Techie help!!! Regarding DVDs

Cajuncowboy

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I have a DVD player and a PS2. I am having a problem when I play DVDs in either of these machines in that it gets part way through the movie and it starts to freak out and gets those digital blocks on it and then skips chapters and such. It's not just one movie it's most all of them on both players. But when I put the disks into my Computer they play fine. Anyone have a solution for this or know what is the problem. I did buy a dvd cleaner that you put into the systems to clean them but it hasn't worked. By the way the ps2 games work fine in the ps2. ANy help or advise would be greatly appreciated.
 

Aussie Cowboy

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I sometimes have this problem with rented DVD's because they aren't looked after properly. Not sure if that is your problem.
 

Cajuncowboy

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Aussie Cowboy said:
I sometimes have this problem with rented DVD's because they aren't looked after properly. Not sure if that is your problem.

I'm sure it's not that because we are fairly Anal retentive when it comes to that kind of stuff keeping them in good condition. I can't seem to figure out what the problem is though. :(
 

BrAinPaiNt

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cajuncowboy said:
I'm sure it's not that because we are fairly Anal retentive when it comes to that kind of stuff keeping them in good condition. I can't seem to figure out what the problem is though. :(


Are these ones you are trying to play....recorded DVDs?

Is your DVD player an older one?

I went and got a DVD burner for my computer....And it records most DVDs fine....however they will NOT play on my DVD home theater system and if they do it is so slow and choppy that you can not watch the DVD.

The DVD home theater system is 3-4 years old ...however I think due to the newer encoding that some DVDs are using (and with the recorded ones) the system does not support the decoding part of it.

I paid Quite a bit for the DVD system at the time...and then I went and got the cheapest Apex DVD player that I could find (around $50 at the time) and it plays all of the DVDs even the recorded ones.

I think it has to do with the encoding and decoding being newer in many of the DVDs...funny thing though is that if I buy a DVD or Rent one I do not have the problem...only if I record them and try to play them on the older DVD system.
 

adbutcher

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cajuncowboy said:
I have a DVD player and a PS2. I am having a problem when I play DVDs in either of these machines in that it gets part way through the movie and it starts to freak out and gets those digital blocks on it and then skips chapters and such. It's not just one movie it's most all of them on both players. But when I put the disks into my Computer they play fine. Anyone have a solution for this or know what is the problem. I did buy a dvd cleaner that you put into the systems to clean them but it hasn't worked. By the way the ps2 games work fine in the ps2. ANy help or advise would be greatly appreciated.

It could be the result of data rot. Also PS2 DVD playback has bee quite troublesome since its initial launch.

As far as your DVD player, what kind is it? Is it still under warranty?

There are a lot of cheaper brands out there and sometimes they have a lot more quality escapements. I will suggest you try a friends DVD player, so you can rule out it is not the DVD player.

CDs and DVDs Not So Immortal After All

Wed May 5, 8:41 PM ET Add Technology - AP to My Yahoo!


By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer

Dan Koster was unpacking some of his more than 2,000 CDs after a move when he noticed something strange. Some of the discs, which he always took good care of, wouldn't play properly.

Koster, a Web and graphic designer for Queens University of Charlotte, N.C., took one that was skipping pretty badly and held it up to the light.


"I was kind of shocked to see a constellation of pinpricks, little points where the light was coming through the aluminum layer," he says.


His collection was suffering from "CD rot," a gradual deterioration of the data-carrying layer. It's not known for sure how common the blight is, but it's just one of a number of reasons that optical discs, including DVDs, may be a lot less long-lived than first thought.


"We were all told that CDs were well-nigh indestructible when they were introduced in the mid '80s," Koster says. "Companies used that in part to justify the higher price of CDs as well."


He went through his collection and found that 15 percent to 20 percent of the discs, most of which were produced in the '80s, were "rotted" to some extent.


The rotting can be due to poor manufacturing, according to Jerry Hartke, who runs Media Sciences Inc., a Marlborough, Mass., laboratory that tests CDs.


The aluminum layer that reflects the light of the player's laser is separated from the CD label by a thin layer of lacquer. If the manufacturer applied the lacquer improperly, air can penetrate to oxidize the aluminum, eating it up much like iron rusts in air.


But in Hartke's view, it's more common that discs are rendered unreadable by poor handling by the owner.


"If people treat these discs rather harshly, or stack them, or allow them to rub against each other, this very fragile protective layer can be disturbed, allowing the atmosphere to interact with that aluminum," he says.


Part of the problem is that most people believe that it's the clear underside of the CD that is fragile, when in fact it's the side with the label. Scratches on the underside have to be fairly deep to cause skipping, while scratches on the top can easily penetrate to the aluminum layer. Even the pressure of a pen on the label side can dent the aluminum, rendering the CD unreadable.


