«

As we all know, build quality has fallen through the floor over the
years. A 10lb VCR of the past that played all day, all week, all year
is now represented by a 1/2 lb korean slam-together POS that couldn't
run more than 10 hours if it wanted too. In fact, you're unlikely to
get decent performance from day one.
DVD players, of course, are current technology. One might be stupid
enough to believe they are up to SOME level of quality. Tonight, I
must admit I haven't found one worth a damn.
Last year, following a newsgroup buzz, I bought a Bravo D1 so I
could use my TVs DVI input. This thing sucked more than anything I had
experienced before. It would run occasionally with no problem, but
most of the time suffered with skips, hangs, etc.
A few years ago I bought my first DVD player, an Onkyo DV-S535. I
was pleased with it then, and up until tonight. That may seem a great
run, but I only ran about 20-30 movies in all that time. Now it's just
another player freezing on brand new DVDs out of the box.
This is a non-smoking household. We don't live next to railroad
tracks. The electronics are as clean as possible (we're not a
hospital).

Has decent quality hit the toilet?
Maybe I'm just unlucky?
Are DVDs being recorded like crap? Has the quality of commercial
disks dropped to the barely-playing level?

I simply want a DVD player to play a DVD every now and then without
hanging, or freezing solid. Is that so much to ask?
I would greatly appreciate recommendations for a DVD player that
will do what it's asked to do. Not a whole lot....just play a whole
DVD, period.

Thanks,
Jim

> Are DVDs being recorded like crap?

If, perchance, they're Mei-Ah or Universe Laser DVDs from Hong-Kong,
then hell yes. In act, calling them "crap" would be complimenting them.

Jim wrote:
> As we all know, build quality has fallen through the floor over the
> years. A 10lb VCR of the past that played all day, all week, all year
> is now represented by a 1/2 lb korean slam-together POS that couldn't
> run more than 10 hours if it wanted too. In fact, you're unlikely to
> get decent performance from day one.
> DVD players, of course, are current technology. One might be stupid
> enough to believe they are up to SOME level of quality. Tonight, I
> must admit I haven't found one worth a damn.
> Last year, following a newsgroup buzz, I bought a Bravo D1 so I
> could use my TVs DVI input. This thing sucked more than anything I had
> experienced before. It would run occasionally with no problem, but
> most of the time suffered with skips, hangs, etc.
> A few years ago I bought my first DVD player, an Onkyo DV-S535. I
> was pleased with it then, and up until tonight. That may seem a great
> run, but I only ran about 20-30 movies in all that time. Now it's just
> another player freezing on brand new DVDs out of the box.
> This is a non-smoking household. We don't live next to railroad
> tracks. The electronics are as clean as possible (we're not a
> hospital).
>
> Has decent quality hit the toilet?
> Maybe I'm just unlucky?
> Are DVDs being recorded like crap? Has the quality of commercial
> disks dropped to the barely-playing level?
>
> I simply want a DVD player to play a DVD every now and then without
> hanging, or freezing solid. Is that so much to ask?
> I would greatly appreciate recommendations for a DVD player that
> will do what it's asked to do. Not a whole lot....just play a whole
> DVD, period.

Look at the brands you're buying. Bravo? Onkyo? I've never even heard of
Bravo. It's possible these are high-end specialty brands that I'm simply
unaware of, but why aren't you looking at mainstream equipment from Sony or
Panasonic? I bought my first Panasonic in 1998, and it's still doing just
fine today, a real workhorse (played over 1500 discs easily).

Don't follow "a newsgroup buzz". Far too much diversity of opinion to get
anything useful from a newsgroup. Go read reviews in genre magazines (or
online), and stick to big-name brands you can trust.

Mike

"Jim" <> wrote in message
news: om...
> As we all know, build quality has fallen through the floor over the
> years. A 10lb VCR of the past that played all day, all week, all year
> is now represented by a 1/2 lb korean slam-together POS that couldn't
> run more than 10 hours if it wanted too. In fact, you're unlikely to
> get decent performance from day one.
> DVD players, of course, are current technology. One might be stupid
> enough to believe they are up to SOME level of quality. Tonight, I
> must admit I haven't found one worth a damn.
> Last year, following a newsgroup buzz, I bought a Bravo D1 so I
> could use my TVs DVI input. This thing sucked more than anything I had
> experienced before. It would run occasionally with no problem, but
> most of the time suffered with skips, hangs, etc.
> A few years ago I bought my first DVD player, an Onkyo DV-S535. I
> was pleased with it then, and up until tonight. That may seem a great
> run, but I only ran about 20-30 movies in all that time. Now it's just
> another player freezing on brand new DVDs out of the box.
> This is a non-smoking household. We don't live next to railroad
> tracks. The electronics are as clean as possible (we're not a
> hospital).
>
> Has decent quality hit the toilet?
> Maybe I'm just unlucky?
> Are DVDs being recorded like crap? Has the quality of commercial
> disks dropped to the barely-playing level?
>
> I simply want a DVD player to play a DVD every now and then without
> hanging, or freezing solid. Is that so much to ask?
> I would greatly appreciate recommendations for a DVD player that
> will do what it's asked to do. Not a whole lot....just play a whole
> DVD, period.
>
> Thanks,
> Jim

