Region Free Blu-Ray Player in New Zealand

UPDATE:

 Sadly I have been informed the referenced Blu Ray player in this post is no longer available, however the 3D model still appears to be in stock:

Laser BLU-BD10803D

 In a previous post (The physically unobtainable becomes obtainable), I mentioned how much easier it is to obtain cameras and gear from overseas sources, but I purposefully missed out something. Although it has nothing to do with the actual act of filming, it does have something to do with the inspiration for filming and ongoing education, and that is DVD's and Blu-rays.

 Now multi-zone and multi-region DVD players have, or at least were, easily obtainable in New Zealand, but of late this practice has been frowned upon and to my knowledge only the Pioneer DVD players are still Multi-zone. This means that you can purchase those hard to find films (if available) on sites such as Amazon, or more to the point, DVD's from independent film makers looking to fund their follow up project. But Blu-Ray, in New Zealand, has been a mire of red-tape it would seem, that is until the Laser BD1000 became available on the local market. Now Laser isn't a brand you would ordinarily associate with quality or at least not here, but the BD1000 is some serious bang for buck.

  I got one a while ago, and have finally had the chance to try it on a Blu-ray which ISN'T able to be played locally, and I can now confirm it works! But not only that the functionality removes the need for a Blu-Ray Player, DVD Player and a Media Player! Less clutter is always good!
 Although I wouldn't consider it handsome in design, it is incredibly practical and as I previously stated, functional.

 So what can it do?

Features:
DVD Upscaling (480 to 720 / 1080)
Dolby Digital and Dolby True HD (HDMI output only)
DTS HD Master (HDMI output only)
MP3/4; H.264 AVI; AVCHD Playback – Media centre (Via USB)
Full Function Remote control
Supported Outputs: HDMI; Component; Composite; Digital Audio (coax); L/R Audio (RCA); USB

Specifications:

General:
Playable Disk Types: Blu-ray Disc Video: BD-R/RE2.0, BDAV, DVD: DVD-Video/DVD-R/+R /DVD-RW/+RW/SVCD/CD-R/CD-RW/CD-Audio, AVCHD, AVCREC disc
USB Port (on front panel): Y
Media File playback: JPEG/MP3/MKV(­Divx/Xvid/MPEG-4)/AVI(Divx/Xvid/MPEG-4)/MP4(Divx/Xvid/MPEG-4)/H.264/AVCHD
Remote control: Y
Front panel Display (LCD): N
DVD Region Code: All
Blu Ray Region Code: Australia/NZ Region B (programmable)
Weight(kg): 1.5kg
Dimensions(mm): w: 360 h: 45 d: 220
Warranty(month): 36

Accessories include: 
Remote Control, RCA AV cable, Product manual

Video:
Full HD (1080p) picture quality: Y
24fps True Cinema frame rate: Y
Subtitles: Y
DVD upscaling (480 to 720 or 1080p): Y
Last playback position memory: N
View image & video files: Yes
Adjustable Aspect Ration (16:9 to 4:3): Y
Language Select: Yes. Multiple languages for OSD
Progressive Scan Playback: Y
Camera Angle Select: Y
HDMI Deep Colour: Yes. Selectable within Menu. 30, 36, 48 bit colour depth
Bookmarks (playback from a saved point): Yes. Up to 12 bookmarks
Playback program (reordering/se­quence of playback): Yes.

Audio:
Dolby 5.1 (including Dolby Digital, AC3, pro logic): Y
Dolby TRUE HD (lossless): Y
DTS Surround (standard): Y
DTS HD Master (lossless): Y
5.1 Channel Decoder built in: no
2 channel (left / right) downmix: Yes

Connections:
Composite Video (Yellow RCA): Y
Component Video PbPrY (Red, Green, Blue RCA): Y
HDMI (Video and Audio): Y
Stereo (Left/Right – White/Red RCA): Y
Digital Audio (CoAx (Orange) RCA): Y
5.1 Channel Direct Out (RCA): no
Ethernet Port (network RJ45): no
USB 2.0 port: Y

 With a three year warranty it really is a no brainer for the price. And the lovely people at Mighty Ape are now stocking this wonder of modern technology!

Purchase From Mighty Ape

 I knew I needed something as more and more films I want become available on Blu-Ray in the States. Films which are never likely to be released here (some of which still aren't even available on DVD!). In fact some of most favourite films are probably laughable by the standards of today, but I can't help but enjoy the HP Lovecraft adaptions of the 1980's (featuring the ever quirky Jeffrey Combs)

From Beyond

Re-Animator

Bride of Re-Animator

  Other considerations for this are the ever present Special Editions, Bonus Editions, Collector's Edition and so on and Ad Infinitum. So many of the films released in New Zealand on Blu-ray are vanilla and with the size and space afforded by Blu-Ray, it's just poor on the part of the studios, and often an immanent and impending double dip!

 Case in point, Clive Barker's 1990 film Nightbreed, may finally make sense in October AND is stacked with extras!

Nightbreed - Limited Edition

 Did I mention you should (if in New Zealand), purchase yourself a new Blu Ray Player??

Laser BD1000

UPDATE:

 Sadly the referenced Blu Ray player is no longer available, however the 3D model still appears to be in stock

Laser BLU-BD10803D