The best DVD player for VJing?

[retrotechnical]

I have spent months churning out VCDs of my own content from my computer and when I go to use them in my state-of-the-art Sony DVD player, the discs are unreadable. I have used them in other players so my encoding is not the problem. I need to find a DVD player that can play as many formats as possible(mainly computer-generated vcds) and have A-B Looping functionality and the have the ability to not display command functions on the output signal.

Ok, So my question is this:

Is there a DVD player on the market that serves all of the needs of the VJ and plays most formats including home-made vcds?


J

[syzygy]

Strange that your sony won't play VCDs - almost all DVD players nowerdays will play them.

Maybe not all that suprising actually - sony chose not to support VCDs on the Playstation 2.

DVDR Help has more information than you can shake a stick at about DVD formats and the technicalities of producing compatable DVDs and VCDs.

I would forget about A-B looping, unless you are happy with a pause at the end of each loop.

There have been some recent threads about DVD players in this forum - a quick glance down those will show you which players people are using and wouldrecommend.

Dan.

[holly]

Yes, a search will help you. No one has had a chance to use every player on the market.... I suggest taking your VCDs into the shop and asking for a try-out. Otherwise, a generous return policy may be the answer.

[retrotechnical]

Thanks ya'll for the advice and I did read some of the other threads that pertain to his subject, but I did not see any one deck that stood out from the others. Portable and inexpensive is always a good way to go in a world where a spilled drink can ruin an evenings set and get $$$ but is there really no DVD player that has seamless looping?

J

[starixiom]

Hey, what part of Georgia are you from?

In answer to your question, I have yet to find a Sony DvD player (newer or older) that can play VCD accurately. THats not to say they dont exsist, but if they do ive havent come across them (ive tried 6 different models.) So I was faced with either buying an el cheapo Dvd player that has VCD compatibility or converting my material to a different format.

So what i did is bit the bullet and converted all my material into DVD format. I purchased a Pioneer A04 and have been happy with the results ever since. There is always going to be trade offs and compatibility issues no matter what format you decide. My reasoning in choosing DVD-R is that there is current compatibility, its not an obsolete format (DVD in general, not -R), the results and quality are outstanding, and DVD disks are very portable.

If you dont want to work with DVD then I suggest maybe getting one of those Mintek, APex, or Norcent Branded DVD players that list VCD as an option. The usual places sell them Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart. That way if you buy it or demo it take it home and it craps out then you could always take it back for a refund.

[syzygy]

Originally posted by retrotechnical
is there really no DVD player that has seamless looping?

Not that I've seen, and certainly not at the 'disposable' price level.

Dan.

[retrotechnical]

It seems odd that there is no DVD player on the market that uniquely fills the needs of the VJ, it is great that there are so many software solutions available but what's up with these hardware manufacturers?

I have a pioneer 500 limited CD player that performs flawlessly, It has some incredible features including tempo and pitch controls, seamless looping with almost any size loop. Pioneer is the market leader when it comes to CD player solutions for DJs, I have also read that they "invented" the DVD, If this is true then why can't they make a DVD player that is more like their DJ CD player series?

I have taken ecomics and understand the concept of supply and demand but I think that if someone where to build such a unit, the market could support this product on a global scale. They could even use their "pro-sumer" price scale, If the CDJ-1000 is $999 then the dvdj-whatever could end up being around $2000 or more. I know it sounds steep but I am willing to wager that it will sell and sell and sell.

I think I will start asking these questions to the folks over at pioneer and see what they have to say....

[Meierhans]

Stupid question: If there is no DVD seamlessly looping, which small player eating SVCD (best would be be something that accepts higher bitrates that normal SVCD) has the best price and best amount of functions.

If this question was solved already (to death...) just post me the link please.

[mondo]

er..not teh place for it but raya are vjing with freq nasty in georgia next week.!!

ill get michael to post details - you should meet up!

[holly]

There were rumors on the forums a while back about Pioneer working on such a player. $2000 is way too much for that, though. You will need two of them, at least. I can get a laptop for cheaper. It really is viable now to cut cool loops in the studio and burn or record these to dvd for playing on a regular disposable.... They'll have to give me better than just seamless looping to justify a $2000 pricetag. I think pitchshift, some nice big buttons, and a scratchin jog wheel (ala CDJ) are probably a little more important than seemless loop, but even at $1000 I'd rather have another V4 to travel with and be able to show more layers at once.

My advice for the best VJ DVD player: get a stand alone DVD recorder (not a burner). It will change everything. Abandon VCD for once and for all. It's a lower-grade, unsupported format. The industry makes no money off VCD and it's just a Chinese "bootlegger" format as far as they are concerned. Full scale recordable DVD. You won't go back.