Why don't more people own 400 DVD changer? (1 Viewer)

[DustinLC]

I was just curious why rarely there are any discussion about dvd changer that holds up to 400 disc. What's the down side to these? I thought it would be nice to have all my movies in these changers so I never have to take them in and out.

I hate to say it but have a 1 year old, I get so little time to watch movies. I'm tire of inserting a disc and watch it for 10min and then have to put in Barney for the baby. I must have wasted so much time going through such a routine.

 

[NickSo]

Some people dont have 400 DVDs in their posession...

Some people dont like the idea of losing their entire DVD collection if somebody were to steal the DVD Mega-Changer

 

[Reginald Trent]

"You don't have to own 400 DVD's to enjoy the convenience of one of these changers. The "theft" argument is pretty weak too, unless you live in the projects"

So only people that live in housing developments have to worry about thefts huh? I'd be willing to bet the suburbs provides ADT and other home alarm firms the majority of their business.

Even though I have a 200 CD which I use to play CDs randomly. I don't like the ideal of a 400 DVD changer. Becuase you still need the DVD cases and a record of which DVD is in which slot position. It's more trouble than it's worth to me.

 

[BrianWoerndle]

The quality on mega changers is usually way below par. There are some out there that are pretty good, but they are expensive. And not to mention that you can only watch 1 DVD at a time. Besides, it only takes a couple of seconds to change a DVD.

"Becuase you still need the DVD cases and a record of which DVD is in which slot position. It's more trouble than it's worth to me. "

Most changers have the ability to catalog all the discs and search by name so you do not have to remember the slot number. But again, the interface is usually lacking.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

When my apartment was robbed they took the DVDs, but left the player...


I don't own one because I don't have $400 lying around.

 

[Holadem]

There is one dramatic difference between CD and DVD changers: CD changers are most usefull for switching (shuffling?) between songs on different albums in one sitting. Movies simply dont work that way...

The gain in ease of use and convenience is marginal on a DVD changer, and dramatic (bordering on must-have) on a CD changer.

--
H

 

[Scott L]

Sounds like a neat idea but I don't find it that hard to select which movie to watch, open the case, and put it in the single tray player. Just wasted space on the equipment rack to me.

 

[Carl Johnson]

I have a CD mega changer because it was priced comprably to a single disc unit and I literally use the mega function every time I listen to CDs. I don't have a DVD changer and probably wouldn't even if they were as cheap as single disc players. You can count on one hand the number of DVDs I watch per week and I'd rather store the discs in their cases rather than in a player.

 

[Chuck Schilling]

Other than Sony, who else is making a 400 DVD changer? Quite honestly, Sony's terrible build quality scares the bejeezus out of me and I simply won't buy any of their consumer-line products. I've had way too many pieces of Sony gear go south on me to ever buy another of their components.

 

[Ernest Yee]

Yeah - you really have to upgrade to their ES line to be safe. I've not done wrong with their 200 CD Megachanger nor the DA4ES.

 

[DustinLC]

well, I see now why it's not popular.

My thought was that there got to be very busy people out there with each family member wanting to watch their own dvd and because everyone is so busy, no one really has time to finish one movie so you get a lot of switching back and forth. My baby needs her kiddie video every 1/2hr so sometime I'm so tire of switching that I just leave her video in. I thought the other day that I would watch more movie if it's more convenient. I know it's not hard to go to the shelf and get out a case, take out the disc, insert it in, and repeat but you do it often enough, you wonder if it's worth it to go through that trouble for 15min of movie time.

Also, over the pass 7yrs, I'm sure I have spent way over $600 on storage shelves, repeatedly trying to find the ultimate one that keep the dust out and conveniently allow you to select a movie with ease and hold all several hundred discs in one place. I don't find $400 an issue considering what we HT folks spent on everything else.

I own a 400CD changer (Sony) and I have putted away all the jewel cases in a box. I was spending a bundle on storage shelves for these babies also. Now I don't need to worry about them.

I guess switching to a DVD changer is much different. I don't suppose the menu of what you have on the changer will appear on the TV screen. Otherwise, I would be hard to see what you have selected from the distance of the couch.

Another downer I thought was that these thing are bulky so most tv stand will only hold it and nothing else, forcing me to find space for my DVD recorder, SAT receiver.