Koster has taken to copying his CDs on his computer to extend the life of the recordings. Unfortunately, it's not easy to figure out how long those recordable CDs will work.


Fred Byers, an information technology specialist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, has looked at writeable CDs on behalf of government agencies, including the Library of Congress (news - web sites), that need to know how long their discs will last.


Manufacturers cite lifespans up to 100 years, but without a standardized test, it's very hard to evaluate their claims, Byers says. The worst part is that manufacturers frequently change the materials and manufacturing methods without notifying users.


"When you go to a store and buy a DVD-R, and this goes for CD-R as well, you really don't know what you're getting," he says. "If you buy a particular brand of disc, and then get the same disc and brand six months later, it can be very different."


This renders the frequently heard advice to buy name-brand discs for maximum longevity fairly moot, he says.


DVDs are a bit tougher than CDs in the sense that the data layer (or layers — some discs have two) is sandwiched in the middle of the disc between two layers of plastic. But this structure causes problems of its own, especially in early DVDs. The glue that holds the layers together can lose its grip, making the disc unreadable at least in parts.

Users that bend a DVD to remove it from a hard-gripping case are practically begging for this problem, because flexing the disc puts strain on the glue.

Rewriteable CDs and DVDs, as opposed to write-once discs, should not be used for long-term storage because they contain a heat-sensitive layer that decays much faster than the metal layers of other discs.

For maximum longevity, discs should be stored vertically and only be handled by the edges. Don't stick labels on them, and in the case of write-once CDs, don't write on them with anything but soft water-based or alcohol-based markers.

Also, like wine, discs should be stored in a cool, dry place. Koster's friend Mark Irons, of Corvallis, Ore., stored his CD collection in a cabin heated by a wood-burning stove. The temperature would range between 40 degrees and 70 degrees in the space of a few hours. Now, the data layer of some of his CDs looks as if it's being eaten from the outside.

Irons is still pretty happy with CD technology, since it beats vinyl LPs and tape for longevity. Now that he's moved his discs to an apartment with a more stable temperature, he's noticed that the decay has slowed.

"I'm hoping they'll hold out till that next medium gets popular, and everyone gets to buy everything over again," he says.

___
 

jterrell

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cajuncowboy said:
I have a DVD player and a PS2. I am having a problem when I play DVDs in either of these machines in that it gets part way through the movie and it starts to freak out and gets those digital blocks on it and then skips chapters and such. It's not just one movie it's most all of them on both players. But when I put the disks into my Computer they play fine. Anyone have a solution for this or know what is the problem. I did buy a dvd cleaner that you put into the systems to clean them but it hasn't worked. By the way the ps2 games work fine in the ps2. ANy help or advise would be greatly appreciated.
If you are burning dvds than the awsner is quite simply that burnt dvds hold less data thus the lesser performance.
Try dvdshrink(free, just search in google or p2p) and other products to see what works best for your players to decipher.

If these are store bought then you may need firmware upgrades on Both systems which basically means they are outdated.
 

BadMeetsEvil

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BrAinPaiNt said:
I paid Quite a bit for the DVD system at the time...and then I went and got the cheapest Apex DVD player that I could find (around $50 at the time) and it plays all of the DVDs even the recorded ones.

Just to note -- Apex's are the best DVD players out there. They aren't all flashy or have a big name to them but they do the job and then some. For the price you can't beat it.
 

iceberg

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BrAinPaiNt said:
Are these ones you are trying to play....recorded DVDs?

Is your DVD player an older one?

I went and got a DVD burner for my computer....And it records most DVDs fine....however they will NOT play on my DVD home theater system and if they do it is so slow and choppy that you can not watch the DVD.

The DVD home theater system is 3-4 years old ...however I think due to the newer encoding that some DVDs are using (and with the recorded ones) the system does not support the decoding part of it.

I paid Quite a bit for the DVD system at the time...and then I went and got the cheapest Apex DVD player that I could find (around $50 at the time) and it plays all of the DVDs even the recorded ones.

I think it has to do with the encoding and decoding being newer in many of the DVDs...funny thing though is that if I buy a DVD or Rent one I do not have the problem...only if I record them and try to play them on the older DVD system.

2nd tech post i read from bp and both balls on accurate. (other being don't mess with raid if that's all your doing).

this is *everything* to do with encoding. DVD-R DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD +-R and RW - and not all formats will play on all players. don't even get into DVD-RAM.

your burner will play it cause it knows the format. computer dvd drives are more forviging usually. high end players don't focus on wide compatibility like apex does. you won't get the "performance" from an apex, but $ for $ it's the best buy out there. i just can't hook an apex to my denon or klipsch or hdtv - i'd feel "dirty".
 
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