I have a Sony DVD Player DVP-NS50P that I received as a gift a couple of years ago and it is indeed a great DVD player handling most media like DVD, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, SVCD, VCD, CD and almost all formats with the exception of DivX since its only a DVD player being a couple of years old. However, I find it very useful to play regular DVDs especially since I have signed up with an online movie rental service like Seventymm where I get 1 DVD movie everyday. One area where this Sony DVD Player DVP-NS50P scores is it supports Dolby® Digital Decoding and DTS and is chockablock full of outputs supported in the form of analog (standard RCA outputs), digital (coaxial/optical), Component Video, Composite Video, and even S-Video.

HDMI is unfortunately not supported, but HDMI had not really taken off a couple of years ago and since this Sony DVD Player DVP-NS50P is connected to my Panasonic 29” CRT TV, 1080p is not even an option thereby negating the need for HDMI support. Standard Definition (SD) DVDs run excellent on the Sony DVD Player DVP-NS50P with Component Video to the Panasonic 29” CRT TV and Coaxial Digital Cable to the Home Theater AV Receiver.
Despite all my glowing reviews of the Sony DVD Player DVP-NS50P, one problematic area was that it was region locked being brought over from abroad (as I mentioned a gift). It handled all region free DVDs fine and also all DVDs from other regions, but it never played Indian Region Coded DVDs. Mind you these were very few that I came across in the past couple of years that I have been using the Sony DVD Player DVP-NS50P, but after I signed up with an online movie rental service like Seventymm I began to run into this problem more often especially for movies made by Sony Studios. It’s funny when you think of it. A Sony DVD player cannot play a Sony Studios Movie on a Sony DVD that I have rented and mind you all are legal. What gives? Nothing really. Consumers have to fend for themselves or be left high and dry. Since I am not the kind who likes to be left high and dry or taken for a ride by the constraints of modern technology, the best option was to look for a region free hack for the Sony DVD Player DVP-NS50P at least for me. Please note I am not encouraging piracy here. I only want to play DVD movies on a Sony DVD Player DVP-NS50P that I own from an online movie rental service Seventymm that I am paying good money for. Anyways thanks to Google Maharaj finding a hack was not much of a problem, but there are hacks that do not work and some that do. I am posting details of a hack that worked for me. Give it a shot if you have the Sony DVD Player DVP-NS50P and it needs to be made region free, but of course only for legal DVDs that you have a right to play and not for any piracy.
Details of the hack.
With the DVD player turned off (stand by) press:
TOP MENU
CLEAR
POWER
Choose option 2 and after that option 4.
Type 12450, press enter, and type 00000.
The tray will open and close repeatedly. Unplug the power cable and afterwards turn it on again. This should do it and your Sony DVD Player DVP-NS50P should be multi zone/multi region now.
Check it out and let me know if it works for you or not.

Thanks,works fine for me
this is just great…
Great technology deals updated regularly
http://brillantdeals.in
Hi Nel,
Thanks for stopping by. Yeah it worked just perfect for me too. Posting a hack on making Philips DVD player (my other DVD player) too region free.
I heard Sony's don't play the typical pirated Indian CDs/DVDs… is it true? My good old CRT TV is Sony but preferred to go for an Onida DVD player as it plays virtually anything…
It's time to upgrade both the TV as well as DVD player though. I need something with a USB input as downloaded movies can be directly played then instead of wasting the melamine and plastic.
It's amazing how ppl find out all these work arounds
cheers,
Ajith
Yeah Ajith. These workarounds have been lifesavers so many times. Yeah, it is true about Sony and DRM. They really make it tough on you to play anything these days. Everything will say wrong region, but thankfully hacks are available.
Coming to your new DVD player, make sure it is USB 2.0 and also carry a USB stick loaded with movies and music to make sure it plays well. I have had previous experiences with friends where the LCD TV said USB but it only showed pictures in .jpg format. No movies or music. Even some DVD players will play, but play so slowly that its no fun watching movies via the USB or even listening to music.
Thanks for the tip on USB 2.0… Yep, I need some shopping to do, at the moment the apartment looks outdated
Hi Rajiv. Thanks for useful tip. But tell me one thing, when er put DVP NS50P on standby mode then its power goes off. Then pressing Button “TOP MENU” and “CLEAR” will have no meaning. Kindly tell how to make DVP NS50P to Stand BY mode, with the help of remote supplied with the player, without turning it off.Please help as iam suffering from same problem
Hi Mayank,
Standby mode is just starting the DVD Player without any DVD in it i.e. just power it on and don't do anything else like eject the tray to put in a DVD etc. If it already has a DVD in it then remove it, turn it off and then turn it on again and it will be in standby mode. From here you can proceed as per instructions above.
thanks moserw for writing.Now i got it. But i have a problem there.i did the same:-
1. standby mode
2. top menu
3. clear
4. Power
After that a window got oppened with many options. from that first i press 2 from the remote and then 4 from the remote. After that against input count i typed 12450 and pressed enter.
