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Need a DVD-R capable DVD Player with Zoom function (1 Viewer)

LennyP

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 20, 2002
Messages
587
Hello, I already own a great Malata N996 which basically plays everything, any DVD from anywhere in the world and has every feature I could need, but it screws up on some DVD-R discs, so I'd like to buy a DVD player just for DVD-Rs.
All I need it to have are 3 things:
1. Of course play DVD-Rs, I use mainly Princo branded in jewel cases at $1.45 a piece.
2. Have a zoom feature. This is the most important thing for a player to have because all players and TVs overscan and without it 2.35:1 becomes morelike 1.95:1, it's that severe on my TV. So I have to be able to zoom out and pan left and right because all discs are misframed as well. I'm very particular about not seeing even a milimeter of video on the screen.
3. Better be a Sony. The first 2 things are necessary but this isn't really, only all my equipment is by Sony so it would be nice.
So, please recommend me one.
I'm looking at Sony DVP-NC600, reports say it plays DVD-Rs and it's a 5 disc changer to boot, available very cheaply at $150, only I don't think it has a zoom feature, does it?
 

Jay Blair

Second Unit
Joined
Nov 3, 2001
Messages
333
I've tried Princo DVD-Rs burned in the Panasonic E20 and they only play back properly in the E20. Most won't play back in my N996 nor will they play back in my Pioneer Elite DV-37 nor my Pioneer 626D. The Princo discs are pretty much crap and noted for being tempermental (at least when burned on the E20). Vivastar DVD-R are the only cheap discs I know of that play well in a wide variety of DVD players other than the machine they are burned in. Try them at www.ATDiscount.com. I just bought a 100 pack for $100.70 shipped price with California sales tax included. They play fine in the N996. Also you can pretty much count on Memorex DVD-R and Apple DVD-R and other comparably priced discs ($4.00 to $6.00 each range) playing back reliably in most every machine designed to play back DVD-R.
In short, I'd recommend buying new DVD-Rs, not a new DVD-R player since the N996 will play the right discs fine and has the best zoom feature available with the X-Y scaling feature.
One other word of warning with cheap discs, you may get a batch with one order that is completely good and then on your next order half the discs will be screwed up. You get what you pay for, and with discs costing less than $3.00 or so each, you don't always get quality control. I had this happen with my first batch of Princos, all but 2 out of 10 ordered play fine, but with my next batch of Princos, not one has been able to play outside of the E20 so far (about 10 bad discs in a row), and several would not burn at all. The difference is that the second batch has a blue ring around both the outer and inner rims of the discs, the first batch did not have the blue rings.
 

LennyP

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 20, 2002
Messages
587
Yes you're correct. I've got hooked on Princos because the first 150 all worked but 3 or 4 which I thought my Pioneer A04 screwed up since after I reburned them, they played fine in N996, so I'm on the 300th Princo disc but now half are no recognized and the other half pixelate near the end of the video file.
One thing though, I went to Fry's Electronics and took 2 "bad" princos with me and popped them into at least 15 various players, and even those that wouldn't get recognized at all and display "No Disc" on Malata play flawlessly on ALL Sony's and half the Panasonics. (RV32 couldn't play them, though RV31 was like the most recommended model for its ability to eat any disc, strange).
So Sony went from not being able to play even the best CD-R 3 years ago to now playing POS screwed up Princos! Still, it's like no Sony player has any zoom features, why I wonder.
So I'm gona have to try other media unless there is a Sony player with zoom feature out there.

Oh and those Vivastars you're talking about, is that the simple silver top for 0.89? I hate unbranded tops, they look very bad.
 

Eugene Hsieh

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 30, 1997
Messages
550
The few Princo discs (4?) I tried are terrible. Like Jay said, get new discs, not a new player.

By the way, a 10 second test is not good enough. I've made several DVDs with cheap DVD-R discs that play fine for most of the disc but screw up in only specific spots, especially near the outer tracks of the disc. OTOH, Apple media ($$$) seems to work fine consistently, everywhere on the disc.

For non-critical DVD-R I currently use noname brand 1X discs from a local shop which work way better than the Princos, but not as well as Apple media.
 

LennyP

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 20, 2002
Messages
587
By the way, a 10 second test is not good enough. I've made several DVDs with cheap DVD-R discs that play fine for most of the disc but screw up in only specific spots, especially near the outer tracks of the disc.
Yes, that's what I meant by pixelating near the end, but the discs I tried in store were those that wouldn't load/get recognized at all by Malata, so that's an improvement. Couldn't test for the end of disc for pixelation 'cause only 1 out of 10 is connected to a TV, but those that were didn't screw up. So Princos are not that bad and with the number of them I got, it really is better to spend another $150 or so on a second player then between the two, almost every media will work.
 

LennyP

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 20, 2002
Messages
587
I've bought that NC600 Sony 5 disc changer for $180 2nd day air delivered from Fry's Outpost.com while it was $180 without tax in store and $250 everywhere else. I've tested it in the store, it doesn't pixelate and played 4 discs I took with me that weren't playing at all in Malata, so my "old big screen projection" TV overscans a bit and this player isn't progressive but that's ok for now. Plus no more whining about movies spread over 2 discs that you gotta get off your ass, right. :D
 

Eugene Hsieh

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 30, 1997
Messages
550
So Princos are not that bad and with the number of them I got, it really is better to spend another $150 or so on a second player then between the two, almost every media will work.
Hmmm... Well, it seems like you solved your problem, but Princos definitely have a very poor reputation in terms of DVD-R quality, precisely for the reasons you've outlined above. I'd definitely consider looking around at different low-priced media.

Your needs are different, but for me, it's unacceptable to have my discs play only on one machine. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if in two years when your player gets a little more picky or your discs lose a bit of integrity, and the discs stop working. This has happened to me with cheap CD-R, and it's possible the same will happen with cheap DVD-R.
 

LennyP

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 20, 2002
Messages
587
There is always a player that will play a set of given discs so in 3 or 4 years if these 2 break I'll be able to get another one or two that play my "old" dvd-rs, all players in the world don't have to play them, I'm not manufacturing them for resale or to give to friends, it's just for me, so if they work with just one player, it's good, and they always play in any computer, DVD-Roms are not as picky as stand alone players. They won't disintergrate, only after I'm dead in about 60-80 years minimum, but this box of 100 is the last I bought. OptoDisc and PrimeDisc are the others I'm gona try afterwards.
 

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