Posted by Andrew Virnuls on 07/23/06 11:06

"Sam" <n/a> wrote in message news:12bmppc2b12io3e@corp.supernews.com...
>I have an old Wharfedale 750 (about 6 or 7 years old) which I am perfectly
>happy with when playing my own DVDs, which are all in pristine condition.
>However, it struggles with the majority of DVDs I rent from Blockbuster,
>probably because they are scratched to b*gg*ry. (The "toothpaste" fix I
>have heard of doesn't help very often either.)
>
> My PC seems to cope much better with scatched DVDs.
>
> Do modern stand-alone DVD players cope better too? If so, why? Is it a
> read speed issue, or some other technology that helps?

I think there's something going on with newer discs that upsets older
players.

My player plays about half of the rented DVDs, even if they're scratched.
Others freeze even though they look perfect. All my older discs play
perfectly, as do most of my newer ones such as Live8, but BBC discs such as
The Office and The Mighty Boosh seem to be particularly troublesome.

Is there some sort of attempted copy protection (as used with CDs) that
makes them deviate from spec?

Andrew

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