Philips dvd players are easy to hack for region-free, and it's easy to find the codes online. I have one of those in addition to my LG blu-ray player, so I only use the Philips for non-Region 1 DVDs. And yes, a retailer who sells a region-free player has just done the hacking. The Philips models also have USB input, so you can play multiple formats from a USB stick too, but I think that's becoming a fairly common feature. Once the region issue is taken care of, the player handles converting PAL signal for display on an NTSC TV.
They're not allowed to disclose that, as it would contravene the point of regional "protections," which seems pretty archaic and ridiculous a concept. I believe in most cases the players are manufactured region free and the region is then set based on where the units are shipping to.