several SACD's and they all play fine. I'm surprised as I think SACD's are no longer in productiona and the discs cost a small fortune on eBay. 😀
Tried this on my copy of Quantum of Solace from the UK version of the James Bond Collection 24-disc Blu-ray set that is notoriously the only b-region locked disc in the set, and it didn't work sadly. It won't allow you to stop the disc playback. It will only allow you to eject the disc. Ended up buying a standalone US version QoS 4k/Blu-ray copy. Bit of a bummer, but oh well!
Hey Frank. Thanks for sharing this hack. I was wondering have you tried this hack with other region DVDs? I wonder if it would work the same way as with the Blu-rays? There are some films that haven't yet made to Blu-Ray and 4K and are only available on DVD from the UK or Europe. Just wondering if the Top Menu hack would work.
Sadly it doesn’t work for every title. I recently bought killers of the flower moon on 4k from italy and its region b locked and could not bypass it. I have other titles on bluray that worked though. It’s so sad to see titles having region locks.
Thanks for watching the video! Yeah, I don't know why some 4k's are region locked, especially when they're "advertised" as region-free disks. I don't know if it's done by accident, but it is rare for some 4k's to be region locked.
Italy went against 4k guidelines and rumor has it they might be doing a repress. ALL 4ks are region free but Italy wanted to be ahead of the curve with this release to force people to buy their disc
Eden lake was produced by Pathé. Have you checked to see if the discs that don't work are German? Leonine are a distributor based in Munich. Maybe if you got the UK distribution discs they would work?
I tried two studio canal UK blu-rays on my Panasonic UB820 . Both loaded up using this hack, but only one actually loaded the full menu. One was the Fog (it's full menu loaded fine) and the other King Kong 1976. The King Kong one loaded, but when it got to the menu none of the features were present. Just the menu screen running clips of the movie in the background. I couldn't select anything. I found that rather strange.
Dang, so you couldn't even watch King Kong due to no play button on the screen? Also, thanks for watching the video! Feel free to check out some of my other videos.
@@Franksmediaandreviews No it's ok. The other disc is 4K, so I can watch the movie. The bluray has the extras. No biggie. I already have a Shout Factory KK 1976 blu-ray with all the same features.
I have the same player (region B) with the most recent updates but when I hit the Stop button it gives an error message something like This Action is Not Allowed and that is it I can't continue with the hack
Second sight doesnt work on all titles. I just got the ginger snaps blurays and none of them work. Dog soldiers and it follows also dont work but high tension does
Good question. I don't know. I don't want to misinform you, and give you the wrong information. I can just confirm what my Region A Panasonic UB820 can do, but I assume so.
@@jacobneumann5021 thanks for watching, and replying. It seems like this hack only works for Region A Panasonic ub820 players. Hope you check out some of my other videos.
Depends on the distributor releasing the title. I’m also Region B and the majority of my imported Region A titles are Criterion BD’s and they work on the 820 with the hack (mind you only for titles that were released post mid 2010) Any other Region A titles from other distributors I find the hack doesn’t work so I have to use my other, older, and hacked 4K player.
I'm sorry to hear about that, Megan. Since I've posted this video, I did hear from those who live in the UK that for some reason this trick doesn't work over there. Thanks for watching the video!
You're leaving out a little more information on the 820 v 9000 comparison.. The 9000 has a better build, noise level is little to none compared to the 820 and the internal DAC for audio makes blows the audio away. Last would be the HDR optimizer it had a mode for projectors which the 820 doesn't have. Being an owner of both the 820 and 9000 i would say it's 100% worth it. I noticed the difference right away
I don’t own a projector so no qualms for me, but you are right about the build. The noise of the loading mechanism is muffled om the 9000, especially when playing some Universal 4K’s. Mind you the noise dulls significantly on the 820 after fifteen or so minutes. The 9000 is a better player no question about it but not enough to justify the £600 difference that was the price back in 2018 when I bought these players.
Depends on the distributor releasing the title. I’m also Region B and the majority of my imported Region A titles are Criterion BD’s and they work on the 820 with the hack (mind you only for titles that were released post mid 2010) Any other Region A titles from other distributors I find the hack doesn’t work so I have to use my other, older, and hacked 4K player.
I've luckily have never experienced that before. The most recent disk that I had trouble with was Top Gun Maverick, but I was able to replace the disk and it worked fine afterwards.
That happened with my UB-9000. I had it for about 4 years and 2 months before I started noticing the issue and it got worse and worse. I bought the 820 shortly after.
@@adamsultana8380 Well, I'm glad there hasn't been any issues. If you check out some of my other videos, let me know what you think. I just started the channel a couple months ago, and I love connecting with physical media people like myself. Have a great day!
