DVD player hangs at Exit command

[aslaksen]

Hi,

I have a problem that I was hoping somebody could help me with. But I must confess that I'm very confused, so I may not even be asking the right question.

I buy DVDs for my kids, rip them with AnyDVD and CloneDVD2 and use PGCedit to set default language and subtitle, etc. Most of the Disney DVDs have information about the Norwegian voices in a separate Title. So I first play Title 1 and then Title 2. Originally I had an "Exit" post command in Title 2, but when my standalone player got to that part, it just hung. The TV still showed the last screen of text, and I couldn't skip forward or backward or stop. I tried ejecting and loading again, but that just took me back to the same place.

In the end I managed to get to the beginning by ejecting and hitting the forward button as soon as the DVD loaded (that is a way to start from the beginning on my player).

I then tried another DVD with a similar setup, but without the exit command at the end, and then the player exited and took me to the default screen I get when the DVD is finished.

Any comments about this? It seems kind of weird that it doesn't exit when there is an exit command, but does exit when there isn't one.

Thanks for reading!

[Ghitulescu]

You compare apples with oranges.

Try the same DVD with and without the exit command.

Disney DVDs are heavily protected and it may be that something else confused your player.

[r0lZ]

A stupid player bug, most probably. Exit is rarely used in commercial DVDs, and that command might not have been tested carefully.

I have also a player that remembers the current position of the last DVD, and returns to that position automatically when the DVD is re-inserted. I find this "feature" more annoying than useful, as I have to insert another DVD to force the player to forget the position of the current DVD.

To solve your problem, I suggest to change the Exit command with a call to the FP-PGC, to restart the DVD. That way, the player will be continuously playing something, and you will be able to eject it.

[Ghitulescu]

I have also a player that remembers the current position of the last DVD, and returns to that position automatically when the DVD is re-inserted. I find this "feature" more annoying than useful, as I have to insert another DVD to force the player to forget the position of the current DVD.

That's a feature that I like it. Should you find it annoying, press STOP twice :)

[aslaksen]

You compare apples with oranges.

Try the same DVD with and without the exit command.

Disney DVDs are heavily protected and it may be that something else confused your player.

Dear Ghitulescu,

Yes, Disney DVDs are a nightmare! Sometimes the Title that contains the listing of voice actors is buried inside a maze of commands that is beyond my understanding. But this time both of them seemed similar, so even though I agree with you apples and oranges analogy in principle, I'm not sure if that is the problem in this case.

Anyway, I will experiment more. I just wanted to get some clues about which directions to look.

Thanks!

[aslaksen]

To solve your problem, I suggest to change the Exit command with a call to the FP-PGC, to restart the DVD. That way, the player will be continuously playing something, and you will be able to eject it.

That's what I used to do, but remember, this is for my kids, and continuous looping of DVDs does not work very well at bedtime! :-)

[aslaksen]

That's a feature that I like it. Should you find it annoying, press STOP twice :)

Cool! I'll have to try that. On my player there is a mesage that says that I can hit the backward key, but I only get a few seconds to do it, before it turns into just a regular backward.

I personally like it, but my slightly anal four year old son hates it and insists on always starting from the beginning. Which means that there are many DVDs that I've never seen the ending of, but where I know the opening part by heart. :-(

Thanks!

[r0lZ]

That's a feature that I like it. Should you find it annoying, press STOP twice :)
I know that trick, and it works with most players, but not with my (cheap) Medion player. :-(

(It has some other bugs too; for example, it doesn't change the aspect ratio (4:3 or 16:9) when the first cell is played after having inserted the DVD. It's annoying with most of my reauthored DVDs, as they begin usually with the main menu. Now, I must insert a blank cell at the beginning.)

[Ghitulescu]

Yes, Disney DVDs are a nightmare! Sometimes the Title that contains the listing of voice actors is buried inside a maze of commands that is beyond my understanding. But this time both of them seemed similar, so even though I agree with you apples and oranges analogy in principle, I'm not sure if that is the problem in this case.
Since I don't care about menus and stuff and I like to hear the actors in original, be it Swahili, I simply rip the main movie only (one audio, and some subtitles). Even so there are still some problems, but these are simply to remove.
That's what I used to do, but remember, this is for my kids, and continuous looping of DVDs does not work very well at bedtime! :-)
I didn't know that your kids like to watch the DVD Logo (or the Jacket image should the DVD have one and the player support it) on the TV for hours :) :)

I know that trick, and it works with most players, but not with my (cheap) Medion player. :-(
At least yours was cheap, if I may a joke ... What to say about a professional DVD player that has a bug on conditional jumps?!

[r0lZ]

What to say about a professional DVD player that has a bug on conditional jumps?!
Do you have one? :eek: What brand?

BTW, I have checked at least 8 hardware players, and none of them are bug free, although my first player, the very expensive Sony DVP S725D was almost bug free, except a nasty bug with random and shuffle playback modes. But it cannot read the DVD+/-R. Pity! (I have also tested a more recent Sony recorder, but that one was catastrophic! I had to return it to the store.)

[Ghitulescu]

Do you have one? :eek: What brand
It's a Swedish or Danish (something Nordic anyway) brand that uses a Philips deck and optical pickup. They added controls for PC, Keyboard and LCD (including touchscreen) - most probably for exhibition purposes.

[aslaksen]

Thanks for lots of useful thoughts. But can I just ask one more thing? Assume that I have a bug-free player. What is supposed to happen if I remove the exit command at the end of the last title? Sould it just exit by itself anyway? Or should it just hang?

Thanks!

[Ghitulescu]

It should simply stop, if no other navigation command is present. The player would display the jacket (if this exists and the player supports this feature) or the manufacturers' logo (like in STOP mode with no inserted DVD).

[aslaksen]

It should simply stop, if no other navigation command is present. The player would display the jacket (if this exists and the player supports this feature) or the manufacturers' logo (like in STOP mode with no inserted DVD).

That's what I thought. So what's really the point of the exit command then?

Thanks!

[Ghitulescu]

So what's really the point of the exit command then?

To be used in other places than the "logical" end of the DVD.