Posted by Biz on 01/10/17 11:35

"GRL" <GLitwinski@CHARTERMI.NET> wrote in message
news:4oArf.5702$jJ.4674@fe03.lga...
> I have had a series of DVD players starting with $200 Toshiba, then a $200
> Pioneer, then a $200 Panasonic, then a $300 Panasonic changer, then a $500
> Toshiba TIVO HD-equipped DVD player, then a $50 Philips, and recently I
> bought a $30 Coby for the kitchen.
>
> What I have found is that all of the relatively expensive players do a
> pathetic job in terms of playing recordable DVD's while the cheap Philips
> and Coby will play anything I put in them with no problems whatsoever. I
> record DVD+R's with the book type set to DVD-ROM. That is about as
> compatible as one can get. Name brand media only.
>
> Now my question is, do the name brands go out of their way to design in an
> inability to reliably play recordable DVD's or are the people in China who
> design and manufacture the cheap stuff just that much more talented than
the
> people who work for the name brand outfits?
>
> I mean it is really ridiculous that if you want a player that will play
> anything, you have to buy a cheap one knowing full well that the odds of
it
> breaking in a year or so are high while you can't buy a better brand
because
> it just will not play some of your discs. On the other hand, at $30 a
> player, even if it lasts just a year that beats the heck out of paying
$150
> for, say, a Panasonic that will give you years of frustration.
>
> End of rant.
>
>
>
As you probably know but didnt bother to address in your rant, newer players
are more compatible with recordable media even from the namebrand mfrs. And
your player history I'm sure has occurred over many years. One thing going
against most of the inexpensive offbrand players is PQ, its lousy, and the
remotes suck...but if all you want is the ability to play recordable media,
knock yourself out...overcompressed copies are not my idea of watching a
dvd. I came from LD's, and I got into dvds due to the much higher picture
and sound quality available, I'm not going to sacrifice the PQ by watching a
bunch of copies, except for family home movies put to dvd....My last 2
players, a Pioneer DV-363, and a DV-563 have had very good media
compatibility, plus the PQ and remote control is way better than those
crappy offbranded models. Plus I expect my Pioneer's to give me several
years of trouble free service. Now go back to 1998 to my first standalone
player, a Toshiba SD-3109, it wouldn't even play recordable cds....but it
wasnt meant to. Lets face it, blank media and commerical pressed media is
not the same, and it was never meant to be. If all you look at is the price
and how many different media formats it will play as a measure of how good
it is, you're beyond help...

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