Questions DVD's and Paint

[Scott]

Thanks for readin...
2 questions:

1. DVD's We have a decent DVD player Zenith something, runs through our Sony Stereo VHS and a Sony surround sound system. 98% of the DVD collection we have play w/o problem but a couple skip! Just got the kids Beauty and the Beast last night, an hour in and it begins to skip, then jumps to another sceen!
Now as I see it the problem shouldn't be the disk...right? but if it's the player why wouldn't it do it more often, or on other disks? We do have a lens cleaner but it seems to make no difference. The disk is clean too. I will get a can of air but... Anyone have a thought or maybe the same problem?

2. Just got an old (1990) Dodge Caravan needs a little TLC but solid second transportation just the same. The "plastic" panels inside have some paint, stains on then. I've cleaned them as best I can but to improve the interrior apearance I wouldnt mind painting them...anybody know of a vinyl paint or something that would stick to these interrior panels? I could leave them as is but....

Well thats it. Just a couple things buggin me thought I'd get some feedback from others!

Thanks!
Scott

[pyro]

DVD: It only takes a tiny scratch to raise hell. It is also possible to have a defective disc, if it doesn't have scratches at all, but doesn't play right. For small scratches, they make a scratch remover gadget for CD's and such. You can also rub it with fine automotive polish on a fresh flannel cloth, rub from inside to outside, not in circles. that will fix CD's sometimes.

Plastic panels can be real fun. Try rubbing alcohol or zippo lighter fluid to remove the stains. You DON'T want to paint them. Anywhere someone's arm rubs on it the panel will discolor and the paint will soften from skin chemicals and such.
Sometimes, it if you find a solvent strong enough to remove the paint speckles, it may also give the panel a "white" hue. Here's something else you can try, test a small area first, it doesn't work on all plastics: If you take some acetone on a folded cloth, and wipe it over the plastic ONLY ONCE, do it in rows, don't overlap, it will slightly dissolve and "refresh" the exposed plastic. If you dare wipe it twice within a couple hours in this fashion, it will take on a nasty white haze.
If you do this correctly, it will have more shine than if you used armor-all.

[Rickracer]

If you go to a body shop supply store, they have dedicated vinyl paint that works pretty good. Either find out exactly how to use it from them, or follow the directions on the can precisely, and it will work OK. I've used it in my truck for the door and kick panels. It will wear off eventually, but you can just re-paint them every few years. :cool:

[Scott]

No scratches in the disks, or at lease that can be seen with the naked eye, well not naked I was wearing shorts......
Guys here at work seem to think that the disk is defective, thinking that mass production disks are probably not the best of quality. I know at work we went from cheep disks to Kodak Gold series to archive of our most important data for that same reason.

Yup Acetone will leave a white haze....Oops did that..... Might try my paint jobber, see what they have. Could leave it, we only use it during the school year to haul the kids to school and back. We're to close to the school so they cant ride the bus and we're just to paranoid (for good reason) to let um walk.

Thanks again!!:cool:

[sho305]

When I was at a bodyshop we used dupont interior dye paint and it worked ok except for real high wear like an armrest that nothing would do. They had a paint(not dye) too you had to use for better coverage sometimes. I have used spray can stuff too that was ok. You need to clean it real well before and try to get an adhesion promoter to put on first for plastic-found in spray cans mostly for car bumpers. I like to use Naptha or alchohol if it don't mess it up bad; read can. Good idea to use a brush and good soap first and scrub it. Naptha good for painting prep too, just wipe off good. Plastic has oil and release agents in it, so cleaning is important to make it stick.

Also had good luck using automotive hand cleaner for cleaning spots, but the gritty stuff can scratch. Autozone has this purple stuff too, or greased lightning is close, but can melt plastic/bad paint sometimes too. Carpet spot remover can work sometimes.

DVDs? Here is my rant: I stay away from them and Sony. They have hosed us for 4+ years now we could have had DVD burners! They keep the standard up in the air so we can't have one like a common CD burner. Like they don't sell CDs because everyone copys them, RIGHT! Just like they never made money on VHS too??!! When CDs/DVDs cost <$1 to make, you think that goes to the artist? No, it keeps you from copying movies, storing large files on DVD, and keeps the technology away from you! It is legal to copy media here in the US, and they want to get around that. Every encryption they have is broken like it always will be unless they can take over the whole industry & equipment. I am not going to support them. They keep the price of CDs/DVDs way too high.

Proprietary technology typically dies. About killed Apple. What about Sonys Beta?? You all got screwed. I threw a good sony travan tape drive in the trash, cant find special sony tapes for it so you think I'll buy another?. Why is Unix taking over the world? It is open source, like the net it is public. Don't think MS is not shaking in their boots while they try to encrypt your data/performance away from you! I run Mandrake on a machine here too, works fine. Why you think MS come out with this stupid ploy to lease OSs to companies after you buy it with the machine???! DUH! Cause they are going nowhere with their proprietary junk they cannot make better! Explorer ran faster on my 486 than it does on this AMD 1.5 right now. It never crashed back then either.

