Quite recently, our DVD player (a Sony) has stopped reading any DVDs we put into it. Commercially bought, things I’ve had transferred, VCDs, even a DVD lens cleaner–it won’t read anything. It just whirrs and whirrs and whirrs and spits out the same message.
Is there any hope for it? Is it worth getting it repaired, or should I start taking advantage of the pre-Christmas sales? I’ve tried using compressed air to hopefully clean anything out (if that’s the problem) but suspect there’s little else I can do. Any information or experience would be helpful. Thanks!
Yours too, huh? I’m in the marke for a new one, since the repair guy said it would prolly be just as much to fix it as to buy a brand new one. I have a thread lying around here somewhere about some multidisc player suggestions.
This is a common problem with Sony DVD players. Sony put in a substandard fuse which results in “no disc” or C 13:00 (dirty disc) errors. Google for Sony C13 fuse for a bunch of complaints about this problem. That same search should also return a solution to the bad fuse; if you’re handy with electronics, you can open your player and rig up the bypass yourself.
Thanks, though I wish the news was better. I suspect I’ll get a new player, though I’ll tinker with the Sony just for practice sake, if nothing more.
I don’t know if reading VCDs is standard in most models, but that’s why I got the Sony in the first place. I’ll have to check out Consumer Reports now to see what might be worth picking up before the holidays start.
I have somewhat regular “disc errors” reported from my DVD. Something I’ve found works fairly well (although it wouldn’t surprise me to have some knowlegable electronics people dog-pile me for it):
Remove outer case (note: this may void your warrenty).
Remove cover of disc bay. It’s easy to spot, it’ll have the “warning: laser” label on it.
Clean laser lens. I use either alcohol wet-naps from a first aid kit or just a kleenex with a dab of rubbing alcohol on it.
Dry lens, either with a fresh kleenex or a couple short bursts of canned air.
Put everything back together.
Try disc again.
I don’t remember off-hand what brand of player I’ve got, I think it’s Toshiba.
A similar thing has happened with the DVD player in my 15 inch UMC TV.
I put the TV to DVD mode, and it comes up with No Disc. I put a CD or DVD into it, it spins and says Reading - then goes back to No Disc and ejects the DVD.
The worst thing is that I found the error with the DVD player only a few days after the warranty had expired!
In the end, I got a new DVD player, and that works fine. The TV in question has since been relegated to a secondary role of being a secondary computer monitor (I’ve since upgraded to a 29 inch widescreen TV).
Though it’s a good job I discovered this - I might use some of the tips in this thread to see if I can repair the DVD player in the TV… if I can be bothered to
By far the most common cause is that the loading mechanism got out of sync, usually due to trying to close when the disc wasn’t inserted right or the like.
Something skipped a gear or some such and now the sequence of motions to load the disc is off.
I’ve tried to fix this problem with computer CD drives. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I have a lot of electronic experience. If you don’t know how these things work and what to look for, your odds go to basically zero. (Assuming you’ve done the unplugging thing and other simple stuff.)
There can also be dirty/broken sensors or switches. Or loose cables. Etc.
All in all, get a new player. Or get a streaming device and ditch discs altogether.
No players are worth having fixed. I don’t even know if repair shops exist anymore.
But they are worth tinkering with if you have the time. What can you lose?
That said, all I can contribute is my experience with a 1986 BSR CD player in frequent use since purchased in 1986. It works perfectly.
Perfectly, that is, if you remove the cover, clean the head slider with alcohol, dry it, and lubricate it lightly with silicone oil. Must be done once per year, as I have since the first failure in 1990.
I have a Sony that does this, as well, and usually unplugging it, waiting 30 seconds or so, then plugging it in and restarting it solves the problem. Sometimes I lift a corner slightly and let it fall back onto the table, and that seems to do it. Annoying.
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“I don’t even know if repair shops exist anymore.”
They do, but I doubt they’d even look at something as cheap and disposable as a DVD player is these days. But if you blow out the power circuit in your plasma TV, they can take care of that. If you bring it in.
Speaking of bringing it in, I wonder if they still have housecalls for the sets that are just too big to transport. When I was a kid we often had a TV repairman who would come work on the big cabinet style TV we had. I mainly remember because my mom had to give him a plate to use as an ashtray because the guy was a chain smoker, and wouldn’t not smoke even while in our non-smoker home working on our TV.
