To answer your question, one of these files is corrupted.
Whether it is a bad file, got corrupted in preparing the DVD or a defective media issue is uncertain.

The freezing up before the last scene scenario also suggests the possibility of a bad layer break (if you are dealing with a DVD-9 dual-layer disc. If your disc has more than 4.5 GB on it it is a dual-layer disc.
This could also mean your players are getting hung up at the layer break for whatever reason.

Some software players (like PowerDVD 5 or later), can play .VOB files just as easily as you can play .MPG files.
If you can, put your disc in your computer and open the disc so that you can see the files. Then, find the highest numbered .VOB file (there shouldn't be more than 10), right-click on it, choose "open with" and then select the application you want to open it with. Try all the .VOB files the same way.
You should be able to narrow it down to which .VOB file is the defective one this way. You can also determine which layer the defective file is on too.

This doesn't solve your problem, but it may give you a workaround. I have been able to watch scenes in this manner when they were unwatchable from the video DVD itself.
FYI, the .VOB files are not broken down by scene... just by size (i.e. 1 GB limit).

[Link]

I still wonder about the DVD that won't load at all on three different DVD players, but will play on my Playstation2.

Is it that the Playstation2 is similar to the "software players" and is able to somehow play a corrupt .VOB file?

I have written off the DVD that simply won't play the last scene as I didn't like the first four scenes to begin with.

But the one that won't load at all has Hailey Young in it, barefoot, and I will have ten coronaries if I am unable to watch it with a decent player.

And since both DVD's are from the same company, I am a bit hesitant to trade it for another copy(as the 3rd-party seller has offered) if it is just something they do in their DVD authoring that makes my player, and everyone's that I know, obsolete.

Thanks for your reply, Bob. I appreciate it.

Note: I do not have a computer capable of playing DVD's. My work computer has a DVD drive, but I don't think I have the software to play them.

Edited by - valjean4876 on 8/8/2005 2:54:36 PM

[Link]

The workaround method I described is only going to help if you're dealing with a media issue and the file itself is OK. If the .VOB file itself is corrupted NOTHING will be able to play it.

Keep in mind that there are numerous other files, in addition to the .VOB files, that enable a video DVD to work properly. It is often these files that can be causing the playback issues. So, if the .VOB file is intact you can play it the way I described.

[Link]

-- Snowman

[Link]

I just wondered why the one that won't load at all will play on my PS2, but not on other regular DVD players.

I don't have the software on my work comoputer to play DVD's.

Thanks for your reply, snowman!

[Link]

The same goes for my stand alone machines. It seems that my newer machines do a better job with bad discs than the older machines do.

Sometimes there will be a firmware update available for DVD players that will help with error handling. Usually, these updates either require a trip to the repair shop or you can download them to a cd and when you by put that CD into the DVD player, it will update the firmware automatically.

[Link]

That does help me some. So it sounds like if I buy a new DVD player, it might fix the problem since the one I have is from 2002.

Otherwise, I will look into the firmware updates.

I just can't use my PS2 and be happy about it because the picture is not very clear. I could get a better TV and/or a better hookup system for my PS2, but I'd rather just get a new DVD player if that is the case.

I absolutely hate having to watch DVD's on my computer, so that I guess will not be an option for me.

Thanks for your help, Bill!

Edit: By the way, as I already said, that is the first time I've ever had a DVD not load like that. Well, it just happened for the second time two days ago, and it is a company from which I own many DVD's, and they all work fine.

That's twice in about a month.

So, maybe my DVD player is pooping(Although it happens with my parent's player too, and theirs is also an older player), or there is some new way of making DVD's that is not handled well by my older DVD player.

Edited by - valjean4876 on 8/17/2005 9:41:05 AM

[Link]