Tim Schwartz writes:

Robert Macy wrote:
Samsung manufactured a very inexpensive VHS/DVD player under the
label, Go-Video

This unit displays very strange tracking on a favorite DVD. It seems
to 'lock up' when it gets to the track. Sometimes can't go passed the
scenes once into them. That includes PLAY, FF, and even super FF.
When the player gets to this section it just doesn't seem to go
further.

Luckily, depending on temperament of the day, the player has
'unlocked' and jumped through the "bad" section so we have seen the
end of the film. But usually takes a good six to seven or more 'back
up and forge through it' attempts.

Besides the obvious, where is a tutorial describing tracking, tracking
failures, etc?

My questions a

From the experiences of the membrs of this group who deal with actual
machines, which machine generally has the best playing and tracking?

Which DVD player is the best in terms of robustness at playing less
than perfect DVD's?

And, which machine lasts enough time to make it a purchase, not a
rental of trash?

Robert

Good morning Robert,

While it might be possible to find a player that handles this
one disc better, if it is the only disc that is really giving you
problems, then the problem is a damaged disc, not your player.

So, you might find that buying a new copy of the disc in
question is the hot ticket. Alternately, you can look for a video
rental store that has a professional disc polisher (like Research
Technology International's "DiscChek" system) who will polish out the
disc for a few dollars. These polishers cost thousands of dollars. I
have not had satisfactory results with the home kits, though there
could be some good ones.

Keep in mind that like an audio CD, DVD's play from the center
out, so if your disc is scratched at the outer edge, it is likely to
be your problem.

I agree. A careful visual inspection of the DVD may reveal some obvious
damaged area.

However, I'm not sure one can infer the location on the DVD based on
when the problem occurs as easily as on a CD expecially if it is double
layer.

Try the DVD in another DVD player, or your PC to see if it also has the
problem.

The key may be: "Samsung manufactured a very inexpensive VHS/DVD player
under the label, Go-Video".

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