Errrr...'off brand' players
08-31-04, 06:00 PM
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Errrr...'off brand' players
I am not new to DVD and movie collecting but am only slowly learning about electronics and wanting to later improve what I have. I have been visiting the boards for awhile now but mainly observing. (especially in this section)
I have comments/questions on 2 off brand players...
For Christmas last year I was given a cheaper dvd/vcr combo unit, a Symphonic WF803. I know combo units are generally frowned upon but I am have been pretty surprised with how well this one does so far. Every dvd I have tried plays fine without glitches, and this number is up in the 100s. The only DVD it had problems with was a rental that was badly scratched, and the last 5 minutes wouldnt play. The VCR parts plays better than other stand alone units Ive played, so I was pretty happy with it overall. Dont know how long it will hold up though, and have tried to read more about it but can't find much info. Im pretty sure the damn thing is unhackable as Ive seen other people looking and no one comes up with anything. Is there anything I should know about the player that anyone knows from experience or whatever? I am planning to get another player that is hackable and more recommended in the near future
As for the second, this is a friend of mines that's left both he and I puzzled. It's an RCA, which I havent heard much about. It came in a HT box setup. He claims it's an RCA hts 1000 although I havent been able to pull info up from that name. Theyve played a total of 5 dvds in it that worked awhile back but recently when we went to put some in, only about 15% of the dvds will work. It just says cannot find disc. The DVDs we put in have been mine and are in perfect condition, most only played one time (works fine on my player). I have heard of some players not playing certain dvds but this is ridiculous. Only around 3 out of 15 I brought there would work. The next time we put in the same dvd that wouldnt work one day, it worked the other one. Then later started freezing, going back, and sometimes not working. The player is a little over a year old and it's bugging him (and me.) Obviously the player probably isn't worth much but does anyone know what would cause such an extreme problem with it???
Thanks for the (amateur) help here
I have comments/questions on 2 off brand players...
For Christmas last year I was given a cheaper dvd/vcr combo unit, a Symphonic WF803. I know combo units are generally frowned upon but I am have been pretty surprised with how well this one does so far. Every dvd I have tried plays fine without glitches, and this number is up in the 100s. The only DVD it had problems with was a rental that was badly scratched, and the last 5 minutes wouldnt play. The VCR parts plays better than other stand alone units Ive played, so I was pretty happy with it overall. Dont know how long it will hold up though, and have tried to read more about it but can't find much info. Im pretty sure the damn thing is unhackable as Ive seen other people looking and no one comes up with anything. Is there anything I should know about the player that anyone knows from experience or whatever? I am planning to get another player that is hackable and more recommended in the near future
As for the second, this is a friend of mines that's left both he and I puzzled. It's an RCA, which I havent heard much about. It came in a HT box setup. He claims it's an RCA hts 1000 although I havent been able to pull info up from that name. Theyve played a total of 5 dvds in it that worked awhile back but recently when we went to put some in, only about 15% of the dvds will work. It just says cannot find disc. The DVDs we put in have been mine and are in perfect condition, most only played one time (works fine on my player). I have heard of some players not playing certain dvds but this is ridiculous. Only around 3 out of 15 I brought there would work. The next time we put in the same dvd that wouldnt work one day, it worked the other one. Then later started freezing, going back, and sometimes not working. The player is a little over a year old and it's bugging him (and me.) Obviously the player probably isn't worth much but does anyone know what would cause such an extreme problem with it???
Thanks for the (amateur) help here
09-07-04, 09:44 AM
#2
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
I know there aren't any hacks for the Symphonic WF802, I'd assume the same was true for the WF803. Usually combo units are made for a specific country because of VHS standards, so you're less likely to find a hack for one, unlike an offbrand standalone DVD player that may be made for world distribution and so isn't hardcoded at the factory for any one region.
As for the 2nd issue, it sounds like the RCA unit has a laser tracking problem. That's usually where 'no disc/bad disc' messages come from when it's consistent and you know the disc works fine. If it plays CD's, try putting one in it, I bet it works fine. DVD's are harder for a bad laser to track, so quite often a CD or VCD plays flawlessy while DVD's don't. I'm also going to bet the 3 DVD's that did work were single layer, and the ones that didn't work were dual layer, another challenge for a player with bad laser tracking.
As for the 2nd issue, it sounds like the RCA unit has a laser tracking problem. That's usually where 'no disc/bad disc' messages come from when it's consistent and you know the disc works fine. If it plays CD's, try putting one in it, I bet it works fine. DVD's are harder for a bad laser to track, so quite often a CD or VCD plays flawlessy while DVD's don't. I'm also going to bet the 3 DVD's that did work were single layer, and the ones that didn't work were dual layer, another challenge for a player with bad laser tracking.
