Need a new BD player, region free

Thanks, Noble 100, 
I'm on about the same track as you are--still enjoying a 60" Kuro Elite plasma but would easily go to OLED when necessary.  I would have bought that Panasonic UB9000, but really needed a region-free player just for a TV series finally issued on blu-ray, but from Europe. I ended up buying a Panasonic DMP T27OPS online for not a lot of money. It's a very little unit with only an HDMI output, but it works great out of the TV sound system. Factory box says unit was opened only for modification to region free.  The OPPO 95 will remain as main for now--haven't been using it for CD playback, but I will if I replace it as a video player.  Good luck hunting for a 4K player that has the platform and heft of an OPPO--other than the UB9000. You may have to have two units, UB9000 for your video, OPPO for your audio---best of both.  
 
Thanks, auxinput--I would have gone for that kit if I had seen it first. 

Hello jafreeman,

     Just another sign of quality that your excellent Kuro Elite plasma is still working well for you. It seems we’re both also using classic models of plasmas. you in Europe using the first generation of the excellent performing Pioneer plasmas and me in the U.S. using the last of the equally excellent 2nd generation of Panasonic plasmas. I’ve read that the engineers who developed the original Kuro plasmas at Pioneer were recruited by Panasonic and responsible for developing their fine plasmas.
     Maybe we should both just sell our plasmas to a local hdtv museums and move on to our new OLED 4K hdtvs, already. My Panasonic plasma has performed flawlessly for over 5 years now and is still going strong but also know my switch to OLEDs is inevitable.
     I’m thinking the significantly reduced energy costs of operating an OLED hdtv compared to a plasma are only realized, and begin to offset the price of the tv, once we actually own one. I also consider the self emissive OLEDs as just the latest manifestation of the self emissive plasma technology; with the same inky blacks, great contrast ratios, ultra- smooth motion rendition and even better picture quality.

     C’mon man, life’s short and we both should just take the plunge and start enjoying some OLED. I’m going to buy an LG 65" C9 as soon as I figure out which high quality 4K Bluray player to buy to pair it with.

Cheers,
   Tim

Hello jafreeman,

     As far as auxinput's comments on Region Free is concerned, he is partially correct.  Here's a linked article that explains the details well, it's from 2016 but I believe it's still accurate:
https://www.220-electronics.com/blog/region-free-4k-ultra-hd-blu-ray-players-fact-fiction/

     Here's another good article from 2019:
https://www.whathifi.com/us/advice/ultra-hd-blu-ray-everything-you-need-to-know



     Mattmiller, if the above articles are still correct, makes a good point.

Tim

     I found and bought an Oppo 205 4K Universal player, region free, but I had to pay a premium at a total shipped price of $2,100 from the HiFi Boutique in Orlando, Fla.  It's scheduled to arrive tomorrow.
     Weird, I still feel lucky since it fits my needs so well.  I guess they're worth what we're willing to pay.

Tim

Congrats on your new OPPO 205, will be great at that price.