DVD stand alone verses DVD in computer

[Warren Lake]

I have computers in the shop rooms to have you tube or DVDs. Ive asked two computer guys twice is the DVD player any better than the DVD's in computers and no response.

The main machine room has a Zotac mini on Linux and a Sony DVD player. Others are old computers with DVD players. Am I going to see a difference on a screen between the two? they are all put into a receiver and speakers and even with cheap gear sound is good, speakers far apart.

The linux has to be updated but may just stick in an old Dell to have one piece instead of the two separates. I guess I can answer my own question by running them side by side or if I cant run a DVD on one then unplug all. Question relates to both picture quality and sound quality. maybe there were different quality of DVD in computers as well.

[Jim Koepke]

Having had both, no difference was ever noticed.

The problem with a built in DVD player is if anything goes wrong with it. With an external player, it is easier to replace if it dies.

jtk

[Maurice Mcmurry]

We just got an external drive for the MacBook Air. The only problem I have had is remembering to eject the disc before exiting Music or Photos. I have been working on ripping the CD collection. I am discovering that some newer CDs have copyright protections built in.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Just to be clear - are you talking about a DVD internal to a computer vs a DVD that attaches to a computer with something like a USB connection
OR

Are you talking about a DVD attached to - either internal or external - vs a DVD attached to a TV or monitor?

I have all three - a DVD internal to my laptop, a USB DVD my wife uses via USB on her laptop and an external DVD that plugs into our Roku TV/Monitor.

The computer DVDs operate exactly the same.

The one on the Roku is sort of miserable to use because of the remote (very tiny and ill defined buttons on the remote). Having a mouse and a keyboard is much better than using the tiny buttons on the remote to navigate.

[Jim Becker]

DVD format has multiple purposes. "What you see" if you play DVD video will be the same whether the unit is internal to a computer, plugged into a computer externally or attached to a TV other than respective screen capabilities. But DVD players intended for attaching to a TV are typically for playback while those designed to interface with computers also tend to have data recording capability. That said, they are not generally part of a computer setup these days and are pretty much a "legacy" device, just like spinning hard drives have quickly evolved to. Spinners in high capacity storage remain common, but not internal to most current generation computers. DVD drives in computers have faired similarly...you're not really going to find them in most current generation computers anymore.

[Warren Lake]

I don't care about recording its only playback

what I want to know is now I run a Sony DVD for the picture into a computer or direct to a TV ill have to check that.

The sound portion goes out of the DVD direct to a receiver. the sound and picture are both really good even with a cheap receiver and speakers.

Now if I take that out and run a different computer that has a built in DVD will I end up with the same picture and sound quality?

[Lee Schierer]

I don't care about recording its only playback

what I want to know is now I run a Sony DVD for the picture into a computer or direct to a TV ill have to check that.

The sound portion goes out of the DVD direct to a receiver. the sound and picture are both really good even with a cheap receiver and speakers.

Now if I take that out and run a different computer that has a built in DVD will I end up with the same picture and sound quality?

The data/video on the DVD won't change no matter where you play it. The quality on the screen and sound may change depending upon the screen resolution and the audio board and speakers of the device where it is being played.

[Warren Lake]

its being played through the same TV and the same Receiver,non of that changes

Either the computer DVD and audio portion in it is equal to and as good as a separate Sony DVD player or its not, its two different sources the audio and the video being played through the same Tv screen and Receiver. I guess I should run it both ways and see if I can tell a difference.

[Jim Becker]

How do you intend to get the video and audio from the computer DVD to your TV and Receiver? That's the crux of the answer to your question about quality. As Lee noted, nothing changes at the source (DVD)...lt's about how it gets to your eyes and ears.

[Pat Germain]

I'm into home theater.

The quality of DVD/Blueray players varies a lot. If the DVD/Blueray player is plugged into a receiver, that can change the ultimate picture on a TV. Some receivers have upscaling.

Will the average person notice a difference in the picture quality? Maybe. Maybe not. If Mrs. Pat sees some colorful objects on the screen moving around and she can hear audio, she's happy. On the other hand, I'm a picture and audio snob and won't even bother watching a video, TV show or movie on a small, low-resolution picture with tinny audio.

So, will a standalone DVD player provide a better picture than a PC DVD player. Probably, but there are many variables. The biggest variable will be the person watching the picture.

[Bill Howatt]

Well, at least you admit it, Pat. I have now filed you under my "pixel watcher instead of content watcher" list.

I'm not unsympathetic to wanting good quality video and audio but I cannot understand the desire of some to spend big $$$ to play music in a workshop. For me, it's nothing but background and I couldn't even tell you the name of the previous song in many cases.

This brings me to a story I think I may have posted before. Years ago, while still at work, there was a push on for making it easier to get good graphics for scientific papers, etc. We helped a physicist who was presenting his paper at a conference. When he returned to work I asked him how his presentation went. He said it was terrible - nobody asked questions about his paper but wanted to know how he got his graphics!

[George Yetka]

Internal drives run off SATA are 30% faster than usb 3

[George Speed]

I went overboard with a Sony UBP-X800M2. Lots of initial buyers remorse, haha.
now, some 4 months later, I am very happy I went off the deep end!
It upmixes older stereo and even mono recordings to my Denon surround sound AVR. This is awesome.
It is my 5hp cabinet saw Player!

[Bill Dufour]

In thrift stores and at yard sale sI see lots of component systems that work fine except CD drive is dead. So a stand alone drive seems easier to replace when it dies.
Bill D

[Mark Wedel]

The one advantage of a computer DVD player is you can rip the data off the DVD and store it on the hard drive of the computer - if you end up watching some stuff repeatedly, this removed the need of even having a DVD in the computer.

If you have a stack of DVDs you plan to watch over time, you could just rip those all at once and have the data files ready, instead of needing to find the DVD you want and then insert it.

Ripping DVDs is much faster than playback - for actual playback, the speed is really limited by playback speed (no point reading it at 12x when the viewer needs to watch it at 1x), so ripping a stack of DVDs may not take that long.

And if you have file sharing set up (or a NAS or something like that), you could rip them on a different computer than what you play back on, such that the playback computer doesn't even need a DVD player. And you rip that stack of DVDs while doing something else, like reading the sawmill creek forums.