Recently a series of Sony BD players were modded to play Blu Rays and DVDs from all Regions, a feature that still hasn’t been officially issued by Sony themselves. I purchased a player to see what it had to offer and if it’s worth the investment.
The design:
The Sony BDP-S1700 offers a simple but sleek design. The player is just 23cm wide and 3.9cm tall, which makes it ideal for any home media set up as it’s rather inconspicuous, with a front-loading disc tray and USB port at the front.
The rear features four ports; one for Coaxial digital audio output, one for HDMI output, one for Ethernet so the user can connect the player to the internet (The more expensive model has built-in Wi-Fi) and one for the power outlet. It’s a tidy player and is ideal for those with less space or individuals with an affinity for not having too much clutter behind the scenes.
The included remote is also small, notably featuring a Netflix button, which would allow quick access to the streaming platform if the player is connected via ethernet and Netflix is installed. It features all the essential buttons and is simple and easy to use (and if you’re not careful, to lose.)
The menu:
When the player boots up the user is greeted with a simple and straightforward menu to navigate, sometimes discs will play automatically, though sometimes the user must click the disc icon to start. Users can access the Sony Entertainment Network which contains BBC iPlayer, YouTube, Demand 5 and the aforementioned Netflix app.
The Multi-Region aspect:
The package contains paperwork explaining how to change the players’ Region settings by pressing the relevant colour coded button on the remote before entering the disc.
Note that the player arrives preset to Region A, and that there’s no required action for accessing DVD Regions since it plays any DVD right out of the box.
The Sony BDP-1700 is a great and affordable player which offers a space-effective means of watching Blu Rays and DVDs without being restricted. Its only downside is that there’s no built-in Wifi, however there is a more expensive model of the player that remedies this. If you’re interested in the benefits of owning a Multi Region player, then check out this article.
The player is available to buy here, whilst the model with built-in Wifi is available here.
Overall Rating: 4/5
By HW Reynolds
Reverbium 
Not a comment but a question. The box my player came in displays a globe with a B inside it. Does this mean that it will NOT play dvds from all regions 1-6? Can you help?
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Hi Teresa,
Thanks for your comment, the globe with the ‘B’ should mean that the player is a region B blu ray player and will play blu rays in region B only, unless it specifically states it is region free. Here is a website with more details on each code and region: https://www.regionfreedvd.net/region-codes.html
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