DVD sadness

[mattlistener]

On the advice of bluetrafficcone I downloaded the open-source DVD player VLC to see if that resolves my Mac's DVD playing woes: some DVDs play without a hitch, some play with numerous pauses, many won't even start. No matter how carefully we clean them.

We rented "Finding Nemo" from the new Hollywood Express on Elm St. near Davis for $2.09 for 4 days (they categorize it as a kids movie even though it's a recent release). Tried to watch it tonight, and alas -- it took minutes to appear on the desktop, minutes more to get into the movie menu (suffering numerous pauses in the menu animation), and couldn't even start the movie. We tried both discs (widescreen and fullscreen versions), both of which looked flawless to the eye, in both the Panther DVD player and VLC.

So it looks pretty clearly like a hardware problem. I'm pissed off that I spent an extra $200 or whatever on the mid-level gumdrop-style iMac to get a DVD drive, and then didn't actually try to use it until after the warranty had expired.

Now we're shopping for a cheap DVD player we could stick under the coffee table, which would entail devoting half of the coffee table itself to Brandi's TV (currently in storage). Circuit City appears to be the place to go, with two different models for $30 after $10 rebate. Both are currently out of stock, so I can't go settle the matter by buying one there tomorrow (which would be my normal MO).

Update: I just bought one of the above from circuitcity.com for $33 after $7 rebate, free shipping. I also got the 3-year warrantee for $15, because I've gotten the advice that price-crashing electronics tend not to last for years, making their (now cheaper) extended warrantees actually worthwhile.

Comments

[ommango.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about your dvd debacle. Found out that stopping a process (CFTmon) running prior to a DVD does the trick with a Creative DVD player. But I have a pc. Maybe there is another DVD software player to download and try. Or maybe it is the dvd player itself. Washing the DVDs sometimes helps, especially a kids DVD that has been borrowed by many. If the DVD is scratched, the washing helps. But having a DVD player with the TV works best in my experience. Anyway, enjoy.

[laurens10.livejournal.com]

I had a similar problem with my cube's DVD. From talking with folk, it seems that the DVD players in computers are more sensitive to scratches. Actually, the only time I've ever had problems was with rentals. My own DVDs (that I take good care of) play just fine.

It may not be a hardware failure problem as such, unless you find that you can't play new DVDs.

[bethr.livejournal.com]

As a fellow TV-less household, we rely entirely on the machine pictured above for "grown-up" DVD playing (the kids get a 5-year-old eMachines PC running W98 with a retrofitted DVD drive and a decade-old 15" screen. Doesn't stop them from goggling in front of it n hours a day, though.)

We have used both DVD freeware and the bundled DVD players for both X and X.3, with no problem. Did you test other DVDs? Did you test the same DVD in a different machine?

If all else fails, and you think it is hardware, I would recommend contacting Apple directly. You might be able to swing some sort of deal with them if you explain your story correctly; they can often be pretty tolerant.

[zmook.livejournal.com]

Rather than setting up a TV, does your iMac happen to have TV cable inputs?

[cruiser.livejournal.com]

You should check what the manufacturer's warranty on the DVD is. While Apple has fairly short warranty period, the manufacturers of their components often have longer ones. I had a Seagate drive inside my 840AV go bad after the Apple warranty was over, but still well within Seagate's. So check it - you might not be out of luck after all.

[theora.livejournal.com]

Happened to be clicking around and saw this post. I've had similar problems with my iMac's DVD player as well (not a gumdrop, it's an older one). However, when I reboot into Classic and use the player that came with that, I have no problems at all. Have you tried doing that? It won't work just starting Classic within X, you actually have to restart and choose to boot up in OS9. Anyway, thought I'd mention....

[mattlistener.livejournal.com]

Neat suggestion, thanks! I'll try that when I have a DVD handy and some time free. (I don't own a single one.)