# What's going on with my DVD player? Where to look for tips? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 16, 2006, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-going-on-with-my-dvd-player-where-to-look-for-tips/340218 "2006-01-16T14:36:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-going-on-with-my-dvd-player-where-to-look-for-tips/340218/1 "2006-01-16T14:36:22Z")
I have a 4 or so year-old DVD player by Samsung. It retailed for about $200 at the time - I got it free as part of buying our home theatre systems from [hifi.com](http://hifi.com) back then. Anyway, it sometimes can’t read discs. Either pops them out without ever reading them or mid-way through a movie, it seizes up “Can’t read this disc” appears on the screen and the disc pops out. I know about damaged discs - I am careful to polish discs before putting them in. The last straw was over the weekend - my wife rented Mr. & Mrs. Smith and it seized up about half-way through. Upon inspecting it, the disc is _immaculate_ - clearly brand new, no flaws. It even ran on the cheap-ass portable DVD player I got for the car and have hooked up to the kids’ TV in the basement. So - does this sound like anything that can be fixed? Like a mis-aligned laser, which I have heard of but know nothing about. I don’t want to have to pay a lot of $/hour for a problem that essentially can’t be fixed, if that is the case. So - when does it make sense to repair a DVD player? Does it sound like mine is fix-able? What resources are available on line to learn see if I can better diagnose my problem? Thank you for any advice you can provide! ---
**Author:** ![snorlax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@snorlax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snorlax)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-going-on-with-my-dvd-player-where-to-look-for-tips/340218/2 "2006-01-16T14:45:42Z")
Tyr looking at the player rather than the disks. I have had similar problems which were supposedly cuased by accumulated dust. Try using a compressed air spray inside the DVD tray or even blowing (with your mouth) into the slot. I’ve also used the Allsop lens cleaner, which is a DVD with little brushes on it to clean the lens. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-going-on-with-my-dvd-player-where-to-look-for-tips/340218/3 "2006-01-16T14:58:11Z")
> [@snorlax](#): > > Tyr looking at the player rather than the disks. I have had similar problems which were supposedly cuased by accumulated dust. Try using a compressed air spray inside the DVD tray or even blowing (with your mouth) into the slot. I’ve also used the Allsop lens cleaner, which is a DVD with little brushes on it to clean the lens. Is that cleaner like [this one](http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=3989508&type=product&id=1051384636577) I found at Best Buy? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![snorlax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@snorlax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snorlax)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-going-on-with-my-dvd-player-where-to-look-for-tips/340218/4 "2006-01-16T15:17:46Z")
Yes, it’s similar. [Here’s](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000J1QK/002-8321399-7752828?v=glance&n=172282) the Allsop one for $6.99. The one you linked to can only be used for DVD players whilst the Allsop one can be used for CDs and DVDs at a third of the cost. I’m guessing that the only reason the Maxell one is DVD-specific is that it has an on-screen menu, rather than any fundamental differences in the way that DVD players and CD players build up dust. I’m not shilling for Allsop but would recommend you get a combined CD/DVD cleaner if it’s cheaper than the DVD-specific one. And if it were me I would blow into the DVD slot a few times before purchasing anything (though someone will probably come along to tell us that this will ruin the player/invalidate the warranty/burn your house down). ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-going-on-with-my-dvd-player-where-to-look-for-tips/340218/5 "2006-01-16T16:26:11Z")
If you can’t make it right by popping in a cleaning disc, chuck it and get a new player. Unless you’re an ardent videophile, you should be able to get one for $40. (At Xmas, they were available for as low as $20.) Even at that price, they often have component video outputs in addition to standard composite video, and can play pretty much anything that fits in the tray - audio CDs, DVD movies, CD-Video, MP3 discs, etc. And it truly doesn’t matter if it’s a cleaning CD, DVD or whatever. It’s just a very short brush that whirls around and hopefully gets that bit of dog fur off the lens. ---
**Author:** ![broken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@broken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/broken)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-going-on-with-my-dvd-player-where-to-look-for-tips/340218/6 "2006-01-16T22:48:17Z")
i second GotPasswords advice, it sounds like a dvd-player issue more than a disc issue. I’d say if the lens cleaner doesn’t completely clear up your problem, it’s best to cut your losses/time investment in the ordeal and get a new one. You may want to glance at the sale ads for your local retail/electronics store, you might be able to find a good deal on a new one and either way, most dvd players are fairly affordable. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2006, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-going-on-with-my-dvd-player-where-to-look-for-tips/340218/7 "2006-01-16T22:58:26Z")
I tried to watch _Female Trouble_ a couple of weeks ago, and I got a C:13:00 error on my Sony DVD player. I got an exchange from [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) and the new one worked. Last night I tried to play a DVD that I had played a few times before and got the same erfror.