dvd player with the best compatibility?

[JCWagener]

Hi, I am looking at buying a new DVD-Player. The one I currently own just gives too much problems. I am looking for a high quality yet affordable player that will offer the best compatibility in terms of DVD media.

I would like to be able to play DVD-RW DVD+RW (and if possible DVD-DL).

I would also like to have divx decoding in the player.

I noticed that my very old Pioneer DVD player (which was one of the first) still manages to keep up somehow. I have only found one disc that it cannot play!!!

Which players would you recommend?

Johan

[jman98]

Pioneer seems to be pretty good. A lot of people here like Oppo, but their players are kind of expensive (I think the cheapest is 150 US dollars and you probably will have to mail order it, which might be prohibitively expensive in South Africa). Philips makes some cheap DVD players that play DVD+-RW and DVD+R DL OK. Mine doesn't play DVD-R DL very well at all, but these discs are expensive and hard to find and there is no compelling reason to burn them with reliable DVD+R DL discs available from Verbatim. Using quality media will help. You'd do best to stick to Verbatim for DVD+/-RW and DVD+R DL or you will no doubt be posting here like so many others asking why those really cheap DVD+R DL discs you bought from some other company don't work at all. There are better players for sure than Philips out there. Their support for Divx is not the best, but their players are cheap enough to be good values for some people.

Note that the following options in Divx/Xvid may or may not cause playback problems on some DVD players. You will have to test to see which ones your player can and can't handle. They are:
1) GMC (Global Motion Compensation) - At this time it appears that nobody supports this with warp points of 3. The only player I've seen that claimed it supported it failed a test on 3 warp points. Some players can play GMC discs if they only have 1 warp point. Generally it's best to avoid this option for DVD playback.
2) QPel (Quarter pixel)
3) Packed bit stream
4) Resolutions greater than 720x576
5) Video bit rates higher than 2000 Kbps are problems on some older decoding chips and if your audio is not MP3, you may need to lower the video bit rate to 1400 Kbps or less to have accurate audio playback for anything not MP3.

[Krispy Kritter]

Most newer players play all of the current media types. So you should concentrate on finding a quality Divx player. You can find a list of certified Divx players at divx.com.

The latest Philips models are popular because of their price. I have an Oppo unit myself (which I bought because of the DVD playback video ratings) which is Divx certified and is the best Divx player that I've owned.

[JCWagener]

I am new to the upscaling trend. Is it worth it to consider buying this if you don't own a HD television?

[Ecthelion]

I'm in a similar situation. I'm not looking to replace my DVD player (actually a changer), however. I want to add a regular DVD player to play discs that won't play in my changer.

Is there a particular brand or model that is good for playing slightly-to-moderately scratched discs (ones that play fine on a computer DVD drive)? That's my primary concern.

Oppo drives are higher than what I want to spend. I don't really care about playing Divx, because I watch video files so rarely that my computer is fine for it.

Anyway, my budget is below $100, and around $50 would be even better. If it was a combo VCR/DVD, that would help me justify a higher price.

[guns1inger]

However crap media is crap media, and no matter how good the player is (and I am a big fan of Pioneer for playback), crap media will eventually give it problems. Also, depending on how crap the media is, it can make the drive work harder when reading, and therefore shorten it's life span. Buying a good player so you can buy cheap media is a false economy.

[JCWagener]

I am considering buying the Philips DVP5960 DVD Player with HDMI, 1080i Upscaling, DivX Ultra, USB direct.

Has anyone had experience with this player or had a opportunity to test it?

We are watching church session every sunday on the DVD player. My idea was to encode all these to divx and have it on a HD which plugs into the player. That way the wear and tear will be less on the DVD player.

[NICEBUD]

Hi Ive just brought a Pioneer DV-400V which plays nearly every thing Ive put in it (XviD ,wmv, divx,quicktime,vcd,mp3 etc.It has usb on the front of the player so you can stick a pen drive or a large capacity drive formatted to fat 32 or fat or fat 16 but( NOT NTFS it wont work).It can upscale to 1080p .
Ive tryed DVD-R\RW,DVD+R\RW,CDR\RW ALL WORK GOOD not tryed dual layer.
Plus its got HDMI .Hope this helps.

[JCWagener]

nicebud, can the pioneer play divx from the usb device? some models can only do jpg,mp3,ect from usb.

[NICEBUD]

Yes it does.Plus make sure you get it with all region ablity. Mine was right out of the box.

[JCWagener]

The all region ability cost quite a bit more! seems that there are two models the Pioneer DV-600AV which is a silver player with all regions and then the Pioneer DV-600AV-K which is black

[JCWagener]

sorry, I was talking about the DV-400V and the DV-400V-K

[Krispy Kritter]

I am new to the upscaling trend. Is it worth it to consider buying this if you don't own a HD television?

Upscaling is only beneficial for HD TV's. And that's assuming you buy a quality player with good upconversion, you have a quality TV to view it, and then you might be able to see a difference.

[Krispy Kritter]

I'm in a similar situation. I'm not looking to replace my DVD player (actually a changer), however. I want to add a regular DVD player to play discs that won't play in my changer.

