Looking for a DVD player for playing data discs

[shadomic hedgehog]

I heard that there are many DVD players on the market now that will accept unencoded files like AVI, OGM, MKV, etc. on a DVD or CD data disc. I'm not exactly sure how it works, but it sounds like it would be quite the time saver. I would like to buy a DVD player which can play almost anything I feed it. What exactly should I look for when buying one? Do I need to give it Codecs? Does anyone have a recomendation? Thanks in advance.

I didnt really know what a lot of the stuff meant in the dvd player search.

[rebarlow]

Try "DVP642 Progressive Scan DVD Player," available for under $70. It will read raw mpeg and avi files from an unauthored disk along with MP3, Wav, and jpeg files. So far mine has handled every video file I've thrown at it. It can also play a folder of images as a slideshow.

[Baldrick]

build or buy a htpc if you want to play everything.

[celtic_druid]

Or an XBox with XBMC. The DVP642 won't play ogm's or mkv's, also only plays certain types of avi's. You can't add codecs either, it is simply down to what the chipset and firmware support.

I agree if you want to play everything, stick with a PC.