Volume goes up and down, brightness fades in and out - DVD player problem?

[garybeck]

Lately I've been noticing, when I'm watching DVDs, sometimes the audio gets louder or softer. I mainly notice the volume variation when I'm watching a music video with the volume turned up. All of the suddent it will quiet down, maybe up to 30-40% of the volume it was playing at. Also, sometimes the brightness goes in and out in a similar way.

My TV is pretty old, so I would think that's the problem, but it really only seems to happen when I'm watching DVDs, and it only seems to happen with SOME dvds. When I have a DVD that has the problem it seems to cycle like this every few minutes.

I use the same DVD player to play music DVDs through my audio system and the volume does not go up and down on them.

I haven't done a lot of testing, like trying the problem DVDs on another player. I don't really have another DVD player to try it in, other than my computer. But I thought I'd ask if this is a typical thing that DVD players do when they get old, or if there are other possibilities. The video brightness variation is getting annoying, and the audio volume variation is particularly annoying when watching music.

any ideas?

thanks
gary in vermont

[guns1inger]

It sounds like macrovision, however this would normally only be an issue if you have your DVD player hooked up to a VCR, then the VCR hooked up to the TV. DVD players must be connected directly to your TV, or through an AV Amp to your TV, but never through a VCR.

[garybeck]

It sounds like macrovision, however this would normally only be an issue if you have your DVD player hooked up to a VCR, then the VCR hooked up to the TV. DVD players must be connected directly to your TV, or through an AV Amp to your TV, but never through a VCR.

hmmm. there is no VCR but it does sound like that. Is there such thing as Macrovision on copied DVDs? Some of my DVDs, I make backups and save the original, so I don't scratch it up.

[guns1inger]

Macrovision is an analogue protection. Because DVDs are digital, there is no macrovision signal as there is on VCRs, however the player generates and adds on to it when it plays. Some only add it for protected discs, some add it all the time. DVD Decrypter strips out the analogue flag, but this may not stop it happening.

That said, if you are connecting directly to your TV, this should have no effect on the image.

[garybeck]

Macrovision is an analogue protection. Because DVDs are digital, there is no macrovision signal as there is on VCRs, however the player generates and adds on to it when it plays. Some only add it for protected discs, some add it all the time. DVD Decrypter strips out the analogue flag, but this may not stop it happening.

That said, if you are connecting directly to your TV, this should have no effect on the image.

I realize that DVD is digital, but itsn't it an analog signal coming from my DVD, into my TV? I use the "RCA" or "Composite" connections to connect to my TV. The sound goes through my home stereo. My TV is not digital or HD. So I always thought that once the signal is coming out of the DVD player, it's analog? If so, is it possible the macrovision thingy is embedded in the DVD and can show up when viewed on a "regular" or non-digital TV? Any good ideas how I can troubleshoot before I just go and buy another DVD player?

thanks

[buttzilla]

Try a cleaning disk. Have you ever cleaned the laser lens.

[guns1inger]

Macrovision is an analogue protection. Because DVDs are digital, there is no macrovision signal as there is on VCRs, however the player generates and adds on to it when it plays. Some only add it for protected discs, some add it all the time. DVD Decrypter strips out the analogue flag, but this may not stop it happening.

That said, if you are connecting directly to your TV, this should have no effect on the image.

I realize that DVD is digital, but itsn't it an analog signal coming from my DVD, into my TV? I use the "RCA" or "Composite" connections to connect to my TV. The sound goes through my home stereo. My TV is not digital or HD. So I always thought that once the signal is coming out of the DVD player, it's analog? If so, is it possible the macrovision thingy is embedded in the DVD and can show up when viewed on a "regular" or non-digital TV? Any good ideas how I can troubleshoot before I just go and buy another DVD player?

thanks

Macovision is an analogue protection scheme. It basically a hidden signal embedded in the vertical blanks in the video signal - a deliberate error, if you will. On VHS tapes, it is recorded into the signal on the tape. For DVD is a flag in the DVD itself that triggers the player to put the macrovision signal into the video signal as it sends it out, on the fly. It should not affect your TV, only other recording devices.

I doubt that it is dirty lens, only because, like digital TV broadcasts, the signal is either there, or it's not. You don't get degrees of signal in digital. If a player can't read the image or audio from the disc, either because of dirty lens or scratches on the disc, you get drop out. Not fluctuation in colour or audio level.

That it is affecting your audio as well would suggest it is the player at fault, but a simple test would be to borrow a player from someone and hook it the same way as your current player is, and see what happens.

Just out of curiosity, is this happening on every disc ?

[garybeck]

it'snot every DVD. I'm going to have to try to remember one that it happened on recently or just wait until it happens again, and then I'll try to find another DVD player to see if that has the same probem with it. I have no VCR in this system whatsoever. I'll check back when I figure it out. thanks