If these are all commercial DVDs, it might indicate something is wrong with the graphics card, or you installed some Quicktime plugin that is not up to date with your operating system. Run the hardware test that came with your machine.
I have the exact same problem, with the same MacBook pro. What I noticed is that the problems appear only when using the discret video card, that means when using an external display or forcing the Mac to use it in the energy control panel.
Did you get rid of the problem by now? You can easily understand why this interests me!
To find the "View" menu, open the application "DVD Player": the "View" menu is in the menubar at the top of your screen. If it is not there, hold down the command key and type "1". To return to full screen, hold down the command key and type "F".
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