Connecting UK Bluray Player to US Samy (Series B) TV

[Chrys]

Newby here...before junking my Samsung TV (UN468000XF) which doesn't have the Smart Hub like my first Samsung Bluray player (BD-E6500) I thought I would conduct a little experiment which has gotten expensive since I clearly didn't think this through or researched it enough. The only time I don't use the bluray is for the Amazon movies widget on the TV since the above player doesn't have Amazon.

A few years ago I connected my laptop to the TV and used a VPN service to access UK TV. Recently, I wanted to remove some of the clutter around the TV and also needed the laptop for 'work stuff' so I removed it. I thought that wouldn't it be neat to buy a Samsung bluray player from a dealer in the UK and just connect it to my VPN network (my VPN service now comes through a dedicated router). The player (BD-H6500) is for all the catchup TV content in the UK Smart Hub. I also bought a Chromecast device from the UK so I could get live broadcasts like I did when I used my laptop. I'm still waiting for this device to arrive.

So I connected the BD-H6500 (needed a voltage adapter for use in the USA) to my VPN router and to my TV (UN468000XF). I used my 10 year old HDMI cable (which must be version 1.0) and got a warning message on the TV 'mode not supported'. When I first called Samsung I didn't mention that the player was from the UK. They advised that I get a new HDMI cable (1.3) and HDMI to Component converter which I did. I still got the warning message. In a second call to Samsung we tried using another TV to access the player but got the same message. The CS rep thought the problem was the default resolution on the player didn't match what was available on the TV and that I need to reset the player resolution to a lower resolution. I mentioned that the TV was capable of playing 1080p and she said that 1080p is different today on 'modern' tv's. I had to laugh at that.

So what could prevent the bluray player from recognizing the TV? Video standard (PAL vs NTSC), Country Code, Region Code or something else. I looked in the service manual and it stated that during the OOBE (Guided Setup) the country is established by the user. I'm not sure if this can be reset or I should be changing something else. I only plan to use the player for accessing UK Smart Hub apps and not for playing discs (PAL DVD or bluray).

I would appreciate any ideas or suggestions.

TIA

Chrys