Best MP3 player

[dmelgar]

Any recommendations on the best DVD player for playing MP3?

Its very frustrating to figure out exactly what support DVD players have for MP3. They all list support but it varies night and day.

Is DVD-MP3 supported, random, can you select another song while one is playing, VBR support etc.

[yoda313]

Hello,

LOOK HERE

This has member reports about dvd player features. Very open and honest. Good place to start.

Kevin

[dmelgar]

I have looked there thanks. Thats how I found this website.

Problem is that its hard to quantify if a DVD player makes a good MP3 player or not. Just checking if it supports DVD-MP3 or long filenames isnt enough. I was hoping to hear some sort of general opinion, ie "everybody knows that yyy brand dvd player is the best for mp3s".

I've seen MANY irritating quirks in DVD players. Short filenames, inability to select the next song while one is playing, arbitrary limitations on number of files allowed, random/shuffle not supported for mp3s. All these variables arent in the database.

I've just gone to Walmart and Target and tried a mess of players with disappointing results for all. I'm looking for a DVD player that does a good job playing dvd-mp3s and can play DVD-VR (also not a field in the database). I tried the following players.

Sony DVP-NS575: Can't read DVD-MP3. Does read DVD-VR.
Emerson 7004: failed on both
Durabrand/Kawasaki: failed on both
Apex 1100: failed on both
Panasonic DVD-S27s: Can't read DVD-MP3, does read DVD-VR
Pioneer DV-270: Can read both. However MP3 support cuts off filenames even though there's screen realestate to show much more. And it disables a whole menu tree of options for programmed play, random, repeat which i guess are somehow more useful for a movie???
Philips DVP642: Can read DVD-MP3, couldnt test further. It correctly identifies the DVD-VR, then spits it out.
Cyberhome 320: (I'm trying to replace a Cyberhome 300). Reads DVD-MP3, but only displays a fraction of the songs on the DVD. The old one didnt do this as bad.

The DVD-MP3 is a DVD+RW. The DVD-VR is a DVD-RW recorded on a Pioneer DVR-220 (an excellent recorder, but doesnt play DVD-MP3s).

Argh

[bnbhoha]

I too am looking for dvd player that plays mp3s on dvd-r. Are u sure that the Philips DVP642 plays dvd-r mp3s, if so I'm going to jump on it. I think Target sells it for $70

[dmelgar]

I'm reasonably sure the Philips will play a DVD-MP3. I was able to move it to a plug and connect it to a TV in the store. The Philips said it could do it but gave a message about data menu not being turned on. I didnt have the remote so I couldnt switch the option. I've read the reviews on the Philips here, there are complaints about the filenames being short and poor usability.

I've previously had bad experience with a Philips DVD recorder so I'm not overly inclined to try them again. It had horrible support for MP3s, had very poor usability, and a random smattering of mildly annoying bugs.

Tonight I went to Circuit city and Bestbuy and tried a mess more units. In general found the following by brand,
Panasonic: doesnt support DVD-MP3. I tried the changer at Circuitcity.
Sony: doesn't support DVD-MP3. I tried 3-4 models, none support it.
JVC: Apparently DOES support DVD-MP3. Does not support DVD-VR. I couldnt try it in more detail because I didn't have access to a remote.
Pioneer: Tried a high end player at Bestbuy, it STILL disables the "play mode" menu tree. Even more amazing, last years model (DV-260) DID support the playmode menu tree, ie random, programmed play etc.

BTW, in frustration, I bought a Cyberhome CH-320 which I thought was a replacement for the one we previously had. Noticed that many mp3s where missing from the filelist. Not at the beginning or end, but random files missing in the middle, lots of them. It only shows a fraction of the files.
Tried using it a little more, and it died. Couldn't eject the tray. What a piece of #$@#.

I would never have expected it to be this hard to find a decent MP3 player for a home entertainment system. I'm even willing to pay good money for it. Just seems like no one makes one. Lots of portable MP3 players, but I can't find a decent home mp3 player.

[bnbhoha]

I was going to try the cyberhome, but read horrible reviews on amazon.com I might go for the Philips. I don't think I will use a re-writable disc, so VR mode isn't important to me. Thanks for replying

[garman]

I have the Norcent dp300
Works well with dvd r/rw mp3. Now the drawbacks, does not support long file names. Cannot program mp3. There are some more quirks with this thing. I can't remember due to the fact i never use t for that purpose.
This is my wish list:
Playlist (queue songs like a jukebox)
ID3 Tag support with pictures
Random
Long File Names
Screen saver when playing mp3's (something like media players, when playing music)

This is what I would like to see and be willing to pay for.
Any other suggestions?
-garman

[dmelgar]

I've seen some players that get close, but always do something silly to break it.

The Pioneer DVR-220 (DVD-recorder) does a decent job. What I like most is that while you are playing an MP3, you can choose the next song, or even better, create or edit a programmed playlist.
Bad stuff: it doesnt support random, and most critically, doesn't support DVD-MP3.
While the song is playing you can see the ID3 tag and while scrolling through the list. Filename support is pretty long ~25 characters or so.
While there's no screen saver, you can turn off the display.

[garman]

I wish they would just follow the trend of hard drive based mp3 players. Why don't the genius of these multi-billion $ company's purchase one, ie IPOD rip off the features and add it to thier DVD player.

Another thought for a feature for mp3 dvd players. Have a usb port so you can add a card reader and play your mp3 or mpeg file through there. One nore thing firmware updates for mp3's -garman

[dmelgar]

I tried a JVC 212, it couldnt read DVD-RW nor DVD+RW disks regardless of content.

Bottom line, I've now tried every DVD player that I can reasonable buy locally. I've tried Walmart, Target, Sears, Bestbuy, BJs, Costco, Samsclub.

I have not found ANY DVD player that does a decent job playing a DVD-MP3 regardless of price.

[dmelgar]

I've tried several more DVD players. Have finally found one that seems pretty decent.

Zenith DVB412 at Circuit city for $60.

It can play DVD-MP3 and DVD-JPG. You can scroll through songs while one is playing. You can create and edit a playlist while a song is playing. It normally displays 16 character filenames, but when a song is playing it shows a longer filepath about 50 characters. When a song is playing, it can also display ID3 fields.

Its been able to play all the mp3 files I have that have been flakey on other players. I haven't noticed any instability in the player (so far).

It does NOT support random when playing MP3s.

You can navigate the list of songs by scrolling, paging, or entering the song number. Thats very important if you have 1000 songs in a directory.

My biggest and pretty much only gripe is that it does have a file limit thats somewhere lower than the number of files I put on the DVD. Once it hit the limit, directories start showing up empty. I'm not sure what the limit is, I haven't read the manual yet, probably 1000.

Regarding features that would be nice in an MP3 player, I'd also like them to be able to play playlist files. Its great that I can create a playlist on the Zenith up to 1000 songs, but unfortunate that its lost if I eject the DVD or switch to photo mode.

[jolphil]

Hi,
I totaly agree with you about the MP3 players..They just mention the MP3(if you are lucky)..I have the DVD 642(philips) and it does play Mp3's but I have yet to find a way to set it to RANDOM...The book is no help at all..
The only way I have been able to "sort of" random play is to create folders on my cd with about 8 or 10 numbers in each folder..Then it will go thru each folder one by one..If someone out ther knows how to randomize the 642 mp3 player pleas enlighten me..
jolphil
BTW My JVC XV-N310 will play Mp3's randomly but you must set it in the menu each time you turn it on..