Check out some articles in computer-land about this. They want encyption in every DVD player and all through your computers so you can't mess with it(and you don't know what is going on in there either!). Microsoft is following, why you think XP is not selling? When I buy media/computer/OS it is mine! I'm not gonna rent it. They can kiss my #^^#$@!!! I boycott all of them. Money talks!

$15 for a DVD? That much gas will run my boat motor for longer than the DVD movie plays!

[Scott]

Ok sho don't hold back...how do you really feel about DVD's:eek:

Just yankin yer chain! I agree with you! I guess I've become one of the technology sheep just following the flock. It's funny, I was so Pissed off when I found out that in 2(?) years my expensive new TV will not be any good....they'er forcing everyone to go to digital! (what is it, the subliminal messages wont be transmitted analog anymore?) I guess I don't mind walking to the slaughter house on my own but hate being forced! Ok so thats a bit much.

The paint situation. The plastic panels are not where anyone will contact them so I may be ok with the paint you discussed. The rear bench is away from the panels and have arm rests of it's own. Thanks for the tips!!

[sho305]

Sorry for the rant, but them messing with me po's me. Technology is a great thing, don't try to stop the world from rotating(& with my $$$). This country is about freedom and they are taking it away. I just read about digital radio coming. How are they going to stop you from recording that and digital tv? Oh no! It is rediculous, pure and simple. No wonder every big company I have worked around was managed by idiots! Lots of small ones too. Maybe the repubs will change it, but I doubt it. Boats are just more fun.

You should have no problem, just clean it real double well and test a spot in case of a problem. It may want to fish-eye if it had armorall or such silicone put on it once. You have to wash it off and use dry coats to cover. If it is a hard surface I would try a scratch pad on it too. A red one. If you can sand it with a pad it will stick better, but can't really sand soft vinyl and have to use adhesion promoter. Just a spray can ought to work fine if good and clean and no wear against it.

I painted the vinyl covered side panels in a boat this way with a can once. It worked great as they just sit there.

[bulldogdaddy]

on dvd's,if you buy the disk from a store like best buy,or whoever,and it skips,take it right back,.its got defects in it.as far as dvd's,i love them,it took me some time but spent some hard earned mony 3 years ago on an entertainment system,went with digital receiver(dennon) klipsh speakers and sub,magnavox mx tv and dvd. Now the thing is if your tv,but you said it was new,does not have a high resolution you wont see to much of a difference in picture quality,hdtv is definatley alot better,but money for the boat comes first now,35 in. ain't to bad> and second if you do not have a digital with a fiber optic output your not getting true digital sound,just regular surround sound, surround sound puts out a mono rear output signal as where dolby digital seperates the rear signal,now this is what i was told.if i was an expert i would'nt have to freeze and sweat my butt of all year i would be putting in home audio. also don't believe the comcast digital cable hype,the don't have a fiber optic output on there box ,but my sattelite does! and when the hell are you gonna call!:D

[CompKing]

Scott
During the early 90's all the replacment panals on the vans came in one color and we had to paint them befor we instaled them. You can get the paint at your Dodge dealer in small spay cans in the right color.If you had a brand new van and had a cracked panal thats what you would get.They quit doing that about 95 or so.I never thoght it was a good way to do things but it was the way they did it and worked OK.Ther paint code is on the label on the drivers door or the tag under the hood or your dealer can tell you too.

[Scott]

Thanks Dave. Glad to hear paint is an option. The van was a "work van" cloth/carpet areas were covered and remained really nice! The plastic panels on the otherhand got splashed with...? I did a good cleaning, but they could look better. The 90 van would look new inside if not for these panels. Thanks for the tip!

BDD...damn dude! went to call ya last night, daughter was on the phone, I fell asleep on the couch! Will attempt "the call that took forever" tonight!

[gaineso]

BDD, there is a lot of confusion and argument about digital outputs in audio equipment. The consensus is, coax digital is superior, although only slightly, to optical. For one thing, the optical requires encoding to a light signal and back to electrical. Just be sure you're connecting to digital in and out.

If you have coax and Toslink (optical) in's and out's, try it yourself with GOOD cables, not the junk that comes with the equipment. I think you'll hear a difference.

DVD's sometimes don't work. Poor quality in the plants. Some discs will play good on some machines and won't play on others. Take the disc back and see if a different one will play. I've had DVD for about 5 years now, and the number of lousy discs is going down.

Agree about SONY though. Really sorry, overpriced junk. JVC, Toshiba, Pioneer and Panasonic are all cheaper and more reliable.

[Scott]

Yup...we went to gold plated and Monster Cable (r) and there was a difference.