Is there a particular brand or model that is good for playing slightly-to-moderately scratched discs (ones that play fine on a computer DVD drive)? That's my primary concern.

Oppo drives are higher than what I want to spend. I don't really care about playing Divx, because I watch video files so rarely that my computer is fine for it.

Anyway, my budget is below $100, and around $50 would be even better. If it was a combo VCR/DVD, that would help me justify a higher price.

You should do a little investigation as to why some of your discs don't work. If they are all commercial discs, then they are damaged or your player is failing.

[Krispy Kritter]

I am considering buying the Philips DVP5960 DVD Player with HDMI, 1080i Upscaling, DivX Ultra, USB direct.

Has anyone had experience with this player or had a opportunity to test it?

We are watching church session every sunday on the DVD player. My idea was to encode all these to divx and have it on a HD which plugs into the player. That way the wear and tear will be less on the DVD player.

There are several threads here in the forum with everything you ever wanted to know about this model.

Since you are already playing DVD's, unless you are particularly worried about the discs, there is no reason/need to spend a lot of time converting them all to avi files. Even a cheap dvd player will last more than long enough to justify the cost and offset the higher cost of a divx player and all of your time performing dvd conversions. If you are worried about the discs, make copies.

It seems you are wanting/trying to do a lot of work for no real value or valid reason. Or maybe I'm just misunderstanding you are trying to do.

[Ecthelion]

You should do a little investigation as to why some of your discs don't work. If they are all commercial discs, then they are damaged or your player is failing.

It doesn't play a few burned discs, but the ones I care about are all commercial ones. If they have even a tiny scuff they'll often skip in my DVD changer. I don't have another DVD player to test them on, but like I said, 90% of them play just fine on my computer (actually, I have 3 computers, and they play fine on any of them).

I'm starting to get the impression that there really aren't drives that are specifically designed to play imperfect discs (this isn't the first forum where I have sought help). Is that true? Are there any DVD players that buffer the disc to flash or disk storage? This might help with slightly damaged discs.

At this point I'm thinking it might be best to simply try out a player from Best Buy or Circuit City, and return it if it doesn't work better than my current player. But before I do that, is there a particular brand or model (within my previously stated budget, preferably) that you "experts" recommend for maximum compatibility?

[Krispy Kritter]

Some players are better at reading discs than others. However, a player shouldn't be having any issues with commercial discs, even if they are only slightly scratched/scuffed. When a player starts having issues with commercial discs, it is either dirty or beginning to fail.

With that said, you can take any of the discs the changer is having trouble playing and make copies. Use a quality media such as Verbatim or TY and you shouldn't have any problems. Easier than buying a whole seperate player just to playback a few discs.

[Ecthelion]

When a player starts having issues with commercial discs, it is either dirty or beginning to fail.

So would it be worth trying to clean my changer?

With that said, you can take any of the discs the changer is having trouble playing and make copies. Use a quality media such as Verbatim or TY and you shouldn't have any problems. Easier than buying a whole seperate player just to playback a few discs.

Unfortunately, I have never been able to play burned DL discs, and I believe all of the offending discs are DL. I tried exactly what you suggest with one of my scuffed discs a few months ago, and I couldn't get it to play correctly. For that matter, I haven't been able to play DL discs on my parents' DVD player - even Verbatim discs. I thought all players made in the past few years supported burned DL media, but I've never had any luck with it. Is it possible the players I've tested it on have all been bad? As with scratched media, the burned DL media I've made plays fine on my computer.

[Krispy Kritter]

I assume in your reference above to DL media issues, you are referring to burned media as opposed to commercial discs. If the problem occurs on commercial discs, then you should probably have it serviced or replace it.

The first thing to consider would be media, only use Verbatim DVD+R DL media. The second, would be the program used to burn the disc. Lastly would be the burner used to burn the disc.

And of course it helps to know if the player(s) involved actually support the type of media you are using. While all newer players shouldn't have issues, that's not always the case.

[Ecthelion]

I assume in your reference above to DL media issues, you are referring to burned media as opposed to commercial discs.

I have a multiple issues, so it's easy to get them confused.
The issue of not playing DL media is indeed only for burned media (I think I said that, in fact). My DVD changer plays commercial DL media just fine - it would be a big problem if it didn't, since 90% of my commercial DVDs are DL.

However, my changer has never played burned DL DVDs correctly. I believe it's supported (it's been a while since I checked the manual), and the disc will load and the main menu will come up. However, if I select anything from the menu, the player will freeze up. This doesn't happen if I play the DVD on any of my computers. This same behavior of freezing occurs on my parents' player.


My second issue is regarding scuffed/scratched media. This media will often cause my DVD changer to stutter and skip, and some of them don't play at all. The vast majority of the time this media will play just fine on a computer.

The first thing to consider would be media, only use Verbatim DVD+R DL media.

That's all I've ever used to burn DL DVDs, and it's never played right on my DVD player or my parents' DVD player. It exhibits the behavior I describe above, in the second paragraph of this post.

The second, would be the program used to burn the disc.

Lately, I've only used Nero Vision to burn DVDs.

Lastly would be the burner used to burn the disc.

I've tried burners on two different computers. I believe one is a Memorex and the other is a Lite-On. I can get more detail if you think it will help.

And of course it helps to know if the player(s) involved actually support the type of media you are using. While all newer players shouldn't have issues, that's not always the case.

As I said, my changer is supposed to support DVD+R DL, if I'm not mistaken.

[Ecthelion]

I'm not at home, so I can't check what brand this drive shows on the bezel, but here's the info from Nero InfoTool for the drive I burn most of my discs with. I have another burner on a different computer, but I don't use it much.

Drive                      : TSSTcorp CD/DVDW SH-S162L
Type                       : DVD-RAM Recorder
Firmware Version           : TS04
Buffer Size                : 2 MB
Date                       : ?
Serial Number              : SH-S162LFirmware
Vendor Specific            :    0328 MULT  
Drive Letter               : F:\
Location                   : 5:0
Mechanism                  : Tray
Read Speed                 : 12.0 , 10.0 , 8.0 , 6.0 , 4.0 , 2.0  X
Write Speed                : 16.0 , 12.0 , 8.0 , 4.0  X

Read CD Text               : Yes
Return C2 Pointers         : Yes
Read CD-R                  : Yes
Read CD-RW                 : Yes
Read DVD-ROM               : Yes
Read DVD-RAM               : Yes
Read DVD-R                 : Yes
Read DVD-RW                : Yes
Read DVD-R DL              : Yes
Read DVD+R                 : Yes
Read DVD+RW                : Yes
Read DVD+R DL              : Yes
Read BD-ROM                : No
Read BD-R                  : No
Read BD-RE                 : No
Read HD DVD-ROM            : No
Read HD DVD-R              : No
Read HD DVD-RW             : No
Read HD-BURN               : No
Read Digital Audio         : Yes
Read CD+G                  : Yes
Read VideoCD               : Yes

Write CD-R                 : Yes
Write CD-RW                : Yes
Write DVD-R                : Yes
Write DVD-RW               : Yes
Write DVD-R DL             : Yes
Write DVD+R                : Yes
Write DVD+RW               : Yes
Write DVD+R DL             : Yes
Write DVD-RAM              : Yes
Write BD-R                 : No
Write BD-RE                : No
Write HD DVD-R             : No
Write HD DVD-RW            : No
Write HD-BURN-R            : No
Write HD-BURN-RW           : No
Buffer Underrun Protection : Yes
Mount Rainier              : No
SolidBurn                  : No
Modes                      : Packet, TAO, DAO, SAO, RAW SAO, RAW DAO, RAW SAO 16, RAW SAO 96, RAW DAO 16, RAW DAO 96

Region Protection Control  : RPC II
Region                     : 1
Changes User               : 2
Changes Vendor             : 4

[Krispy Kritter]

It's entirely possible that your changer just doesn't like DL media. The issue is likely hardware related, but a firmware update may correct it. You would have to check with the manufacturer about that. Based on the fact that it also has issues with scratched/scuffed media, I'd tend to think it is a hardware issue. If it were me, I'd be looking for a quality replacement. Seems silly, at least to me, to buy another DVD player to only play the discs the changer won't play. I'd rather have just one that functioned correctly.

As for burning, try a different burning app such as ImgBurn (free). Most users don't have issues with Nero (I don't), but it has been known to cause some issues.

It could also be a problem introduced by the way you are creating your discs. I'm assuming, these are DVD copies as opposed to avi files or whatever converted to DVD. What tools are you using?

[Ecthelion]

If it were me, I'd be looking for a quality replacement. Seems silly, at least to me, to buy another DVD player to only play the discs the changer won't play. I'd rather have just one that functioned correctly.

That would be a nice solution, but the DVD changer is also a receiver (or whatever they're called now). The speakers and other video and audio inputs come in to the changer, and I'm not really eager to change all that.

The changer does play most discs (I've never had problems with unscratched commercial discs), but the number of slightly scratched discs I have is making my annoyance grow.

It could also be a problem introduced by the way you are creating your discs. I'm assuming, these are DVD copies as opposed to avi files or whatever converted to DVD. What tools are you using?

I've done it various ways. The first DL disc I burned was a direct copy of my slightly scuffed disc. I ripped it with DVD Shrink (choosing to not actually shrink the DVD, since I wanted to use a DL disc), then used Nero Burning ROM, dropping the DVD Shrink output onto my Nero DVD-Video compilation.

More recently, I made a regular single-layer DVD using Nero Vision Express. I ripped from several different DVDs (using DVD Shrink), and used Nero Recode to create a working DVD, with a main menu linking to each video file. Some of the files were added as the VOB files DVD Shrink created, but I had trouble with a few and used Super (C) to convert them to DVD-compliant MP4s (which I then added to the Recode project). After I created the DVD with Nero Recode, I burned it.

[bluemoss]

Can you play and iso image of a movie on it from an external HD?