Best DVD Player for DTiVo SVCD's?

[r0x]

I realize that there are various problems with non-standard DTiVo SVCD's, but even so it a very compelling archiving format. Which is the best stand-alone DVD player to get for DTiVo SVCD's? Does it have to be something like the POS APEX or are there better models that will work? (I looked on VCDHelp, but DTiVo compatiblity is not on there yet... Preferably the DTiVo friendly model will also be popular at the UN - region hack - and also be friendly with my VCR - MacroVision hack... ;-)

I made a test SVCD with tytool7r4 (I left audio setting at the default 192kbps 44.1 kHz) and I got mixed results with the following players:

PC with PowerDVD v5 demo:
- Totally FUBAR, even on a 2.4 GHz Pentium IV. Wouldn't play back at all.

PC with WinDVD v5 demo:
- Perfect playback, even on a slow 500 MHz Pentium III

SONY DVP-S560D:
- Wouldn't play no name CD-R. Played Verbatim 2x-4x CD-RW with skipping / video freezes / audio drop outs. Unwatchable.

GE 1401P:
- Played both CD-R and CD-RW with skipping / video freezes / audio drop outs. Unwatchable.

TIA for any advice!

r0x

[Homer S]

I have two different APEX players that work fine.

I would suggest swinging over to http://www.dvdrhelp.com and looking in their database. They have all kinds of stats on DVD players and what they will play. I believe you are looking for xSVCD playback.

Homer Out

[keith721]

It's been said that it will play just about anything, except:
- a peanut butter and jelly sandwich
- a slice of provolone cheese
- a frisbee
- a pizza

at the sub-70-dollar price, you really can't complain much about it, other than the lightweight, somewhat flimsy assembly. of course, at this price, you could always buy a backup/spare.

[r0x]

Well,

I went down to my local Wal-Mart mega store with a couple of test disks in hand to try out their selection of DVD players. Wal-Mart, as well as Best Buy and Circuit City, don't have the DVD players hooked up to TV's any more so you have to act like you own the place and hook them up yourself if you want to try them.

Anyway, Wal-Mart carries the APEX AD5131 3-disk changer and the AD1110W single-disk player. Niether one of them would play my test SVCD. To add insult to injury, neither one of them would play my test DVD+R (media unknown). The AD5131 changer recongnizes the SVCD as such and then promptly freezes up - the only way to remove the disk was to remove power from the player in order to reset it. The AD1110W player just gave me an error message on the TV screen (it does not have a display or other indicator LED's of any kind). I read several reviews on VCDHelp that said APEX had removed VCD/SVCD support from their line and that they recently "unofficially" reintroduced VCD/SVCD features. Also, several VCDHelp posts said that APEX uses the same model numbers for machines with different firmware so the inventory in your local store may work perfectly fine with VCD's even though the pile of players they had at my local Wal-Mart couldn't tell the difference between a VCD and a frisbee... :-0

I'm thinking of getting a Daewoo player, either the DVG-3000N or maybe a Daewoo 5700/5800/5900. These players' feature set (multisystem, VCR friendly, play XSVCD) are more in line with what I'm looking for. Anyone have first-hand experience with DTiVo SVCD's in these?

r0x

References:

Daewoo 5700, etc.:

http://www.nerd-out.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=29&sid=eebd97b9c9a9bac6fd9fde26e774a68a

Daewoo 3000, etc.:

http://www.nerd-out.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=13&sid=eebd97b9c9a9bac6fd9fde26e774a68a

[newbie]

Try the Norcent 300, generally available in Wal Mart, Amazon...

[Pro-289]

I still stand by the RCA RC6001P (http://www.rca.com/product/viewdetail/0,2588,PI700020,00.html?) progressive scan DVD player. You can find them around for $110 (http://www.freddysdeals.com/clearance/t401345.html) and sometimes for $99. Strange though, when they came out they were around $150, but the RCA web site says MSRP $75.99. Seen'm go for $40-$60 on eBay, too. Can't beat that price for progressive scan DVD, MP3, VCD, (SVCD, xSVCD not mentioned), optical DD5.1 and individual 5.1 outputs, component video out, and other stuff. Plays my over-spec SVCDs fine, even likes Nero created SVCD menus.

Owner's Manual (http://www.rca.com/documents/1577564A(RC6001P)_700588_25.pdf)
Specs (http://www.rca.com/content/productspecs/0,2810,PI700020-CI302,00.html?)

[Zak0]

Just thought I'd give a quick comment on my Apex experience... I have an old AD-660 model with an OFFA firmware loaded, and it plays DTivo SVCDs pretty much flawlessly. Ocassionally, there's a slowdown right at the beginning of the show, and it tends to cut off the last 10 seconds or so of the video (I always let my last cut run long for this reason), but other than those two things it's been great.

So, I'd probably recommend any OFFA-capable player.

-Zak