[sho305]

Sony-they make some good products, but I got tired of assuming the position. Got the parents a great 900 phone once. It will go a week w/out charging, great range, etc. A friend had a sony that dies after a couple hours talk time and gives you about 5 seconds notice, and it was new/good batts/etc. I've had some good luck with panasonic & toshiba if they have what you want. I can see protecting PS2 games media for example, but stopping the whole computer industry by legal manipulation is something I can't forgive, ever. #$$%&^ lawers again. Being able to burn 5+gig of data to a $1 DVD is needed here for backup/storage/travel. And you will never stop those inclined to copy media like movies and cds despite your spending millions to do so. Mostly the ones that copy cannot/will not afford to buy it anyway. Just stupid people running these companies.

About all you can do is make sure the DVD is clean, as well as the lens. Be very careful about the lens, and if the player gets dropped it can cause contact to the lens, scratch it and make the thing useless. A scratch on the DVD will cause loss of data there if not removed--hard to do. I see DVD/CDs as somewhat of a failure for this; they should be enclosed then like a floppy. They are no better than an old record for durability. That is one reason why the government lets you copy them! I have seen some players not like a DVD while another works fine, same for burned CDs.

The video- the antenna line is the worst way to do it. S-video and component are close I hear, and digital/optical supposedly better(?). The argument I heard is that the digital data from the DVD/CD is only converted to analog at the sound amp and tv monitor. Converting the digital signal in anyway before that will not cause any loss of data, unike converting an anolog signal. Also tha digital signal will not pick up any noise traveling, so keep it digital as long as possible until you use the signal.

With the quality of equipment now, I doubt there are many that could tell, and you have much larger variables like speaker design and placement, room acustics, etc. So unless you are very into it, I doubt it matters that much until you get into thousands of $$. Likely not to see a difference while using something better than the antenna, unless you have high end system and a great source signal. Extra grounding on the equipment/better cables may help too.

My friend has 3 dishes now, and when he runs it or DVD to his 64" TV and triple amp/subwoofer/digital dolby/800+ watt sound system--it rocks. He has equipment racks to the ceiling on each side of the TV and speakers everywhere in a 20x20 room. The air signal and cable he had sucks in comparison and was hardly useable on that monster system. You watch something with buildings blowing up and you want to run out of the house! I just don't watch enough tv to make that worth it, the boat is more fun.:D

[bulldogdaddy]

scott,lmao,sounds like me i'm still at the shop,look at the post time,and swiped in at 4am.,be home soon though.! gaineso,believe me i know what your talking about on connectors,my optic line ran 75 bucks,and i do have monster gold rca,and s-video on all my componets!like i said i got a pretty nice setup but 3 yrs later they have 8 channel recievers,go figure,just like a puter,3 monts after you buy them and their obsolete

[bulldogdaddy]

sounds like we need to go to sho's buddy's house for the super bowl:D

[sho305]

I should take a pic of it. He is in hvac. Likes cerwi vega and has a set of those monster 15"s about 4' tall, and they have a 6" port in the back, plus a new full surround set. Made custom sub boxes to fit under the end tables with 12"s in them. Also has a big automotive hatchbox for a center channel as wide as the 64" tv with 10"s/horns/mids in it he can turn on/off. Has two other sets of speakers in there too. Has two 300cd changers full, and was getting another. Has speakers upstairs he can turn on/off. I think he had three equalizers on it but took one out that did not have lights on it, but was getting another with lights?!? Made the cabinets to fit the stuff in and put cooling fans in there, glass doors for dust....looks like a Christmas tree all lit up; totally nuts! He can still hear for some reason. That is the only house I ever been in that the stereo can shake the concrete basement floor. It gives you the butterflies when he turns it up, and it is clear.

He had a car with 6 amps and 6 10" subs in the trunk. Mine only had 4 10"s; now that stuff sets in the closet.....waiting for the right boat?

[bulldogdaddy]

colling fans for his stereo?and in hvac,you'd think he'd have a duct from the a/c going direct to it!:D

[sho305]

He might! He has a window shaker now, and the basement stays cool. He is waiting because he wants to replace the whole 4 year old furnace with some new variable speed thing, and needs a certain size condenser to make the a/c more efficient. He wanted more cash, so he went to the guy next door and cleaned his garage all out; now they are buying cheap cars to fix one after the other and selling them, plus putting in clutches, motors, brakes, etc.

I asked him to help me pull the motor out of my '78 T/A once; I jacked the car and pulled the drive shaft off, and when I got out from under there he was pulling one of the heads off already! No air tools either. Just unreal. Not the smartest/most educated guy, but he has magnets in his fingers for the wrenches or something. Is single now and his house is spotless & bills paid. That's a lot more than I can say for other people I know. I helped him on some sidejobs too, had a hell of a time keeping up with him. He can cut a hole on a duct in a few seconds, even his partner could not do it as fast. I pray for that kind of ambition.