I remember someone posted a way to make a R1 be able to play other regions. I took a look through the forums and can't find it but I'm almost positive I saved that info on my laptop.
The chance are good that your reader is already multizone and you just need the code to activate it, no need to buy a 300$ zonefree reader.
Everything depends of your dvd reader brand : you go from easy (Phillips) to impossible (Playstation 2)
A good place to go is
thereWith your dvd reader brand and his model you will find the information easilly.
Thanks Jimmy! I hope that Pete has one that is easy to program!