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Best DVD -Player- for Burned DVD Media?
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?
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.
~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
watch this
VCDHelp has a really good set of resources and forums for these types of questions.
seriouslyexcited.net
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..."
It's not that I'm Anti-American - I'm Pro-Freedom
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....
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)
Before you email me, remember: "There is no god!"
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.
"The worst tyrannies were the ones where a governance required its own logic on every embedded node." - Vernor Vinge
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 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. My Mac's (G4 & iBook) 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'.
That's exactly what I meant. I'm interested to see which brands of DVD player have highest affinty for playing DVD media (brands) for video playback.
Thanks to all that had constructive input.
Transistors and Beer!!
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.
Famous Last Words: "hmm...wikipedia says it's edible"
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.
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.
These people look deep into my soul and assign me a number based on the order I joined.
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).
[This sig space for sale. Cheap]
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.
From what I've seens so far, manufacturers have not been very honest with us.
The trick these days is:
1- release a miracle DVD player that can play anything, even the Dragon Lair's videoDisc.
2- wait untill you sell some of these.
3- ???
4- Profit!!!
where:
3- change the hardware in the second/third/... release of your miracle DVD player so it not only cannot be hacked for all regions, but cannot even play burned CDs anymore. In any case, it'll still float on the first reviews for a while.
Information is free but slow.