Please create an account to participate in the Slashdot moderation system

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Upgrades Hardware

Best DVD -Player- for Burned DVD Media? 31

Posted by Cliff from the for-playing-your-own-movies dept.
multiOSfreak asks: "I recently picked up a DVD-R/RW drive on the cheap, and I was wondering which component DVD players have the widest latitude of compatibility with 'burned' DVD media. I have a Toshiba SD-1600, and it's very picky about the media (so far, it will only play Princo and Verbatim DataLife +). I've looked at a ton of sites on DVD players, but none of them gave comments from actual users on how well they worked, firmware upgrades, etc. Epinions is okay, but the level of knowledge of most reviewers is nowhere near that of the Slashdot community." What DVD Players are the least picky about the media they use?
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Best DVD -Player- for Burned DVD Media? More

Best DVD -Player- for Burned DVD Media?

Comments Filter:

  • Google results from the Mysterious Future (Score:5, Informative)

    by GoRK ( 10018 ) on Thursday March 06, 2003 @02:34PM (#5450783) Homepage Journal
    Have you tried the DVD Player compatibility list? It will let you search for players that support whatever type of media and formats you want. I don't know how you could have checked "a ton of sites" and missed this.

    Anyway, go Here [dvdrhelp.com].

    ~GoRK

  • I've looked at a ton of sites on DVD players, but none of them gave comments from actual users on how well they worked, firmware upgrades, etc.

    It would help us to help you if you could list some of these "ton of sites" so that we don't end up suggesting the same places to look. Have you looked at vcdhelp.com? They have a fairly good list of DVD players which also lists what types of burnable media they will play.

    I hope that helps you,
    GMD

  • VCD Help (Score:5, Informative)

    by galaxy300 ( 111408 ) <<moc.liamg> <ta> <yenoornotlad>> on Thursday March 06, 2003 @02:46PM (#5450923) Homepage
    VCDHelp [vcdhelp.com] has a really good set of resources and forums for these types of questions.

  • Off the cuff I haven't found any large scale db of the type you are looking for, everything I have seen is limited to player compatibility with the types of media rather than the specific brands.
    It gets even more complicated when you realise that I have 2 different brands of DVD+R/RW burners and the disks they burn are not the same even when using the same media. I have a Sony S7700 that plays datawrite media when burned in a ricoh burner but has problems when burnt in the other (aopen I think). Disks burnt by either play fine in some other players but I've seen a lot of anoying inconsistencies..
    What you really need is a list that cross references burner to media to player - potentially a vast number of possibilities.

    The only reliable tactic I have found is "try it and see..."

  • I feel your pain (Score:4, Interesting)

    by hawkbug ( 94280 ) <psxNO@SPAMfimble.com> on Thursday March 06, 2003 @03:20PM (#5451295) Homepage
    I have the same problem as you - I have a Sony Playstation 2, and I have been converting a lot of home movies to DVD recently, and getting seriously pissed off in the process. The stupid PS2 only seems to like Verbatim DVD-R discs, and nothing else. I mean, you can use other brands, but your movies will skip horribly in parts, and sometimes the machine won't see the disc at all. What's even more frustrating is that I bought a 10 pack of Memorex DVD-R discs once for like $45 (which is waaay to much if you ask me) and they worked great. I went through them quickly, and bought another pack, exact same brand, from the exact same store - and my PS2 won't read a single one. So, my frustration level is growing rapidly as I try to find discs that work that I can find cheap. Verbatim has been the only brand of DVD-R that work for me in both my PS2 and my Sony set-top DVD player. Somebody needs to seriously start producing good quality discs for a reasonable price....
    • > I have a Sony Playstation 2, and I have been converting a lot of home movies to DVD recently, and getting seriously pissed off in the process. The stupid PS2 only seems to like Verbatim DVD-R discs, and nothing else

      You probably have an older PS2, and since the Verbatim are highly quality then the "no-name" brand, they are the only ones working for you.

      You *can* use other media -- it depends on which *version* of the PS2 you have. The newer version 7 has much better support for media.
      US PS2 Versions [afterdawn.com]
      UK PS2 Versions [netpcdirect.co.uk]

      I've been using Ritek http://www.allmediaoutlet.com/P-DVD-R-4.7-R100free .html [allmediaoutlet.com] burning at 2x on my Sony DRU-500, and they have played perfectly so far in my PS2. (Last month I picked up a 100 pack for $104, plus free shipping ... not too bad!!)

      As always, check Reseller Ratings [resellerratings.com] before buying online.

