I have a Sony DVD player that I've been using for a number of years that has serverd me very well. I do notice that when compared to playing DVDs on a PC player that it is more prone to some of the glitches that a PC DVD player handles with no problems. Even with ripped DVDs, if the original has so data issues, they are transferred to the copy and the Sony will skip, hang, start back the beginning or even lock up. I would have thought that after it is ripped, the copy would be free of any problems but I guess it copies flaws and all. So do you know any set top box that is what I like to call more "bulletproof" and can handle funky media without skipping and hanging like that of a PC player?
Older dvd players have trouble playing burned media. Also, they have gotten better at making dvd players, even the cheaper companies. I have a JVC that I bought a few years ago. It was pricer than others because it could handle burned disks and it was also region free, meaning I can watch dvd's from around the globe on it with no problem.
This situation is not just limited to burned media. It applies to media that may be flawed. DVD players in a PC seems to be more immune to these flaws but my set top box isn't. On the surface the media may look in pretty good shape. It will show signs of wear but not any real deep scratches. So what is it about a player in a computer that enables it to perform better or is my set top box so sensitive that it can only handle near perfect DVD media?
simple... lack of hardware. Bear in mind most DVD console types, although they have anti-skipping technology, are not computers. They are based off of... what is it now 15-20 year old technology now? Technically, this is just my standpoint, the very first DVD players were discs that were vinyl record in size called 'laser disc' systems. Back then it was brands like RCA, zenith, and one other who were 'selling this'. Although there have been some changes, unfortunately the basics are the same as this unit, which was a fancier means of playing vinyl records. The media, which was actually quite easy to keep clean, could skip around like crazy if so much as a fingerprint was on it! If I'm not mistaken some of this stuff is still around, I think a good portion of junior high, or high schools still have and use these systems, but now they are more advanced, yet interestingly enough still the same disc size! Computers have encoders and decoders as do dvd players, but the console doesn't have an operating system on them to compensate. That's just my opinion, however there is one another factor: media used. To me it don't really matter what brand you buy dvd player wise, what kills anyone making backups of home movies, or if they agree to the software stipulations for doing dvd backups is the blank media each and every time! If you buy brands like windata, or store branded (i.e. compusa discs) you are going to get what you pay for... compost junk. Hell, I wouldn't even recommend memorex anymore! If its verbatim, hp, Phillips, or name banded it ought to be decent enough, especially verbatim! There one other media type that begins with a t... tanyo something, I can never remember the name to save my sorry life, but this brand is got to be the best I've run across followed by Verbatim. You know you've got good quality when a toddler who doesn't know better sticks the disc in a microwave and proceeds to accidentally nuke it... still got the disc I just recently had to change the dvd player, and it still plays.
