I'm going to Metro tomorrow and will check out the region-free DVD player prices and report back. Some say it's cheap, other say not so much.

I visited the electronics store on Vincome last week and saw a cute small DVD player (black color) for 600.000 VND. They provide warranty too. I guess that would be cheaper then going to Hung Yen.

I think you should visit that store, its on 3rd or 4th floor in Vincom.
You can also find a wide range of TV/LCD there. They have 19" one.

The best luck I've had with playing the local, pirated DVDs (and I've had three or four players at this point) is a tiny little Phillips DVD player I picked up last year. I think it's failed to play one DVD in that time. My previous players had a failure rate ranging from 20-40%, depending on the shop the DVD was from.

I'd always heard that the knock off Chinese DVD players were better for playing the pirated discs (this is what the DVD shops always told me), but it hasn't been the case.

i saw a dvd player around 500 000VND on Ha Bai Trung and Ba Trieu, in that new fancy building/electronic shop.
You can't miss it as they always play very loud cheap dance music outside.
on the second floor is the TV/DVD section.

but i have to agree with alpha, i bought a simple Phillips DVD player 4 years ago and it freaked out on one DVD only so far. very satisfied with that brand. It's also a multi zone DVD which means you can play any DVD you can put your hand on.

Maybe no one's asked about DVD players in the past year b/c this issue's been figured out. But just in case... Wanted to let you know that I bought a CaliHVT DVD player the other day and have been playing my local, pirated DVDs on it no problem. It cost 600,000 VND and I got it at a little electronics repair shop on Doi Can (not sure of exact address, 112 maybe? it's next to the little strip of coffee shops). The DVD player also has a USB input. Ok, hope that helps someone.

Fox Music/DVD shop on Bao Khanh street sell DVD players, they are very cheap (i think 600,000 VND) and do well with lower quality discs. They also have a USB input. Just ask the staff at the shop and they will sort you out.