After pressing enter, DVD try automaticaly starts opening and closing repeatedly and figure below input count started increasing from 00000 to 00001 to 00002 to 00003 and so on each time tray get open and close. (I think it will go on till 12450.) Anyway after 12 to 13 counts i removed the power cable from the player and then replug it and put the orignal DVD made for india into it but it continued showing message as “Cannot Play Due To Area Limitation”. ie it still not become region free.
My Questions are:-
1. That i could not type 00000 after 12450 as figure 00000 was already there below 12450 which started increasing once i pressed enter.
2. Do i need to remove power cable only after specific count?
3. Did i went wrong somewhere i above mentioned process?
4. If no then is there any other way by which i can make my DVD player region free?
The process is correct. If it does not work the first time, restart the player and try again. Also, where did you purchase the player from? Mine is from the U.S. and I am not sure if this hack will work for players from other regions. However, do give it a try and let me know if it works or not.
i have purchased it from gaffar mkt delhi. It is made in malysia. i have tried this process many times but no use. I think this is piece of junk. i am planing tgo purchase Philips DVD player.
That hack refuses to work for me
What is the error you are getting? I have tried it on many different machines and it has worked always. Can you please be more specific in terms of the error you are getting so I can check it out?
Hi,
I tried it. Everything happened as you said. EXCEPT it did not unlock. It kept opening and closing. I unplugged it and powered on. I put in a region to dvd and it said playback was prohibited. I bought this in the US and can play region 1 dvd’s/. You had success on a DVP NS50P?
Hi Debtor,
Yes it worked on the Sony DVD Player DVP-NS50P for me and mine was from the U.S. In fact it worked the very first time for me.
Hi Rajiv,
i have a sony dvp-ns70h and i am having the same issue “area limitations”. I have tried the process listed above, it did the same thing like opening and closing tray after the process but the problem with area limitation is still there. is it a different process for this specific model or same?
Any input is really appreciated.
Thanks
same thing happens for me. tried it several times. it just open the tray and closes the tray until i cut power.
can you post the steps again?
I have a sony dvp NS50p and there is no stand by option.
Stand by meaning just turn it on and don't play anything and in fact eject any CD/DVD inside the tray and close the tray, then just leave the player as is. This is its stand by mode. Hope it helps.
thanks heaps. worked ace for me! im using an aussie player and can now play Reg1 stuff. absolutely stoked!
Glad it worked Paddy…
thanks , thanks , thanks…….. my DVD player is working
Glad it worked for you Glyzda. Do share the hack with others in need.
Thank you for sharing this, but I'm having the same issue as some of the other comments. I followed all the steps, but I still get the same error message about “playback prohibited by area limitations”. I bought this DVD player in the US and it's set to region 1. It's exactly like the one in the picture you provided. So how is it that this works for some but not for others? I'm confused. >.<
Tia,
I'm sorry if it has not worked for you yet, but I'm sure it will work if all steps are followed religiously. Even I've had instances where a couple of players did not respond initially, but after trying out all the steps as instructed it worked. I'm sure it will work for you too. If it does not work out initially do turn off and restart the player and I'm sure it will work. I've personally had it work on so many systems.
Hi,
I tried the process but I can only get the option if I have the DVD player turned OFF. I can't get the option from standby mode. Even as I followed the step through, it doesn't work. I tried many times.
Hi KC,
Standby mode means the DVDP is turned on but not doing anything else and there is no DVD or disc inside the tray. Try it from this mode and it will work.
I did the same, I cannot get this to work from standby mode. From powered off, I can go through all the the steps. It just doesn't actually work.
Are you sure, its supposed to be in standby mode?
Hi JM,
Yes, its supposed to be in standy mode. It's worked on most of the DVDPs I've tried barring a few. It does not work on DVDPs from some regions so that could be a problem. Try to Google for other hacks. I'm sure one of them will work. It's a matter of finding the right one.
Like the others, my tray opens/closes indefinitely. AFter I unplug then start up again, i still get the area limitations message. I've tried three times now. My player was bought in Canada.
Well it does not work on players from some regions. Try Google for another hack and something that works will come by.
did not work for me
Dox,
Do Google around for other hacks. This hack does not work on players from
some regions.
Hello Rajiv, Could you please post the hack again – i couldnt locate your instructions in this thread … Thanks!
Hi Drish,
The hack is..
