Can playing VCD damage my DVD Player?

[ahiah9]

I think I'm in the right forum....
Okay. a while ago My Cyberhome DVD 300 Bit the dust. Shortly before that, My Tokia (don't worry, no one else has heard of them either) also croaked. These events sent me to Wal-Mart to buy a cheap DVD player that would handle all the various formats (=/+r, S/K/VCD, re writables, etc). Anyway, the point being, I asked the sales person if I could return the player if it didn't play all the formats I needed it to. After being quite rude abut how he was new, and thus wasn't sure, he went into some big lecture about how VCD is a format that is not used anymore, blah, blah, blah... and then told me that playing a burnt VCD can actually damage my player. He referenced something about the laser reading at a different depth than it was designed to. I've never heard of this, so I thought I'd ask around here for a definate answer. If so, how does that differ from a burnt CD, and can they do any damage? It all sounds a bit far fetched to me, but I'm still pretty much a noob.

[guns1inger]

Hopefully, as well as being new, he is also soon fired. There is no polite way to describe such a moron - he is full of shit. A VCD is burned the same as any other CD. The data format is all that differs.

[mats.hogberg]

Burned media differs from pressed media - that's true. However, a VCD isn't by definition CD-R.
So, if the player says "VCD" and "CD-R", you're safe.
If it just says "VCD" and your player dies (this is still a highly unlikely scenario) because you burned your own VCD and tried to play it, you're f... er... out of luck.

/Mats

[Paul_G]

Damage player? That guy clearly should loose his job. Very rarely you will come across a knowledgeable worker in those big stores, most of the time it is like they are robots being fed auto responses or something.

Better to provide NO support than have a team of twats misleading customers.

[classfour]

As a rule: I really only shop WalMart as a last resort. The majority of clerks can't find their butts with both hands. If you don't believe it, go in looking for a specific (but hard to find) item; ask a clerk where to locate it. They will likely direct you to another department, just to ensure that you're not in front of them in a moment. I've had it happen too many times.

The only times that I've seen the local WalMart have good customer service was when the store initially opened, and very recently due to the store being remodelled. The managers only want your money, and at a minimal of substandard service. I quit shopping groceries years ago, as I was worried about my frozen items melting before I could get checked out. Did I tell the management? NO, I voted with my wallet. I can shop any of the local grocery stores and when I arrive home, all of my frozen stuff is still frozen - not WalMart.

I've worked retail, and the instruction that I had from the manager was this: Don't tell the person WHERE to find something - lead them to the exact spot and HAND it to them. You will likely sell the item, the customer will appreciate the extra level of service, etc.. If you don't know where something is - ask another employee.

[SCDVD]

Unfortunately good service at discount stores is very hard to get. The help in these places are very low skilled workers at or near minimum wages. The ones that do have skill and initiative usually don't stay long - they get a better job somewhere else that pays more. About the most you can expect is a little help in physically finding an item. Even that is unreliable. They may tell you they don't have it just to get you our of their hair. Forget about asking any questions about a product. They won't know and you are likely to get a misleading answer.

[rijir2001]

That reminds me of the time I was in a Best Buy and I overheard a customer ask a sales person what an "anamorphic" DVD was and his response was that anamorphic means bigger black bars on the top and bottom of your TV screen.