For electronics, age usually has way more to do with how long something
lasts than how much it was used, except for moving parts that will wear.
Onkyo is not really known as a good brand, if most people that know are
asked what players are recommended, Onkyo does not usually make the list.
I've had 2 players since 1998, a Toshiba SD-3109, and now a Pioneer DV-563A,
the Toshiba died recently, laser(common problem), the Pioneer works
flawlessly. Choose a better brand next time. Although your Brvo D1 should
have been flawless as well, I never hear bad thngs about those so perhaps
you were just unlucky. Did you return the faulty Bravo D1 for a
replacement?

Jim wrote:

> As we all know, build quality has fallen through the floor over the
> years. A 10lb VCR of the past that played all day, all week, all year
> is now represented by a 1/2 lb korean slam-together POS that couldn't
> run more than 10 hours if it wanted too. In fact, you're unlikely to
> get decent performance from day one.
> DVD players, of course, are current technology. One might be stupid
> enough to believe they are up to SOME level of quality. Tonight, I
> must admit I haven't found one worth a damn.
> Last year, following a newsgroup buzz, I bought a Bravo D1 so I
> could use my TVs DVI input. This thing sucked more than anything I had
> experienced before. It would run occasionally with no problem, but
> most of the time suffered with skips, hangs, etc.
> A few years ago I bought my first DVD player, an Onkyo DV-S535. I
> was pleased with it then, and up until tonight. That may seem a great
> run, but I only ran about 20-30 movies in all that time. Now it's just
> another player freezing on brand new DVDs out of the box.
> This is a non-smoking household. We don't live next to railroad
> tracks. The electronics are as clean as possible (we're not a
> hospital).
>
> Has decent quality hit the toilet?

All of my players have ran for years. Only one player crapped right out
of the box, and it was a cheap one.

> Maybe I'm just unlucky?

Sounds like it. Do a little research on the players you buy, and don't
skimp. Stick with well-regarded brands, like Toshiba, Panasonic. You
could even try going high-end, with the Pioneer Elite series, or the
more expensive stuff from Denon and Onkyo.

> Are DVDs being recorded like crap? Has the quality of commercial
> disks dropped to the barely-playing level?
>

With occassional rare exceptions, a DVD either plays or it doesn't.
That is the nature of a digital format. If you're having bad luck with
a DVD try it out on a friend's player.

> I simply want a DVD player to play a DVD every now and then without
> hanging, or freezing solid. Is that so much to ask?

Don't buy cheap crap.

> I would greatly appreciate recommendations for a DVD player that
> will do what it's asked to do. Not a whole lot....just play a whole
> DVD, period.

If you want a mid-level player, go to a place like Circuit City or Best
Buy and ask the salespeople to show you a good player (try not to be
swayed by snazzy features, like recording, or pseudo-HD playback, if all
you want is a DVD player). And buy the extended warranty.

--

"If you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in
Christianity, I wonder how many of them would turn out to have reasoned
out of it by honest argument? Do not most people simply drift away?"

--C.S. Lewis

Mike Kohary wrote:
> Look at the brands you're buying. Bravo? Onkyo? I've never even heard of
> Bravo. It's possible these are high-end specialty brands that I'm simply
> unaware of, but why aren't you looking at mainstream equipment from Sony or
> Panasonic? I bought my first Panasonic in 1998, and it's still doing just
> fine today, a real workhorse (played over 1500 discs easily).
>

Onkyo is one of those brands that makes both cheap crap, as well as
high-end expensive stuff. They don't have much middle ground.

In fact, I've heard opinions from people that the quality of their
high-end stuff is slipping.

--

"If you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in
Christianity, I wonder how many of them would turn out to have reasoned
out of it by honest argument? Do not most people simply drift away?"

--C.S. Lewis

"Grand Inquisitor" <> wrote in message
news:exmDc.164598$...

