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  • #16
    hi aaron

    hi aaron. thanks for the reply. yeah, makes sense.

    i like the dvddemystified site and the videohelp.com sites. lots of interesting info there....
    525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?

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    • #17
      Re: DVD players

      After 2-1/2 years of good service my Magnavox DVD player (model number: MSD124) decided to call it quits. Just picked up another Magnavox DVD player (model DP100MW8B) from Wal-Mart for aroun $33.

      I was considering buying a combo DVD/VCR unit only to reduce the number of remotes to deal with which is currently at 4.

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      • #18
        Re: DVD players

        Originally posted by helen View Post
        I was considering buying a combo DVD/VCR unit only to reduce the number of remotes to deal with which is currently at 4.
        Almost exactly five years ago we spent $228 on a 20" TV/VCR combo and the VCR is dying. Maybe it's less hassle to buy an all-in-one remote instead of having just one part of a multi-component device fail.

        Or buying Craigslist. We picked up a 20" "SuperScan" (Sears generic) DVD/VCR replacement for $80.
        Youth may be wasted on the young, but retirement is wasted on the old.
        Live like you're dying, invest like you're immortal.
        We grow old if we stop playing, but it's never too late to have a happy childhood.
        Forget about who you were-- discover who you are.

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        • #19
          Re: DVD players

          I just skimmed over some of the older posts in this thread... again on region-free DVD players.... today you can buy them for fairly cheap at Don Quijote Keeaumoku Street for less than $50. They usually are no-name knock off brands, but I assume they work just fine.

          Funny thing about DVD players. If you buy a more expensive name brand they seem to last longer. The 1998 Panasonic DVD player I first bought works like a charm as it sees service at my Mom's place on the Big Island. The second Panasonic DVD player that I bought in 2001 or so works fine here at my home some 7 years later.

          I paid about $150 for the first Panasonic and about $99 for the second.

          Around 2003 I bought a Yamanaha DVD player mainly to use as a second MP3 player. That cost about $60 and in 2 years it broke. Could not track any DVD or other disc media.

          So I guess the bottom line here is try to stick with a known brand for quality and durability.
          I'm still here. Are you?

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          • #20
            Re: DVD players

            Originally posted by helen View Post
            I was watching The Longest Day and every 2 or 3 minutes the player would pause the movie and then continue on.
            I recently watched a movie on my PS2, and the player would briefly pause the movie every 15 seconds or so. Although it didn't stop the film altogether, it was quite annoying. I've been told by friends that it's because I have a newer PS2 and that the older players wouldn't give me such a problem. Interesting ...

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            • #21
              Re: DVD players

              Originally posted by mel View Post
              If you buy a more expensive name brand they seem to last longer. The 1998 Panasonic DVD player I first bought works like a charm as it sees service at my Mom's place on the Big Island. The second Panasonic DVD player that I bought in 2001 or so works fine here at my home some 7 years later. --- So I guess the bottom line here is try to stick with a known brand for quality and durability.
              Makes sense. It's usually the mechanical aspects of the gear that wear out, faster than the electronic components, so the "name" brands tend to be more reliably built.

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              • #22
                Re: DVD players

                Not sure if it's okay to mention other forums here, but there was one at nerd-out.com which got very specific about DVD hacks and players that are region free, along with NTSC players that can convert PAL discs without getting another piece of hardware.

                I'm in the market for a new one myself, but would like for it to play files encoded in DIVX, perhaps one that uses lossless files, DTS capability, etc. There are also some nice Universal players that also play DVD-A's and SACD's (for us music junkies), and reviews have been good so far.

                At least we're far from the days when it wasn't possible to play burned DVD's. I recently got rid of a player that didn't play any of my Criterion DVD's. Maybe the movies were too good?

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                • #23
                  Re: DVD players

                  Originally posted by johmbolaya View Post
                  At least we're far from the days when it wasn't possible to play burned DVD's. I recently got rid of a player that didn't play any of my Criterion DVD's. Maybe the movies were too good?
                  They're certainly expensive enough to demand service from the DVD player tasked to play them.

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                  • #24
                    Re: DVD players

                    Originally posted by mel View Post
                    Are there other brands of region free DVD players readily available in the U.S. and/or Hawaii?
                    Try Toys N Joy in Aiea or Kaimuki.

