VCD/DVD software Vs Stand alone player

[Twizzle]

I have had a VCD copy of the Matrix for sometime now and have watched it a few times on my PC. The quality is as you would explect from a VCD and it plays with no problems.

Not so long ago I bought a Yamaha DVD S520 player, and today decided to watch my copy of the Matrix on it. The problem on the standalone player is that it suffers from skipping and short freezes (more so the further you get into the film), and occassional green blocks. I have had this in the past when I have authored VCDs and SVCDs but generally have managed to avoid it if I use good quality CDs and take my time burning them etc etc.

Since I have owned the DVD player I haven't watched any of my VCDs on the PC once burnt and always assumed that if they were jumpy on my DVD player it was a problem with the burning process and so would be jumpy on anything.....which now doesn't seem the case.

I don't understand why a film that plays perfectly on my PC is such a problem on my standalone player. Have I spent all this money on a player that is of a lower quality than the one in my PC?

[Mirror_Image]

It stands to reason that a device (the PC) that can record on virtually any type and brand of media, in any format (with proper harware and codecs installed), could also play virtually any type and brand of media, in any format. The standalones generally do everything that their manufacturers claim, and do everything they claim quite well.

Does your player not do everything that the manufacturer claimed it would? If not, please state what specification that they put in writing but did not meet.

This doesn't hold true in all cases, but it seems that the cheapest players, while being slightly inferior in video quality to higher-priced players, seem to have greater compatibility with home-authored formats on a variety of media. If I wanted to play nothing but retail DVDs, I'd buy a Denon, Sony, Yamaha, etc. If I wanted to play recorded media, I'd go for Apex, and other such lower-priced players.