@@moneyzonetrader a 4k disc is mostly region free. A 4k player like the UB820 doesn't necessarily mean it will play blurays from every region. I have some blurays that are from Region B that won't play on my UB820. There are Region Free bluray players that can play blurays from all Regions. Those are $100+ here in the States.
What label are you trying to use this method with? Was it any of the ones that I shown on the video? Looking at other YT content creators, they have used the same method too. Again, once you get the Region B locked screen. Hit stop, and hit top menu once or a couple times. The only label that I've had trouble with is Leonine.
Press the stop button once and the top menu 5 to 7 times. Sometimes it takes multiple times. I pressed 7 and it worked for me . Hopefully this works for you
Dude! I had to hit the top menu button twice but it totally worked! Much appreciated.
Glad it worked, and thanks for watching the video! Be sure to check out some of my other videos too.
Great video, Frank! I finally used the hack earlier this week when I opened my Bruce Lee arrow Box Set. I was happy. Thanks for the heads-up on the International studios that work.
No problem! I tried to be thorough with the various international labels.
I reside in the UK and I have both an 820 that I constantly update, and an old Panasonic 4K player from 2017 that I have not updated since 2018 since I hacked the firmware. I use this hack to play imported Region A Criterion BD’s on my 820. Mind you it only works for Criterion BD’s that were released post mid 2010s (imported the Criterion edition of Repulsion many years ago and seeing as this was released in 2009, it didn’t work with that hack so I decided to just get the Region B edition which Criterion released in the intervening years) All other Region A titles like Shout Factory I need to rely on my firmware hacked player.
I bought this player as a backup for my Oppo 203 4K player
My Oppo 103D is all region, so I use it for region B. My Panny is the 420 since my projector doesn’t do Dolby vision.
Here's a bit of extra information about the players features. I have several SACD's and they all play fine. I'm surprised as I think SACD's are no longer in productiona and the discs cost a small fortune on eBay. 😀
I'm not gonna pretend, what does SA mean in SACD?
@@Franksmediaandreviews Super Audio = Super Audio Compact Disc. It is a format of high res audio.
Tried this on my copy of Quantum of Solace from the UK version of the James Bond Collection 24-disc Blu-ray set that is notoriously the only b-region locked disc in the set, and it didn't work sadly. It won't allow you to stop the disc playback. It will only allow you to eject the disc. Ended up buying a standalone US version QoS 4k/Blu-ray copy. Bit of a bummer, but oh well!
Sorry if didn't work. I appreciate you watching the video!
Hey Frank. Thanks for sharing this hack. I was wondering have you tried this hack with other region DVDs? I wonder if it would work the same way as with the Blu-rays? There are some films that haven't yet made to Blu-Ray and 4K and are only available on DVD from the UK or Europe. Just wondering if the Top Menu hack would work.
Thanks for watching the video, Shaynes! Unfortunately, no I haven't.
Sadly it doesn’t work for every title. I recently bought killers of the flower moon on 4k from italy and its region b locked and could not bypass it. I have other titles on bluray that worked though. It’s so sad to see titles having region locks.
Thanks for watching the video!
Yeah, I don't know why some 4k's are region locked, especially when they're "advertised" as region-free disks. I don't know if it's done by accident, but it is rare for some 4k's to be region locked.
Italy went against 4k guidelines and rumor has it they might be doing a repress. ALL 4ks are region free but Italy wanted to be ahead of the curve with this release to force people to buy their disc
@@TheLastSamurai813False German Media Books are Region B locked and People Under The Stairs from Shout Factory is Region A locked
Eden lake was produced by Pathé. Have you checked to see if the discs that don't work are German? Leonine are a distributor based in Munich. Maybe if you got the UK distribution discs they would work?
I tried two studio canal UK blu-rays on my Panasonic UB820 . Both loaded up using this hack, but only one actually loaded the full menu. One was the Fog (it's full menu loaded fine) and the other King Kong 1976. The King Kong one loaded, but when it got to the menu none of the features were present. Just the menu screen running clips of the movie in the background. I couldn't select anything. I found that rather strange.
Dang, so you couldn't even watch King Kong due to no play button on the screen?
Also, thanks for watching the video! Feel free to check out some of my other videos.
@@Franksmediaandreviews No it's ok. The other disc is 4K, so I can watch the movie. The bluray has the extras. No biggie. I already have a Shout Factory KK 1976 blu-ray with all the same features.
Cool!
How about DVD's? Does this hack let you play DVD's region free?
I can't confirm, as I don't have a Region B DVD.
I have the same player (region B) with the most recent updates but when I hit the Stop button it gives an error message something like This Action is Not Allowed and that is it I can't continue with the hack
Sorry the hack doesn't work for your Region B player.
do a review for juon the the grudge collection
Also works for UB420 player!
Thanks for the info!
