Anyone know much about media players?

[Doc]

From what you are saying, i'm leaning towards a hardware issue more than a software issue. how long have you had the dvd drive on your computer? I have the same issues with my Sony Dreamtheatre system. I got system the first year it came out and after about two years i started seeing all the same issues you are having on your computer dvd drive. I know a lot of players had these issues around that time. some of the major issues seem to arise while the disks switch between layers.

have you noticed any of these freeze issues while choosing dvd menu choices? ("play"/"Extras"/etc.) The first time i started noticing major issues with my system was after i bought the Sportsnight series. I think a lot of the dvds of tv series have a lot of interesting layer switches that might not be found in full theatrical movies.

on the other hand, even if it is a software issue, a lot of the decent software for dvd playback will cost you a good $40+ and unless you have a badass 30" widescreen monitor it would be much more economical for you to just purchase a cheep $50 dvd player and watch your disks on a tv. i don't know any hardware or software for a computer that can play dvds at the quality you will get on a tv.

Many, but not all, Macs come with DVD decoder hardware that is far better than most TVs. The 20 inch iMacs and various flat paneled Macs have far better image quality. Which is why people use them for digital theatres in their homes.