Why does a DVD+R disc not play well on a DVD player?

My co-worker gives me Maxell DVD's of recopied movies. They play well until the last 1/2 hour of play, then the sound and picture become distorted. Thought my JVC DVD player was going south, but it plays purchased DVD's, and those we rent from video store just fine. I am not experienced with this electronic, so I need your input.

Thanks

This is a common problem and could be a number of things. Depending on the age of your JVC DVD Player, it could be the problem. Generally DVD Players more then say 3 or 4 years old will have issues in playing burned DVD discs. An original DVD movie is pressed, not burned so the pits that contain the digital information on the disc are deeper and well defined and give a better reflectivity of the laser. A burned disc on the other hand varies in quality based on the manufacturer of the blank media, what speed the disc was recorded at and how well the software does at creating the disc in standard DVD movie format.

You may have to experiment also with what type of media your DVD player "likes" better as far as DVD+R or DVD-R. Try to purchase some blank media that has "Made in Japan" on the back as that will be Grade-A discs. It may be hard to find, but it's out there. Frys for example has there GQ brand discs that are NOT good to use for movies as they are Grade-D discs! If your DVD player is old, you may need to replace it with a newer one that will handle copied movies no problem like a Philips that you can get for about $50. My 1999 Panasonic DVD player ($250 at the time) does not play copied disc well, but my 2005 Philips ($50) plays any of the discs just fine.. Hi Debbie,