With the DVD player turned off (stand by) press:
TOP MENU
CLEAR
POWER
Choose option 2 and after that option 4.
Type 12450, press enter, and type 00000.
The tray will open and close repeatedly. Unplug the power cable and
afterwardsturn it on again. This should do it and your Sony DVD Player
DVP-NS50P
should be multi zone/multi region now.
It's posted right at the end of the post.
HI,
I got DVP-NS50P from US same problem of area limitation. When I plug my DVDP it shows WELCOME sign and later shows NO DISC ” Does this mean its on stand by ” <<
If so than I tried pressing TOP MENU > CLEAR > POWER after which its shows OFF signal on the DVDP display screen followed by > WELCOME sign and later shows NO DISC.
Kindly let me know if i am doing any thing incorrectly
Thanks,
Payo
Jack,
Turn the DVDP off with the remote but let it remain plugged in. Then you can go ahead with the procedure.
Welcome Shianna, glad to help.
It worked for me thankyou soooo much!!!
Welcome Shianna, glad to help.
Hi
Same problem, I have Sony DVP-PR50P (Region 3, Malaysia)
Will this process work on this model, or you can suggest some other process/ site for region hack
I have tried this process, but after option 2 there is no option4.
Can you mail me the process with option descriptions, it might work.
Thanks
Pankaj,
The process is the same as described above. It works from stanby mode. In some sets though it might not work in which case search in Google for other alternatives.
the tray opens and closes repeatedly, unplug it, but did not work, how long should I leave that open and close the tray?. let it be repeated 150 times, the dvd I bought in Mexico .. sorry for my English but translated it with google.
another question, this could read discs in NTSC and PAL. I have a Sony DVP-ns50p
Sometimes it takes a couple of times before it works, so give it another try. You can leave the tray alone for a couple of mins at the max, otherwise try it again. If it still does not work then please Google for another hack as this might not work.
Yes, for me it works with all region discs. That's what it means by region hack, it should play all region discs.
No I tried to hack but it still does not play my dvd.
Hi Kalsi,
This hack does not work on all region players. Please do check the region of your player and the applicable hack.
Hi,
thanks for your instructions. After long trials i got to the menu, typed all in that you said, the tray opened and closed repeatedly. I unplugged the cable and turned it on again.
I was so happy, but then i put a german DVD into the US Sony DVD-Player and got the same message again… cannot play due to area limitations???
What else could i do???
Hi Claudia,
I found this region hack works but has quirks of its own and sometimes needs to be repeated a couple of times. Please try the same process for a couple of times more. If that does not work then you will need another hack for which you will have to check Google. Please do post on the outcome and the hack that works.
moserw, I really think since people are asking the same questions over again that you should explain the process in alot more detail. Because there are so many things that i cant even figure out.
Thanks Jon. Will sure look it up soon and make the necessary changes if any are warranted.
me lo podrian traducir al español,el dvd las peliculas que yo bajo de internet se ven en blanco y negro.otras peliculas grabadas originales en mi dvd se ven bien que causa esto,si me pudieran contestar se los voy agradecer
This DVD player by Sony is really great. The best thing about it is, it supports all types of videos. I have been using it from quiet some time and have no complaints from it. It does not support only Div X. I find it very reliable and useful.
I got the same error “area limitation” after doing this mod to my DVP-NS50P. Bought in USA, made in China.
Also I had to have the unit off in order to get into the service menu. Start with the power off, then follow the mod instructions. Could not enter the five zero’s either, tray started to cycle after pressing enter.
Search continue’s…
Hi Rajiv, I have a Sony DVP-NS50P & I did exactly as you said. After unplugging the dvd player I still got the same message, “Playback prohibited by area limitations”. Can I do anything else? Thanks, April (asummers@cinci.rr.com)
I guess its a matter of trying again… it took me a couple to tries to get it working. Also, shutdown the player and restart and try. If you are able to access the secret menu it should work. Also, check what is region of the player? I have found it does not work on some regions.
I tried it and it didn’t work. After you punch in 12450 and press enter, the bottom is already reading 00000, but then starts 00001, 00002, etc. The tray does go out and in repeatedly, but when you unplug it, same message, region code.
I have also tried to do the 00000, real quickly, as it is counting and it seems to go to another menu?
Try to unplug and start over again… failing which I can only assume its the wrong region/region code.
I have a sony dvp sr700hp I want to hack it so it can play all regions, how should I do it ???
Tried the hack mentioned as well. Didn’t work for me (on a Sony DVP-NS50P purchased in the U.S). Can some one post the firmware version for the DVD player it worked on? I’m guessing that’s listed at the bottom of the screen after pressing:
Top Menu
Clear
Power
Thanks!