                    I'm on my second DVD player but only because I wanted to replace an Apex 3-disc player with a JVC 7-disc (so far, going on 5 years).

                    Yeah, I'm too lazy to put one disc at a time, especially when it comes to the LOTR Extended Edition Set (6 disc total for the 3 movies alone) or the Harry Potter film series (so far 5 film discs total).

                    I've yet to see a hi-def DVD changer in the market.
                    Last edited by Random; January 27, 2008, 12:53 PM.
                    Beijing 8-08-08 to 8-24-08

                    Tiananmen Square 4-15-89 to 6-04-89

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                    • #25
                      Re: DVD players

                      Originally posted by helen View Post
                      One thing I can not fathom out is while DVD players are kind of inexpensive, they don't last very well. Picked up my 3rd DVD player which is a Magnavox this past weekend for about $38 from Sam's Club to replace a 2 year old Koss DVD player.

                      I remember my first DVD player cost about $150 but that was in 1999 or so.
                      Well Helen getting back to your original post on why they don't last that long, If you pay $38 for a DVD player, expect $38 worth of quality construction and parts.

                      Now I just recently purchased a Sony DVD/VHS recorder (records either way). I paid $250 for this thing but this is quality all the way. When I dubbed a VHS tape of Mars Attacks to DVD it transferred the 5.1 DTS encoding and because it had a line-quadrupler the DVD dub came out sharper than the original VHS.

                      My Sony (RDR-VX555) has HDMI, Composite, S-Video, Video and RF outputs as well as Optical and RCA audio outputs.

                      This is one solid machine.
                      Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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                      • #26
                        Re: DVD players

                        Originally posted by Random View Post
                        I've yet to see a hi-def DVD changer in the market.
                        I take it the 400-disc Sony DVP-CX995V ain't quite what you mean?

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                        • #27
                          Re: DVD players

                          Originally posted by Leo Lakio View Post
                          I take it the 400-disc Sony DVP-CX995V ain't quite what you mean?
                          I cannot fathom the reason why for anything more than a three disc changer (even that can be too much). To sit thru more than one movie at a time even for this couch potato is too much for me.
                          Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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                          • #28
                            Re: DVD players

                            Originally posted by craigwatanabe View Post
                            I cannot fathom the reason why for anything more than a three disc changer (even that can be too much).
                            Many audiophiles prefer DVD players over standard CD players, as they tend to have better quality digital-to-analog converters, so I could see them being a market for these. For others, it's a matter of storage - load all your DVDs into this one box, rather than having the cases take up limited shelf space.

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                            • #29
                              Re: DVD players

                              Originally posted by Leo Lakio View Post
                              Many audiophiles prefer DVD players over standard CD players, as they tend to have better quality digital-to-analog converters, so I could see them being a market for these. For others, it's a matter of storage - load all your DVDs into this one box, rather than having the cases take up limited shelf space.
                              I can see the advantage of your points. But one thing I've come accustomed to with DVD/CD changers is that they tend to break faster than single disc transport players and if you're a digital audio purist (oxymoron) you'll want the sonic resonant stability of a single disc transport system.

                              I know I'm taking it up a notch in audio purity but if you can feel comfortable listening to CD's with a multi-transport system, then you really don't need the higher quality aspects of a DVD's superior D/A converter.

                              It's like listening to a virgin vinyl record on a Micro Seiki turntable hooked up to a Mark Levenson amp and then thru cheap ass Broksonic speakers.

                              For me my hearing has gotten so bad (after 25-years in the radio biz wearing headphones) my once audio purist ears couldn't tell the buzz from a defective DA converter to my tinnitus so I just buy what sounds good enough to me. Before I could distinguish when a High C note from a trumpet could resonate against the sampling rate of the CD Player and cause a harmonic breakdown of the audio. Now I swat around my head thinking it's a buzzing mosquito
                              Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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                              • #30
                                Re: DVD players

                                Originally posted by craigwatanabe View Post
                                the sonic resonant stability of a single disc transport system.
                                You got me stumped on this one, CW. The transport system should have no effect whatsoever on sonic quality of digital playback. It's not like it's susceptible to wow, flutter, rumble, speed variations, etc. of a turntable.

                                (I know, I know...none of this is as important as knowing "will it blend?")

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