[[email protected]]

My computer CD/DVD player never skips/gets stuck playing a movie/CD,
while a dedicated DVD player routinely gets stuck and often goes into
an infinite loop of track search. Same with the car CD player - it
often can't start playing a certain CD or skips on the same place in a
CD (so it's not bump-induced). The unability to start playing a CD in
the car is "cured" by reinserting the CD over and over again, and
eventually the car CD player starts. But if it starts skipping, the
only "cure" is to go to the next track, it can never get out of a
skip.

Why is that? Do computer CD/DVD readers use more powerful/better
focused laser diodes than car CD players/DVD players? Can I buy a car
CD player which would be just as reliable as a computer CD reader?
What spec should I look for? I pretty much gave up on the DVD player,
I just play movies on a laptop.

[Arny Krueger]

wrote in message
oups.com

My computer CD/DVD player never skips/gets stuck playing
a movie/CD,

It is in good shape, or has the good fortune to play mostly discs in good
shape.

while a dedicated DVD player routinely gets
stuck and often goes into an infinite loop of track
search.

It is in bad shape, or has the bad fortune to play mostly discs in bad
shape.

Same with the car CD player - it often can't
start playing a certain CD or skips on the same place in
a CD (so it's not bump-induced).

It is in bad shape, or has the bad fortune to play mostly discs in bad
shape.

The unability to start
playing a CD in the car is "cured" by reinserting the CD
over and over again, and eventually the car CD player
starts. But if it starts skipping, the only "cure" is to
go to the next track, it can never get out of a skip.

Why is that?

Luck of the draw.

Do computer CD/DVD readers use more
powerful/better focused laser diodes than car CD
players/DVD players?

I've seen certain of them do everything you're complaining about with the
other players.

Can I buy a car CD player which
would be just as reliable as a computer CD reader?

IME, most of them are.

What spec should I look for?

One that works well.

I pretty much gave up on the DVD player, I just play movies on a laptop.

Try cutting loose some cash - good DVD players aren't all that expensive.

[[email protected]]

I've had ~10 computers and none of them has ever skipped or was unable
to recongize a CD with normal wear and tear.
I've had ~10 car CD players and home VD players and they consistenly
recognized less CDs with normal war and tear. So, given this
information, I can't buy the bad shape/good shape argument. I ripped
all of my CDs and transfered the music onto an iPod. But I still have
to play a CD the car occasionally

[Neil Green]

wrote in message
ps.com...
I've had ~10 computers and none of them has ever
skipped or was unable
to recongize a CD with normal wear and tear.
I've had ~10 car CD players and home VD players and
they consistenly
recognized less CDs with normal war and tear. So,
given this
information, I can't buy the bad shape/good shape
argument. I ripped
all of my CDs and transfered the music onto an iPod.
But I still have
to play a CD the car occasionally

Are the CD's that the car stereo complains about CDR
or factory pressed, or both?
Same with the DVD's, are they burnt or factory?

[Mark D. Zacharias[_2_]]

wrote in message
ps.com...
I've had ~10 computers and none of them has ever skipped or was unable
to recongize a CD with normal wear and tear.
I've had ~10 car CD players and home VD players and they consistenly
recognized less CDs with normal war and tear. So, given this
information, I can't buy the bad shape/good shape argument. I ripped
all of my CDs and transfered the music onto an iPod. But I still have
to play a CD the car occasionally



The most common problem with car and other CD players is cleaning-related.
Either dust or smoke residue has settled in on the objective lens or inside
on the turning mirror, or the moving parts such as the gears, rails sliders,
etc have their grease gummed up with dirt etc, or even hair or other debris
impeding their movement.

With DVD players, the problem is more often just a marginal or bad laser
pickup. DVD players and drives are much less tolerant of a noisy or
interrupted data flow than are audio cd players.

The above applies to both computer drives and standalones.


Mark Z.

[AZ Nomad]

On Tue, 14 Aug 2007 09:18:21 GMT, Mark D. Zacharias wrote:

The most common problem with car and other CD players is cleaning-related.
Either dust or smoke residue has settled in on the objective lens or inside
on the turning mirror, or the moving parts such as the gears, rails sliders,

Actually not, unless your car happens to be a construction site and you
find that you have to dust your dash on a daily basis.

