DVD movies freeze, skip

[MacJeepster]

I've been having problems with DVD movies freezing and skipping.

I'm playing movies from the public library using a cheap ($30) off-brand DVD player I bought a couple of years ago at Wal-Mart (now (Walmart).

Obviously the discs are less than perfect. If I buy a new DVD player will it reduce the problems significantly? If so, does anyone have any recommendations on a good player? I don't need a lot of features, just the ability to show movies at a good price.

Thanks in advance.

mj

[Doc]

> If I buy a new DVD player will it reduce the problems significantly?

Assuming that only the well-used discs from the public library are skipping, probably not.

Clean the surface of the discs with a moist, lint-free cloth using gentle strokes from the inside-hub to the outside-edge and not wiping in circles.

[weapon]

skip doctor

toothpaste

these can get the surface scratches off.

[bazookaman]

I had a DVD player that worked fine (or so I thought). It would skip and stutter occasionally with a bad disc. Sometimes stopping altogether. Also, there was a distinct hiccup when it switched layers on a dual layer DVD. I finally bought a new one and was amazed. No more skipping and stuttering or freezing on ANY disc. I even tried ones that had messed up before and they worked fine. The dual layer hiccup was no longer there either.

I'm not saying it will fix your problems. I just bought a new one b/c mine was several years old and I wanted a changer.

Of course now that I watch all my movies on my eyehome, I rarely use my DVD player anymore.

[wurm]

I have the same problem with library rentals. Seems that people just don't take care of things they don't own. I watch DVDs only on my iMac, and I'd have thought that its error correction would be better than most standalone DVD players, but I have had very frustrating experiences with library rentals.

[Article Accelerator]

What bazookaman said. Those cheap players start off bad and get worse over a relatively short period of time.

[Racer X]

I have far more issues with a 3 year old Apex than with my 9 year old Pioneer 5 DVD changer. The pioneer has a far better mpeg-2 decoder chip, and far better oversampling.

[MacJeepster]

Thanks all. The library is such a great deal w/access to all the holdings in an 8-county area for just $10 per year. Lots of great movies and full season of TV shows.
I'll follow your advice - gently clean the discs and keep an eye out for a Sony or pioneer player.

-mj