      Cheers
      • I don't think Verbatim makes manufacturers their own media so quality is a crap-shoot, just like Memorex, Sony, and even TDK (who manufacturers their own media but also OEM from other sources). Fuji, I feel, is better since they OEM from Taiyo-Yuden often for their CD-Rs.

        It's better to go with companies who have more control of their products. Taiyo-Yuden, Pioneer, Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and Ritek (beware of the fake ones that was dumped onto the market several months back) come to mind.

        The forums on cdfreaks.com and cdrlabs talk about deals as well as manufacturer of the media. Why save money on media if you don't know how long they will last?
    • Dude, Im sorry about your pain, I am a die hard PS2 lover and own a dvd+r. I have burned on 4 different brands of discs and never had a problem, every single brand of DVD+R I have tried plays in my Playstation2, along with that I also own Toshiba, Sony and Apex DVD players and all of my DVD+Rs play in those as well. Sound like you should dump the old school DVD-R format and get a DVD+R. I saw a 50 pack of DVD+R at Bestbuy last week for 80$. That sounds like a pretty fair price to me. My movies play 100%, with no skipping. Good luck

  • Xbox (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Ashran ( 107876 ) on Thursday March 06, 2003 @03:47PM (#5451571) Homepage
    My XBOX eats everything I throw at it :)

    ps.: Dont buy Primco - C'T revealed how sucky they are.
    I've had very good results with TraxData (2.00 - 2.50 EUR a piece)
    • Mine won't touch *any* movie burned with NERO... (where you have your VOB/IFO files pre-layed out, and just dump them in NERO) but plays fine when burned with any other program.
      • Hmm, I've tried to burn a movie (ifo/vob files) few days ago and STOMP just refused to do it (job returned -1).
        Nero burned it fine and I just playtested it and works fine :)

        Not sure what the problem might be. Are you using a recent version of Nero ?
  • You can find out online which players claim to support which formats. But even among players that support DVD-R (and/or other burnable DVD and CD formats), there is alot of variation.

    The media you buy, and the software package you use to burn can matter alot.

    Until support for this kind of thing matures to the point of everything being compatible with everything else, I'd recommend you just burn a few test DVDs and VCDs to take to the store and test on the models you're interested in. It prevents nasty surprises and incompatibilities with your burning setup. I certainly plan to when I get my next player.
  • I tried about 10 types of media and I found that just as important as the type of media was how/what you used to record. The settings in Nero are very important. If I selected UDF 1.02 I could use cheap media (less than $1) and still be able to play everything in all of my DVD players. I have 6 DVD players: a 3 year-old Sony, a new Sony, RCA TV/DVD/VHS combo, a newer JVC, an APEX and a Bluapunkt.

    I purchased 5 packs of about 10 different DVD-R media and went to work. It took 2 weeks of playing with the settings and burning the same 30 minutes of video to 40+ discs but I found a low cost media that worked for me. It won't work in all the players that I have tried it in, but it works in all of mine.

    My suggestion would be to visit www.dvdrhelp.com [dvdrhelp.com] and visit the forums. Find others that are using the same DVD recorder (DVD-R or DVD+R) that you have and read, read, read.

    Old7
  • I have more DVD players than I can count [no-ip.org]. My Mac's (G4 & iBook) [no-ip.org] and my Tredex 8010 consumer player seem to be the best bets.

    I burn my own DVD's and buy DVD/VCDs from around the world. I want to know that I can play anything I burn or anything I buy and bring home. So far, so good. In terms of being able to play a given format, the Tredex wins over Toshiba, Sony, JVC, Samsung, etc. Try DTS music sometime if you want to really trip up a comsumer player.

    If you can't find a Tredex, try Apex...any of the discount off brands...they seem to be a bit more 'compliant'.
    • > I have more DVD players than I can count [no-ip.org].

      Funny, I count 2. I suppose you could count the PS2 and the macs which would bring it up to 5.

      When did slashdot turn into a forum for bragging about how much people spend on their hardware?

      Nice setup though :)

      BTW, I have between 49,000 and 1.2 million DVD players. Oh wait, no, it's just the one, my mistake.
      • Don't hate me cause I'm pretty :) - I work for one of the largest electronics manuf. in Asia, and video equipment of all types is more than just a hobby. I can also afford to feed that hobby.

        The ones you can count are the ones that are online. I don't count the one in the car....the ones I've brought to Asia in the past 4 years that are no longer useful (unable to region free/ no DTS, etc)....the ones I've taken in trade for other equipment I have stored at home waiting for me to convert to region free status and/or find a use for...the ones on my desk at work that feed the 24" LCD's on my desk...the ones I've loaned to friends that can't afford anything more than a used VCR, and the ones I've rescued from the trash. If I counted the ones in the lab that I get to play with, we would need a warehouse.

