Problems playing DVDs-Input sought

[bryce]

with seemingly every DVD i play, the film gets progressively worse. each movie seems to start out ok, but after about an hour of play, the audio and video both get herky-jerky, and they never recover. at least this seems to be the trend i've noticed. i know for sure i haven't gotten through any dvd, fresh-out-of-the-box new disc or 1000-times-rented flick, no matter, without problems. some i even have to turn off entirely and give up they are so unwatchable.

which leads me to believe the problem is my dvd player, but it's not old at all, maybe 3 years or so. it's a five disc changer connected to my tv with one of those dvd-tv adapter thingees that you need with old tvs like i have, since they don't have the direct input/outputs for dvd players...

and one other caveat - i recently did the pay-per-view thing with a couple of movies from my digital cable provider, and they too had some of the same herky-jerky audio/video problems, but not nearly as bad as the dvd's. i imagine this is coincidence, as the only link is my my tv - the tv can't be the problem, can it?

anyone have any insight? it's more frustrating than you could imagine and i need to rectify this asap. thanks in advance.

[Draft Dodger]

well, my first instinct is a problem with the DVD player - maybe the laser? perhaps it just needs a good cleaning? The PPV thing is curious, but perhaps it is just some coincidence.

I find that DVD players are not generally built to last forever. The first one I had started falling apart after 1 year or so. Replaced it, and the newer one is ok, but I can see that even that isn't going to last as long as most of the other AV components in my house. The good news is that they are really cheap.

[Draft Dodger]

each movie seems to start out ok, but after about an hour of play, the audio and video both get herky-jerky

another thought - how's the airflow on this? could it be getting so hot after an hour or so of use that it's causing problems?

[cthomer5000]

another thought - how's the airflow on this? could it be getting so hot after an hour or so of use that it's causing problems?
I second this thought. My parents keep their DVD player on top of the cable box, which gets blazing hot. Add in the fact that this is all encased in a little cabinet with little airflow, and the DVD player consistently has what appear to be heat-related issues (picture problems, or even a full-blown 'crash').

[Dutch]

None of my DVD players have lasted more than a year. But I always buy the cheapest one....maybe more expensive ones last longer? I dunno. I do know that my 1st generation PS2 was the first one to stop playing DVD's. With the symtoms you describe. Then my 1st and 2nd DVD players both died ugly deaths. My 3rd one gets the herky-jerky crap from time to time and my current one has been going strong for well over 4 months now. However, I plan for it to combust into flames anytime in the next 4-6 weeks.

[Lucky Jim]

What kind of DVD player do you have? My roommates picked up one of those cheap brands, something like GTVideo or something, and it has problems playing brand new DVD's at times. We brought out my old Sony from home and the quality is astronomically better. I think a DVD player is one of those things worth paying for, as the frustrations of a crappy one far outweigh the one time price of getting something that will actually work, and last.

[cthomer5000]

What kind of DVD player do you have? My roommates picked up one of those cheap brands, something like GTVideo or something, and it has problems playing brand new DVD's at times. We brought out my old Sony from home and the quality is astronomically better. I think a DVD player is one of those things worth paying for, as the frustrations of a crappy one far outweigh the one time price of getting something that will actually work, and last.
I'm a pretty big techno-phile and I have the opposite opinion actually. Unless you are a serious home theatre nut, you're probably better off with a lower-end unit, since you can buy 2-3 of them for the price of one high-end player.

[Lucky Jim]

I'm a pretty big techno-phile and I have the opposite opinion actually. Unless you are a serious home theatre nut, you're probably better off with a lower-end unit, since you can buy 2-3 of them for the price of one high-end player.

Yeah I would've thought the same thing, just been my limited experience that better is, better.

[hukarez]

I picked up a decent Sony DVD player for $59 awhile ago - it's treated me well. One of my friends, however, picked up some no name brand DVD player (It was a 'Coby', I think?) from SunCoast Motion Picture company and that thing was pretty much a piece of junk.

It kind of had the same problems you had, though ventilation wasn't much of a problem. I guess I've been more comfortable with brand name electronics. I'd pick up some brand name DVD player - usually with a good warranty. Doesn't need to be the latest model revision or what not. Just my two cents!

[AnalBumCover]

another thought - how's the airflow on this? could it be getting so hot after an hour or so of use that it's causing problems?I also agree. These appear to be the symptoms of an overheating player.

[bryce]

thanks for the ideas, guys - i never would have thought about the airflow issue - i do in fact keep it on top of my cable box, but there is nothing on top of the dvd player except lots of space (cable box is on carpeting, dvd player on top of cable box.).. i'll move it tonight and see if that does the trick. if not, i saw an ad in best buy for a toshiba dvd/mp3 player for $49 after rebate that i'll proabably go after. (to answer another question here, my current model is a hitachi.)

thanks again.