The usual cause of CD player problems is wear on the rails, crappy two
dollar transports and poor lubrication. I've never seen an automotive CD
player have any problem with a dirty lens. A "CD cleaning disk" is good for
nothing but as a surefire way to trash a CD player's lens.

[Mark D. Zacharias[_2_]]

"AZ Nomad" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 14 Aug 2007 09:18:21 GMT, Mark D. Zacharias
wrote:

The most common problem with car and other CD players is cleaning-related.
Either dust or smoke residue has settled in on the objective lens or
inside
on the turning mirror, or the moving parts such as the gears, rails
sliders,

Actually not, unless your car happens to be a construction site and you
find that you have to dust your dash on a daily basis.

The usual cause of CD player problems is wear on the rails, crappy two
dollar transports and poor lubrication. I've never seen an automotive CD
player have any problem with a dirty lens. A "CD cleaning disk" is good
for
nothing but as a surefire way to trash a CD player's lens.


I'm sitting here in stunned disbelief. If you've never seen a dirty lens in
of all things a car deck, then you are living a charmed existence in this
regard.

And rails do not for the most part "wear". They simply gum up from bad lube
and debris.

Agree on the uselessness of cleaning discs.


Mark Z.

[Mr.T]

wrote in message
ps.com...
I've had ~10 computers and none of them has ever skipped or was unable
to recongize a CD with normal wear and tear.
I've had ~10 car CD players and home VD players and they consistenly
recognized less CDs with normal war and tear. So, given this
information, I can't buy the bad shape/good shape argument. I ripped
all of my CDs and transfered the music onto an iPod. But I still have
to play a CD the car occasionally

The simple reason that a computer drive can sometimes read disks that other
drives can't, is that because a computer drive can read faster than real
time, it can re-read tracks whilst the computer buffers the output, and you
may not be aware there is a disk problem.
Most home and car players cannot do this, and the result can be anything
from clicks, stuttering to complete silence.
I've never had a single problem in over 3 years with my car CD/MP3-disk
player though

MrT.

[[email protected]]

The simple reason that a computer drive can sometimes read disks that other
drives can't, is that because a computer drive can read faster than real
time, it can re-read tracks whilst the computer buffers the output, and you
may not be aware there is a disk problem.
Most home and car players cannot do this, and the result can be anything
from clicks, stuttering to complete silence.
I've never had a single problem in over 3 years with my car CD/MP3-disk
player though

MrT.

Does the buffering occur in the RAM. Dumb question: do they make car
CD players with a capacity of computer buffer?

[Richard Crowley]

wrote ...

The simple reason that a computer drive can sometimes read disks that
other
drives can't, is that because a computer drive can read faster than real
time, it can re-read tracks whilst the computer buffers the output, and
you
may not be aware there is a disk problem.
Most home and car players cannot do this, and the result can be anything
from clicks, stuttering to complete silence.
I've never had a single problem in over 3 years with my car CD/MP3-disk
player though

MrT.

Does the buffering occur in the RAM. Dumb question: do they make car
CD players with a capacity of computer buffer?

Unlikely. Computer buffers are essentially infinite (in terms of an 800MB
audio CD)

[Ron Capik]

wrote:

My computer CD/DVD player never skips/gets stuck playing a movie/CD,
while a dedicated DVD player routinely gets stuck and often goes into
an infinite loop of track search. Same with the car CD player - it
often can't start playing a certain CD or skips on the same place in a
CD (so it's not bump-induced). The unability to start playing a CD in
the car is "cured" by reinserting the CD over and over again, and
eventually the car CD player starts. But if it starts skipping, the
only "cure" is to go to the next track, it can never get out of a
skip.

Why is that? Do computer CD/DVD readers use more powerful/better
focused laser diodes than car CD players/DVD players? Can I buy a car
CD player which would be just as reliable as a computer CD reader?
What spec should I look for? I pretty much gave up on the DVD player,
I just play movies on a laptop.

Have you ever used your computer CD/DVD player in your car?
I don't believe you have enough information to draw that conclusion.

Later...

Ron Capik
--

[Mr.T]

wrote in message
oups.com...

Does the buffering occur in the RAM. Dumb question: do they make car
CD players with a capacity of computer buffer?

Well most good car CD players have *some* buffering to reduce skips on rough
roads. The actual capabilities and performance depends on the model of
course.
I did hear a car CD player that had no buffering at all once. Brand new, and
even on a smooth road with good factory disks, it was totally unlistenable
due to skipping :-(

MrT.