        Sorry, but I get to roll around in this gear, and when it comes time to list what I like to use on a daily basis, that list changes on a weekly basis. R & D is more than just a line on my business card...I'm a lucky guy.
        • OK, don't get me wrong. I'd love to have money to spend on AV gear. What I don't get is why anyone would need more than one DVD player. I suppose I could justify getting one for every TV (again only one for me) but I would rather spend the cash on buying DVDs or going to an acutal movie in an acutal theater. Not to mention the kind of money you could spend on projectors, sound systems, theater seats, etc. I guess I can understand you having them if that's your job, but the problem I have is I just don't find it impressive when people brag about how they have wasted their money.
          It just seems pointless to own several identical things when one would work just as well. On that note I think I'll go drink several of the identical beers I have in my fridge.
          • I guess it's like having more than one car or one mountain bike or more than one girlfriend. And yes, I have more than one of each of those. If one doesn't suit your needs, you switch to the backup. Maybe one beer suits your needs, but I like variety and options, etc.

            In the case of DVD players, I use the Tredex due to all the formats it will support, and the fact that it came to me as region free. I had a VCR that I used as a tuner to juggle the TV signal feed out of the wall, but I moved that to use with my Macs, so I picked up a combo DVD-VCR player as a replacement.

            This gave me two DVD players on the main component setup. I recently mod'd the combo DVD-VCR to be region free, but it still won't play all of the discs that the Tredex will, and since it is also my VCR and tuner for one of my TV sources, it stays and that leaves me with two DVD players online...then there is the Sony PS2, and the iBook, so that comes to four...then the Mac G4 that feeds audio/video wireless to the home theater system, so that comes to at least 5 players online. I'm looking for a 5 disc DVD changer, and as soon as I find one that meets my needs (region free and multi-format), it will be included in the home theater system. Choice is good...drop by sometime. I'll be happy to demonstrate.
  • a couple of my friends have Apex dvd players and I swear they have been enchanted by the "play anything you could ever imagine" fairy, and they are cheap. I would highly recommend them, though the best bet would be to find all your friends with dvd players and try them all out, find a brand that works best for you and buy that brand.
  • I've had good luck with my Mintek 1600. It has played everything I've thrown at it including raw mpegs(!!) I haven't tried many DVD-/+Rs, but it gets good reviews on vcdhelp.com (http://www.dvdrhelp.com/dvdplayers.php?DVDname=mi ntek+1600&Submit=Search&Search=Search) and is only $50 at best buy.
  • The SD-1600 (a DVD player, not DVD-R/RW) has static-filled playback of my CD-R. All my other CD/DVD players have no problem. Makes me think twice now about toshiba DVD players (the SD-1600 was highly rated by Consumer Reports when I bought it).
  • I have been experimenting (wasting money, making coasters. I just wish the damn things did soak up water) for the last year and half.

    I have three standalone players: a Pioneer DVL-909 (fairly old LD/DVD combo player), a Sony PS2 (early US generation, first day purchase), and a Sony NS-300 (fairly inexpensive). I also have several DVD-ROMS, a couple plexwriter's, and a Dell laptop DVD (not sure who makes it).

    Other than the DVD-ROM's, the Pioneer is the best, even though it is the oldest, the only thing I have found that it won't play are SVCD's. It will even play, supposeded 1x Ritek's, that have been burned at 2x. The Sony's suck, with the PS2 being the worst (I mostly chalk that up to it being an early edition).

    Media wise I have found that the lighter the purple back on the media, the less my chances are that it is going to work in the Sony's. I bought some VERY cheap (0.60/per), no names, that the purple was very faint, even the Pioneer had problems with these. I have gone to Ritek's, which are ~0.80-0.90/per (in stacks of 100) and have had good luck with them (I get about 1 coaster in 50).

    I recently burned some stuff for a friend that has an Apple TiBook and one of those standalone players that also plays MP3, CD's (it's a clone of the one's that Circuit City sells). He could play the media in his TiBook, but the standalone, no way.

    My advice would be, pick a DVD player for the features you want, looks at the compatibility list (that other posters have referenced), make sure it will play the types of DVD/CD's you want to make, and buy it. You will still have to run through a couple of types of media to figure out which works for you.

    I buy my media at www.supermediastore.com, they have good prices, and they also sell sampler packs, so that you can do expermentation (wish they had sold those a year ago ;)

    Hope this helps.

Slashdot Top Deals

THEGODDESSOFTHENETHASTWISTINGFINGERSANDHERVOICEISLIKEAJAVELININTHENIGHTDUDE

Close