New DVD Player and Dual Layer

[Hal]

I currently have an NAD T534 CD/DVD player. It works fine and I am happy with it. However, some of the DVDs I've rented lately are "Dual Layer." I am not really sure what that is, but I know that they won't play on my NAD.

So time for a new DVD player and it might as well be Blue - Ray, right?

I am looking at the Samsung BD-P1600. It seems okay. But it won't play DVD-RWs and I have a few of those. Also I don't know if it will play Dual Layer DVDs.

Am I going to have to buy a non-Blue-Ray player for my RWs and Dual Layer and then get a separate Blue-Ray player? Why won't Blue Ray play all that has come before?

Thanks.

[Woochifer]

I currently have an NAD T534 CD/DVD player. It works fine and I am happy with it. However, some of the DVDs I've rented lately are "Dual Layer." I am not really sure what that is, but I know that they won't play on my NAD.

How do you "know" they won't play? Have you tried them out?

All major DVD releases since about 1999 have come on dual layer disc media. And unless you have a first or second generation DVD player, your player should have no trouble whatsoever reading dual layered discs. If you have trouble playing some rental discs (but not all), it has nothing to do with dual layered media


So time for a new DVD player and it might as well be Blue - Ray, right?

It's only time for a new DVD player if you're getting a very high frequency of disc reading errors. The NADs work very well as CD players as they come with higher quality audio circuitry than what you typically find on a DVD player. So, repairing the unit might depend on how frequently you use it with CDs, and how much you like it.

If you have a HDTV, you'll want Blu-ray regardless.


I am looking at the Samsung BD-P1600. It seems okay. But it won't play DVD-RWs and I have a few of those. Also I don't know if it will play Dual Layer DVDs.

BD players generally have more limited support for burned media formats than with the better DVD players. Any BD player will read dual layer DVDs.


Am I going to have to buy a non-Blue-Ray player for my RWs and Dual Layer and then get a separate Blue-Ray player? Why won't Blue Ray play all that has come before?

Thanks.

Like I said, if you own a HDTV, get the Blu-ray player. Once you get used to Blu-ray, there's no going back to renting DVDs.

Walmart just dropped the price on the Magnavox BD player to $98, and other off-brand Blu-ray players will likely follow suit at other retailers. Brand name players are easy to find for around $200, with prices still dropping.

[Hal]

Thanks for the reply. All I know is that I have rented two or three DVDs that will not play on my DVD player. The only reason I could determine was that they were dual layer. There may be a completely different reason. My DVD player is only about four years old. NAD support said that it would not play Dual Layer DVDs.

[N. Abstentia]

Are we in the Twilight Zone here?

http://forums.audioreview.com/showthread.php?t=30886

[pixelthis]

Thanks for the reply. All I know is that I have rented two or three DVDs that will not play on my DVD player. The only reason I could determine was that they were dual layer. There may be a completely different reason. My DVD player is only about four years old. NAD support said that it would not play Dual Layer DVDs.

Wouldnt surprize me.
If someone at NAD said that , well thats just another reason to stay away from that brand.
Others make DVD players, you dont need a NAD.
Ever since NAD started making stuff in China their quality has gone south.
SOME of the early players had parts rattling around inside them.
Home theater magazine had to get three before they could get a review sample that
would play during their first review of the first NAD DVD player.
I had a NAD cassette recorder once, amazing and well priced.
I really hate to see the rush to China of so many brands, especially those who don't know how to do business there.
Cambridge has a long history of Chinese production, and seems to be doing well,
but NAD hasnt figured it out yet, and their QC problems are legion.
Dual layer playback is basic, for a player not to handle it properly is
INEXCUSABLE:1:

[Hal]

Are we in the Twilight Zone here?

http://forums.audioreview.com/showthread.php?t=30886

Yes, I asked on that thread whether my NAD T534 (which I thought was T531) would play dual layer DVDs. I started the new thread to discuss Blue-Ray DVD players playing different media formats.

So, it looks like Blue-Ray DVD may not play all types of DVDs (dual layer, RWs, etc) so I need to find an inexpensive regular DVD player to handle my existing DVDs in formats that DVD won't play.

Thanks.

[Woochifer]

Thanks for the reply. All I know is that I have rented two or three DVDs that will not play on my DVD player. The only reason I could determine was that they were dual layer. There may be a completely different reason. My DVD player is only about four years old. NAD support said that it would not play Dual Layer DVDs.

If you were also asking them about DVD-RW, then they probably interpreted it as dual layered BURNED media. Huge difference in the read reliability and compatibility between pressed discs and burned discs.

ANY DVD player made since about 1998 should have no trouble whatsoever with pressed dual layer DVDs. Burned dual layer DVDs would be a different story.

[Woochifer]

Yes, I asked on that thread whether my NAD T534 (which I thought was T531) would play dual layer DVDs. I started the new thread to discuss Blue-Ray DVD players playing different media formats.

So, it looks like Blue-Ray DVD may not play all types of DVDs (dual layer, RWs, etc) so I need to find an inexpensive regular DVD player to handle my existing DVDs in formats that DVD won't play.

Thanks.

How many burned DVDs do you have? Is it really THAT essential that your player be capable of playing them?

[pixelthis]

A standalone DVD recorder that records dual layer is fairly recent.
Just a guess but if you burned a movie on a computer it might come across as a data
disc on your player, and a lot of players wont handle those unless they are burned in the proper format.:1:

[N. Abstentia]

I'll have to check my Sony S550 to see if it plays DVD-R DL media. I know both my Sony DVD players will with no problem. I don't see why any modern player wouldn't play burned dual layer discs.

[pixelthis]

I'll have to check my Sony S550 to see if it plays DVD-R DL media. I know both my Sony DVD players will with no problem. I don't see why any modern player wouldn't play burned dual layer discs.

Depends on how you burned them.
The drive in a DVD player is basically the same as a computer, and the dvd player is basically a computer that does one thing.
But most wont play what is called a "data" disc.
This is a disc burned on a computer in a format that allows for data storage.
If it isnt burned as a DVD it probably wont play.
If you burned a movie on your computer as a data disc it will play on a computer just fine,
but wont on most standalones.
Even a player that plays MP3 files has to have the directory set up right for the disc to play.
ITS A CRAPSHOOT, UNLESS you make sure that the disc is properly laid out.
On my NERO SOFTWARE there are options for data and DVD burning.
GO BACK TO YOUR SOFTWARE, and copy your DVD, only have it burned as as DVD.
That might work.
The only player that I have seen that would play anything was an APEX DVD
player that a friend had, basically a computer drive in a box, that sucker would play
a drink coaster if you put it in the slot.:1: