This is a question I’m asking for the public library I’m assisting in regularly. They bought a stack of DVDs (all original, all European regional code), but some of them seem not to play on some players while playing perfectly fine on others. I know that’s somewhat vague, but we can’t think of any reason, and it doesn’t seem to have something to do with player quality, as one of the players they don’t play on is a brand one that was not cheap. Any dopers have any ideas?
Perhaps a bit oversimplistic, but are you sure they’re all DVDs and not VCDs? Or some pother non-DVD format. Not all players will handle VCD format, usually only the major brand ones will.
Hmm VCDs? That’s possible.
Could be non-originals too, on dvd+r or dvd-r one of which the player may not play.
I have this same problem with my DVD player at my house. Some of the ones I rent from my local Block Buster will not play in it, yet in my PS2 they will play perfectly fine! I’m baffled…
They’re all original DVDs, not VCDs (although I’m not familiar with the various sub-formats of DVD) bought at a reputable online store.
are you sure that they are the original DVD’s and not copies (DVD±R=) that someone has swopped?
I can’t see any reason why a DVD player won’t play them.
Maybe a bit more information: What happens when you try to play them? Is there an error message, does the display read ‘no disk’, or something else?
If they play on two sides (one side says “standard” and one side says “wide screen”) try the side that says “standard”. I have one DVD player that won`t play the wide screen format for whatever reason.
I’ve had DVDs do similar things on different players, and the same thing happen with CDs. I would think it’s probably due to something as simple as low quality or damaged DVDs. If the DVD plays better on more expensive DVD players, it is probably due to something like surface damage or manufacturing defects, since more expensive players are likely to have better components, and software with better error correcting capabilities. You could try getting replacement DVDs and seeing if they work better.
It might also be due to slightly non-standard coding on the DVD, although I would hope this is not the case (I’ve not heard any specific examples of this); this again might be indicated if the DVDs that don’t play are produced by smaller publishers or work less well on cheaper players, but could not be fixed by replacing the DVDs.
It could be the player. Some DVD players have a harder time reading some disks than others. The brand name of the DVD player normally doesn’t infer a player that will read all disks.
From personal experience, my $100 player plays more disk types than my $500 Sony DVD player. If you’re really in a bind, take it down to the local Best Buy and ask them to test your disk on various players.
" European regional code"
Are all your playres multi region?
" European regional code"
Are all your playres multi region?
" European regional code"
Are all your playres multi region?
Well, I haven’t been present when trying to play the discs, but I’ll ask the other guys at the library about the exact circumstances.
Thanks to anybody here!