Another negative: with my CD changer I have to occasionally move them around because of newly bought ones. If I leave plenty of space for the A's and all the other lettlers, it will be fine for awhile but eventually you have to reorganize it so the movies are easy to find.

Does anyone own the Sony 400 DVD changer that would like to voice their thoughts?

 

[Trevor_J]

Don't own the Sony changer but I was an owner of a Pioneer f727 which I sold to upgrade to the latest and greatest by Kenwood or Sony. Neither have interested me to jump into making a purchase so I'm settling for a 5 disc changer for now.


Those that have not owned a Mega Changer do not realize what they're missing. Although I sold my 727 for a good price I regret it each time a friend comes over for a demo or whenever I have to get up, walk to the next room and insert a dvd (or two). You simply cannot beat the convenience of a mega changer and the argument that it's difficult to find your movies is hogwash. On my 727, you could alphabetically sort the movies or even arrange them by genre etc. I would equate using a mega changer to having a media server and why anyone would consider that a bad thing is beyond me.

Once I find a suitable replacement you can be sure I'll be adding it to my system.

 

[Russell GR]

Some changers are slow
Some are noisy
Some Jamb frequently
Some do not have progressive scan
None have a good GUI

For the money, you can get a much better performing single play.

 

[Trevor_J]

I never had any of those problems with my f727. My only gripes with the unit were lack of MP3 playback (nice for before the movie starts and after). The GUI wasn't fantastic but it worked and finding discs was a breeze. Of course it wasn't progressive scan but since I was using an iScan at the time that feature never really bothered me. The current models from Sony and Kenwood are progressive scan so if that's what's holding you back you should at least check them out.

 

[John S]

Show me one, for around $500, that gives me, the best performance possible on DVD(DCDi PS,3:2 Pulldown), and best audio on SACD and DVD-A, and I'll pull out the card today......

 

[Minesh Patel]

Instead of the mega changer have you thought about a 5 dvd changer? You can leave your daughter's dvds in 1 or 2 slots, & use the other slots for your movies and/or cds. My parents have a Panasonic w/progressive scan, etc., that I bought for

 

[Trevor_J]

The Kenwood Sovereign has very good DVD performance (DCDi, PS, 3:2 pulldown etc.) and it can be mated to the Entre for even more functionality. It also plays DVD-Audio but not SACD (maybe the next version) It's not near the $500 mark you're looking for but you do get the ability to hold 400+3 DVD, CD's and DVD-A as well as the ability to link 3 changers for 1200 DVD/CD/DVD-A automation. Worth the price of admission IMO, but as I stated, it's been out for a while and it's due for an upgrade. I'm trying to find a suitable 5 disc changer to hold me over until the next round arrives.

 

[Trevor_J]

5 Disc changers are more convenient than their 1 disc counterparts but no where near the convenience of a mega changer. I would definately consider it as an affordable solution.

 

[Michael Reuben]

Sounds like the description of a household for which a mega-changer would be worth considering. But there are lots of households that don't fit that description. Mine, for example. We're busy people, but there are no 1-year-olds, and only one person picks the DVDs to play. And I have 4 players.

M.

 

[STLMIKE]

For me, it is a primarily a pain avoidance issue:

1.) Buyer's regret pain: I have a 200 disc CD changer that I despise, never use, and to this day regret buying.

2.) Major pain - loading all the discs.

3.) Major pain - labeling all the discs (as many don't autodetect).

4.) Major pain - having to eject a disc to watch it in another room and then have to put it back into changer when done. (From what I understand from a friend of mine, taking a disc out and reloading it then brings up point 3 again...)

5.) Major pain - if changer ever has to be moved (at least w/my CD changer), as the discs can tumble like dominoes inside the unit, causing near stroke like panic attack. Unloading the discs brings up points number 2 & 3 again.

6.) And also, at least w/the Sony 400 disc (the only one I've seen), the thing is immense and barely fits into the largest of A/V racks.

7.) What do you do if you have more than 400 discs? Plus, any other points mentioned above.

I shared all these points w/a friend of mine before he bought his 400 disc Sony. He scoffed at them, but is experiencing them now. So far, however, I've avoided saying "I told you so...".

Mike