DVD Player Advice Wanted

[WoD]

get a cheapo from Asda...25-35 quid...most have a multi-region crack on the remote, and if you've not got a state of the art TV then why worry about the quality too much...they always look OK to me...

[Dudley]

My ?25 DVD player from Asda continues to work perfectly 4 months after purchase.  

[WoD]

Their returns policy is great too, my mother took a player back, straight swap, no hassles...easy peasy...

Duds...did you crack yours to be 'region free'?

And have you read any amended synopsis recently...with added sleaze?

[Oddboy]

The DVD drive on the PS2, for instance, could barely handle it

My PS2 plays DVDs fine - never had a problem with it.

[Noisybast]

"128MB "

Er, bit more detail required, Ade!
I meant more like what OS are you running?
CPU speed?
How much RAM do you have?
How much free HDD space?

What is the 128MB? Is that your onboard RAM? If so, that's quite low, and could be why your DVDs are stuttering.

Similarly, if that's free HDD space, you might want to clear some space out. try deleting the contents of your Temp folder and any cached web files (which can get quite bloated if you don't do it too often).

If your PC is fairly low-spec, you might want to just go for a standalone player. It's probably less hassle than doing the necessary upgrades.

If you haven't already tried it, you might want to try this app for playing your DVDs - should simplify things a bit:

Link: http://www.gocyberlink.com/multi/download/trials_1_ENU.html" target="_blank">CyberLink PowerDVD

[Woolly]

"My ?25 DVD player from Asda continues to work perfectly 4 months after purchase."

I used to own a cheapo player, which i too thought was fantastic.
Until, that is, i managed to get a top-end machine cheap on ebay. The difference in quality is jaw-dropping!

Sorry to show off an all that, but cheapo players are allways cheap for a reason!

-Wul-the-quality-freak

[Woolly]

Admittedly i do watch on a projector and can probably spot the difference better.

[philt]

Na you should be able to tell the difference on any reasonable TV connected via the SCART cable.
I'd echo what was also said. Cheap DVD players are cheap for a reason. But then this applies to all electrical products. And frankly at ?99.99 the Pioneer suggested above is not exactly expensive

*looks at his Pioneer DVL909 player he bought in 1998 for ?900*

[Quirkafleeg]

As a side-question... were DVDs in genreal use in 1999? I can't remember when I first got mine

[Dudley]

Wul - My last DVD player was ?168 (wedding present).  I honestly can't tell the difference.  Like you say, you pretty much need top-of-the-line equipment all the way through to see the difference.  Or a really bloody huge screen.

[Max Kon]

not really, there were only about 50 comercially released then. I know this cause i got my dvd drive end of 98, no dvds on sale, end off 99 still harldy any. But now, wow. i thouhgt it had died end of 99, glad i was wrong

[Rex Banner]

I got a dvd player end of 98. A Sony that is huge, weighs loads and cost over ?800 and I was paying ?25+ for Region 1 dvds.

On the subject of laptops & dvds - how can I multi-region my laptop? I can change regions but I get they message you can only change regions another 4 times.

[WoD]

ahh..theres a piece of software that'll mask that...I'll have to have a look and see if I can find it...either that or google for it (or wait for m@t to arrive)

[philt]

I remember when I bought my Pioneer (Aug 98)heading round to HMV in Belfast. "Do you have any DVD's?" I asked.

"er DV what?" was the reply.

I ended up in an independent record shop were I bought "The Quick and The Dead" for the pricely sum of ?17.99. "Bargain" I thought having been used to paying ?29.99 for laserdiscs..

As for not being able to see the difference between a cheap player and an expensive one. Sorry I simply din't agree that there is no difference. However it doesn't surprise me that some people can't see the difference. If you'v bought a cheap DVD player then more than likely you've an equally cheap TV (one of those ?199.99 specials out of Asda) which are usually so crap that'd you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between DVD and VHS let alone a good DVD player and a cheap one. It's also interesting to note how few people actually buy a nice widescreen tv and then don't configure them properly do that peoples heads aren't chopped off or suddenly gain then lose weight depending on where they are on the screen thanks to the lousy stretch modes they employ. But then I suppose people only see the price - If you buy a set with a soft picture it is astonishing how quickly you'll get used to it. This can be the only explanation for why people are so happy to fork out huge sums on frankly inadequate LCD tv's.
Last week I saw HDTV going for the first time. It is superb, in fact it was much better than the Philips LCD TV was capable of showing. LCD like Mp3 - the great technological leap back

[Art]

I'm sticking with flatscreens from now on, due to the huge technological leap forwards of not breaking your back when you carry them up stairs.

And my Sony looks bloody lovely.