DVD player Question?

[Oaty]

I got a DVD player quite a few years back and it pauses a lot on rental DVD's. So is this normal for others out there who have a DVD player or is it I have a DVD player that has poor anti-skipping.

I've cleaned it every so often with a DVD cleaning disc and even cleaned the optic reader. So it's not because it's dirty.

So if it's the DVD player any good reccomendations. The one I currently have is an APEX and was a Wal-mart day after thanksgiving special, so it was probably at the bottome line of DVD players.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Some people seem to love messing up rental DvDs for the rest of us. It is not the player usually, every now and then you can get a player problem but it is almost always with the disc and more often than not for rentals it is permanent.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

I got a DVD player quite a few years back and it pauses a lot on rental DVD's. So is this normal for others out there who have a DVD player or is it I have a DVD player that has poor anti-skipping.

Some people seem to love messing up rental DvDs for the rest of us. It is not the player usually, every now and then you can get a player problem but it is almost always with the disc and more often than not for rentals it is permanent.

Wrong. Its his player. Ive been in the video bussiness since 1982 when my family opened one of the first here in NY. I now work for a distributer of both Cds and DVDs. The older players will not play the all the new discs . Also some players will not read all discs .We still own a very large viseo store and I cant tell you how many people come in complaining of this problem. Buy a nice cheap 40 dollar player that plays everything. The more expensive ones seem to be more picky.

[Beirut]

So what's the deal with DVD players? I read that whether expensive or cheap they are all pretty much the same because they're just punching out 1 and 0s.

Hell, Sony's most expensive single DVD player is less than $120 Cdn.

I'm going to buy one tomorrow, probably a cheap one just for the boudoir, so Gawain, what's the deal? Is there a difference in quality or just reliability?

((Mind you, if a cheapy has a one-year warranty...)

[Gawain of Orkeny]

At 40 bucks you cant go wrong There are many models available at that price nowdays. Just make sure it says it plays everything like MP3s, DVDs, DVDRs and the like. There are players today for as little as 20 bucks. Also make sure its a progressive scan.

[Voigtkampf]

Beirut, you might also want to research the fact whether or not the DVD player can play home grown DVD’s and backups. I know that Sony DVD players were built so that they couldn’t read those, and sales suffered as well as people who bought those. I always backup my most important DVD’s; to some I add subtitles that are not available on the DVD to begin with. I find it stupid to consider that only bootlegs are the sort of home burned DVD’s that goes around.

Oh, and expect to have some trouble with DVD-R’s with almost any DVD player.

But, on the other hand, to the primary issue, I would not absolve the rental DVD’s from all guilt. If the new DVD from the store runs well, and your rental DVD does not, the answer is pretty much clear; ruined rental DVD.

[TonkaToys]

...it pauses a lot on rental DVD's...

Hmmm... no comments on what type of rental DVDs you are watching or at what point it pauses I see... (thinking XXX Busty Blondes from the Beach).

Anyway, I had similar problems (until my girlfriend caught me... oh no hang on wrong thought), I mean my DVD player was skipping and pausing and was an early model.
So I trashed it and got a new one from a supermarket at £20, like Gawain says about $40. Works fine, and I'm not bothered if it breaks 'cos it only costs the same as one night's drinks.

Go buy yourself another one.

[Beirut]

At 40 bucks you cant go wrong There are many models available at that price nowdays. Just make sure it says it plays everything like MP3s, DVDs, DVDRs and the like. There are players today for as little as 20 bucks. Also make sure its a progressive scan.

I was thinking you would have suggested a conservative scan.

And just what, pray tell, does progressive scan mean anyway?

This DVD is for the cute little 14" Toshiba flat screen (tube, not fancy LCD)we bought for the bedroom for $150. It's stereo and looks nice. It's a decent little TV. Plays Pac-Man really well too. (The only video game my sweetie likes.)

[Fragony]

Probably an old player, some DVD's have a little pause between chapters.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Well Gawain why does my DvD player work fine? It is quite old, but only has problems during rental DvDs, new non-rentals work fine?

I guess it could be only some. I stand mostly corrected.

[Byzantine Prince]

Plays Pac-Man really well too. (The only video game my sweetie likes.)

She doesn't play TW? *stands apauled*

[Voigtkampf]

Progressive scan is a video scanning system that displays all the lines of a single frame in one pass. Every single pixel is being refreshed in order (on your computer monitor) or simultaneously (as in DVD movies).

Opposite to that is the interlace method where you imagine splitting the screen in even and odd lines; first you refresh the even lines, than the odd lines. This causes the screen to appear flickering or shimmering sometimes when you look at TV too closely.

However, progressive scan is IIRC basically a standard these days, you can’t go wrong there, even if you try.

Two examples of interlacing at work, so you might get a "better picture".

[Beirut]

Ah, thank you.

Well I bought a $45 El Cheapo DVD player yesterday. Seems decent enough. Small size, black case, fits on a shelf in the bedrrom. Has a one year warranty so if it self-destructs I'l just grab another. And it is progressive scan.

Actually, the little b****** is almost too complcated. The remote is tiny and it's got about twenty buttons on. Zooms and slow-mo and angle and light toast and dark toast. So if you're lying in bed with the lights off, trying to find the right button is a bit tricky. The remote should be much simpler. And it doesn't glow in the dark. The Toshiba TV remote does.

[Spino]

Last summer I bought a Philips DVP-642 for $67 from Amazon, s&h included! It plays everything! In addition to DVDs and DVD-R/+Rs it plays VCD, SVCD, Divx, Xvid, avi, mpeg, mp3s, jpgs, blah, blah, blah!

Best $67 I've ever spent.

Word to the wise, regardless of brand these ultra-cheap DVD players are also known to have less than spectacular reliability records. If you get one that acts up or goes funny on you exchange it immediately! Furthermore, if buying online only purchase your player from a reputable company known for its excellent support and return policies! And if buying from a store always keep your receipts!

The source for consumers looking to purchase from a reputable online reseller....

http://www.resellerratings.com/

Fantastic site for videophiles...

http://www.videohelp.com

Specific link to the DVP-642

http://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers....y=Name&hits=25

[Voigtkampf]

Doom9 Org

Another great place for video pioneers. Enjoy!