Are all cheapo DVD players the same today ?

[Mikey]

My cheapo DVD player is finally dying.
I can't complain, it cost about 30 bucks and gave me about 2 years of steady play.

I'm in the market for a new one.
I'll probably get it at Walmart -- where I got my old one.

Question .....
Will all new DVD players play DVD-R's (both + and -) ok ?
Or do I still have to watch out ?

Also,
Why does 50% of all Walmart DVD players have a VCR in them ?
Who wants a VCR to begin with ?
What a waste.

[Gorn Captain]

My VCR just died on me.
And I still have tons of stuff to put on DVD.
Please jank that VCR out of your machine, and send it to me!

[Mikey]

Do you have Walmart's in Belgium ?

I kid you not, there's a ton of them there.

[Gorn Captain]

Do you have Walmart's in Belgium ?

I kid you not, there's a ton of them there.

Man, this country is so backward, I need to take medication to adjust to its prehistoric state. Like, all shops close at six PM here.
When you order a drink, you get one cup of coffee, or one glass-size Coke, and no refills. At $4 a pop...

I've been to the States twice, and only then did I have the feeling that I could breathe...

[toys2cool]

Not all of them play the Dvd-R's,you have to make sure it says it.I saw ones at walmart for like $30 that did play them,if not try a big lots,I saw a few there

[HardyGirl]

Why does 50% of all Walmart DVD players have a VCR in them ?
Who wants a VCR to begin with ?
What a waste.

Uhh....I do. And my VCR lasted 12 yrs. before I had to have it repaired.

[apes3978]

Uhh....I do. And my VCR lasted 12 yrs. before I had to have it repaired.

I'm with you on this one... I still need (and want) a VCR... There are too many titles that are still not out on DVD to make it worth while to own a VCR. Even if it is a "more recent" release (say the last 5 years or so) if a video store is closing out their VHS stock, you can pick up a lot of good deals and you willneed a way to play them...

But HG, I have a question here and I do not mean it in a bad way: But why did you get your VCR repaired? With the super low cost of VCRs/VCR-DVD combos I can't see how repairing it was even justifiable... I'm guessing that the repair bill was as much as just buying a new machine?

[mego73]

I just got a Memorex DVD player from Target that plays anything self recorded (so far) and also plays PAL discs for $35

And yes, I am one that still has a need for having a good VCR on hand. I have many tapes and although I mean to transfer them to DVD it usually doesn't happen unless I want it for a specific purpose on DVD and I have far to many tapes to do them all.

Plus, believe it or not, I am more convinced of the longevity of good tapes then I am for recordable DVDs(as opposed to prerecorded stamped DVD's). I have tapes over 20 years old that still work well (and have some beta tapes that still work good that were recorded in the 1970's and 80's). I have already have some trade DVD's go bad and they are less than 2 years old. It may depend on the type of DVD and the phase shifting dye used for burning but the jury is still out in my opinion on if they will last the long haul.

[HardyGirl]

But HG, I have a question here and I do not mean it in a bad way: But why did you get your VCR repaired? With the super low cost of VCRs/VCR-DVD combos I can't see how repairing it was even justifiable... I'm guessing that the repair bill was as much as just buying a new machine?

I got that VCR in 1992. I used it constantly, (I do mean constantly, as I recorded w/ it at least twice a day), and it took 12 years before it needed repairs. If you tried that w/ one of the cheapie machines today, it wouldn't last a year. I still record quite a lot w/ it, and I do have it hooked up to my mom's old VCR so I can make tapes. The inside has been completely rebuilt so I have no doubt it'll last another 12 years.

[livnxxxl]

My cheapo DVD player is finally dying.
I can't complain, it cost about 30 bucks and gave me about 2 years of steady play.

I'll probably get it at Walmart -- where I got my old one.

I see it time and time again. People buy from Wal-mart because it is cheap. They get what they pay for in the end. If you are happy with replacing it every 2 years then I would say go for it. Whatever makes you happy.

[livnxxxl]

I still have "a few" time lapse VCR's in addition to my DVR's which are used for surveillance cameras throughout my estate. Suprisingly they have all lasted a very long time under constant use. I will not replace them with the same if and when they finally do croak. I will continue to upgrade to whatever is the newest and best for the time. I also have a VHS/DVD recorder combo that I bought when they first came out. I know I paid way too much for it as with anything when it first comes out. However, in my eyes it has certainly paid for itself with all of the use I got from it transferring VHS to DVD. To each their own I suppose.

[wolfie]

Who wants a VCR to begin with ?
What a waste.

As i have well over a 1000 video tapes i would say i defo need a good vcr.

[Mikey]

I wasn't putting down VCR's

I was stating, if a person is shopping for a DVD player, there's probably a pretty good chance they don't want a VCR in the unit.

Why make me buy both ?

[wolfie]

Actually the things are so cheap now they probably throw in the vcr bit for free.

[Brue]

I have had several DVD and portable DVD players - they are ALL different
All will play Studio DVDs - some have difficulty wityh DVD-R and even more have trouble with RW even when finalized,
Some play MP4 some play VCD some will play JPGS as a slideshow Some even play AVI files
The cost seems to correlate with how well it plays studio DVDs (good ones will scan past flaws - cheap ones just stop)
The cost does not correlate to what formats they play.

The cheap DVD -R units that are cheap - make DVDs that won't play back - so get a good one

I love the portable ones (unless you need recordable) - use it on you living room tv, take it with you, use it in the car, hook it up to your computer. Freedom without losing quality.