<<If you want a mid-level player, go to a place like Circuit City or
Best Buy and ask the salespeople to show you a good player (try not to
be swayed by snazzy features, like recording, or pseudo-HD playback, if
all you want is a DVD player). And buy the extended warranty.>>


Even better, try to find out which brands and models customers return
the most. (Circuit City puts them out on the floor as "open box
specials.")

Avoid the brands which compromise the majority of these customer
returns.

Grand Inquisitor <> wrote in news:exmDc.164598
$:

> Jim wrote:
>
>> As we all know, build quality has fallen through the floor over the
>> years. A 10lb VCR of the past that played all day, all week, all year
>> is now represented by a 1/2 lb korean slam-together POS that couldn't
>> run more than 10 hours if it wanted too. In fact, you're unlikely to
>> get decent performance from day one.
>> DVD players, of course, are current technology. One might be stupid
>> enough to believe they are up to SOME level of quality. Tonight, I
>> must admit I haven't found one worth a damn.
>> Last year, following a newsgroup buzz, I bought a Bravo D1 so I
>> could use my TVs DVI input. This thing sucked more than anything I had
>> experienced before. It would run occasionally with no problem, but
>> most of the time suffered with skips, hangs, etc.
>> A few years ago I bought my first DVD player, an Onkyo DV-S535. I
>> was pleased with it then, and up until tonight. That may seem a great
>> run, but I only ran about 20-30 movies in all that time. Now it's just
>> another player freezing on brand new DVDs out of the box.
>> This is a non-smoking household. We don't live next to railroad
>> tracks. The electronics are as clean as possible (we're not a
>> hospital).
>>
>> Has decent quality hit the toilet?
>
> All of my players have ran for years. Only one player crapped right
out
> of the box, and it was a cheap one.
>
>> Maybe I'm just unlucky?
>
> Sounds like it. Do a little research on the players you buy, and don't
> skimp. Stick with well-regarded brands, like Toshiba, Panasonic. You
> could even try going high-end, with the Pioneer Elite series, or the
> more expensive stuff from Denon and Onkyo.


I certainly wouldn't recommend Panasonic or Toshiba. I had one of each,
and they both conked out after a couple of years. or is that good for a
DVD player?


--
"There is no more foul or relentless enemy of man in the occult world
than this dead-alive creature spewed up from the grave..."


The Castle Monster: http://www.processionofthedamned.com/diablo.htm

Murder wrote:
>>Sounds like it. Do a little research on the players you buy, and don't
>>skimp. Stick with well-regarded brands, like Toshiba, Panasonic. You
>>could even try going high-end, with the Pioneer Elite series, or the
>>more expensive stuff from Denon and Onkyo.
>
>
>
> I certainly wouldn't recommend Panasonic or Toshiba. I had one of each,
> and they both conked out after a couple of years. or is that good for a
> DVD player?

Toshiba and Panasonic are among the best, if not the best, mid-level
brands. I once bought a Toshiba player that stopped working right after
I bought it, but that was one bad experience and I haven't let it turn
me away from them. Toshiba has a very high customer satisfaction
rating, as does Panasonic. They're both great companies. I stay away
from Sony though, too many horror stories of things breaking after a
year or two. Every electronics company has stories like this but they
come from Sony more than any other place.

--

"If you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in
Christianity, I wonder how many of them would turn out to have reasoned
out of it by honest argument? Do not most people simply drift away?"

--C.S. Lewis

In article < >,
(Jim) wrote:

> Has decent quality hit the toilet?
> Maybe I'm just unlucky?

Either bad luck or you're just buying the wrong brands.

> Are DVDs being recorded like crap? Has the quality of commercial
> disks dropped to the barely-playing level?

Not at all. Quite the opposite. It's steadily improved each year with
the typical dual-layer DVD-9 now being manufactured and mastered to
perfection by all the major movie studios. My DVD players sees 2 to 5
new commercial discs every week and I haven't yet experienced a single
problem with any of them.

> I simply want a DVD player to play a DVD every now and then without
> hanging, or freezing solid. Is that so much to ask?
> I would greatly appreciate recommendations for a DVD player that
> will do what it's asked to do. Not a whole lot....just play a whole
> DVD, period.

Lot's of other people have recommended Panasonic and I'll second that.
I've been using Panasonic DVD players since day 1 and can say nothing
but good things about them. Go to Best Buy or Circuit City and look for
the Panasonic S35. This player should only cost you about $90 and I can
pretty much guarantee it will play everything you throw at it with no
hiccups. They may have a newer model on the shelf now, but you can't go
wrong with any Panasonic. Get back to me after you've tested the player
out and let me know how it performed.

> Thanks,
> Jim
--
BL