Second sight doesnt work on all titles. I just got the ginger snaps blurays and none of them work. Dog soldiers and it follows also dont work but high tension does
I have just bought this player, but I haven't installed it yet. My player is region B. Will this trick work the other way, so I can watch region A?
Good question. I don't know. I don't want to misinform you, and give you the wrong information. I can just confirm what my Region A Panasonic UB820 can do, but I assume so.
No it doesn't. I have the 9000 model and the hack doesn't work.
@@jacobneumann5021 thanks for watching, and replying. It seems like this hack only works for Region A Panasonic ub820 players.
Hope you check out some of my other videos.
Depends on the distributor releasing the title. I’m also Region B and the majority of my imported Region A titles are Criterion BD’s and they work on the 820 with the hack (mind you only for titles that were released post mid 2010) Any other Region A titles from other distributors I find the hack doesn’t work so I have to use my other, older, and hacked 4K player.
I'm in the uk and ive tried this on screen factory blu-ray disc's and it didn't work
I'm sorry to hear about that, Megan. Since I've posted this video, I did hear from those who live in the UK that for some reason this trick doesn't work over there.
Thanks for watching the video!
This works on my UB820 but does not work on the UB154 if anyone was curious
Well, this work on 4K😊
You're leaving out a little more information on the 820 v 9000 comparison.. The 9000 has a better build, noise level is little to none compared to the 820 and the internal DAC for audio makes blows the audio away. Last would be the HDR optimizer it had a mode for projectors which the 820 doesn't have. Being an owner of both the 820 and 9000 i would say it's 100% worth it. I noticed the difference right away
Thanks for watching and for the info!
the 820 does have the hdr optimizer..the 9000 is built better and has more audio options..that and a 500 dollar price difference
I don’t own a projector so no qualms for me, but you are right about the build. The noise of the loading mechanism is muffled om the 9000, especially when playing some Universal 4K’s. Mind you the noise dulls significantly on the 820 after fifteen or so minutes. The 9000 is a better player no question about it but not enough to justify the £600 difference that was the price back in 2018 when I bought these players.
@@nunyabidness7547 I never said it didn’t have the optimizer I said it doesn’t have the projector mode
Tried to unlock region A on a region B player ..doesn't work unfortunately
Sorry to hear that. Another person stated the same. It must work for Region A Panasonic ub820 players on Region B discs.
Depends on the distributor releasing the title. I’m also Region B and the majority of my imported Region A titles are Criterion BD’s and they work on the 820 with the hack (mind you only for titles that were released post mid 2010) Any other Region A titles from other distributors I find the hack doesn’t work so I have to use my other, older, and hacked 4K player.
Well, this work on the past like 420
What happens when your player stops reading your disks?
I've luckily have never experienced that before. The most recent disk that I had trouble with was Top Gun Maverick, but I was able to replace the disk and it worked fine afterwards.
That happened with my UB-9000. I had it for about 4 years and 2 months before I started noticing the issue and it got worse and worse. I bought the 820 shortly after.
@@adamsultana8380 Thanks for watching the video! Have you had any issues with the UB820?
@@Franksmediaandreviews nothing yet, but I've only had it since October 2023.
@@adamsultana8380 Well, I'm glad there hasn't been any issues. If you check out some of my other videos, let me know what you think. I just started the channel a couple months ago, and I love connecting with physical media people like myself.
Have a great day!
4k is always region free?
99% of the time it is. There's only a few when it will be Region locked.
@@Franksmediaandreviews so i am abt to buy panasonic ub820 from usa. will it play my indian 1080p disks?
@@moneyzonetrader a 4k disc is mostly region free. A 4k player like the UB820 doesn't necessarily mean it will play blurays from every region. I have some blurays that are from Region B that won't play on my UB820.
There are Region Free bluray players that can play blurays from all Regions. Those are $100+ here in the States.
@@Franksmediaandreviews I CAN BUY REGION FREE FROM EBAY. BUT DONT THESE SELLERS OPEN THE PACKAGE AND DO SOME TWEAK THEMSELVES TO MAKE IT REGION FREE?
Fix your sound.
Noted and already did a couple months ago.
Well, let’s play in English once you do the hack
Just rip the disc and play a mkv. Saves the laser too.
It doesn’t work for me:(
What label are you trying to use this method with? Was it any of the ones that I shown on the video? Looking at other YT content creators, they have used the same method too.
Again, once you get the Region B locked screen. Hit stop, and hit top menu once or a couple times. The only label that I've had trouble with is Leonine.
Press the stop button once and the top menu 5 to 7 times. Sometimes it takes multiple times. I pressed 7 and it worked for me . Hopefully this works for you
Not trying to be mean but your tv is the size of a pc monitor. What’s the point of 4k? A dvd would look good on that.
A 65 inch LG CX is the size of a pc monitor?? That's a new one.