Why aren't some of my DVDs auto-playing?

Factual Questions
1

This is a staggeringly lame question, and I’m gonna come across as an utter Luddite ignoramus, but what the heck.

Background: I have an old DVD player (Hitachi 2x with CineMaster II software) that was installed with my Dell Dimension 400Mhz back in 1998, when I spent $3,000 for the privilege of owning a computer that’d be obsolete within a month. And now I’m too poor to replace it.

Anyway, here’s the issue. I recently purchased five DVDs thanks to the wonders of the Columbia DVD club. I own only one other DVD movie, which works well. Three of the new DVDs auto-play when I put them in the tray. Two don’t, and they also keep freezing up on me during play.

The interesting thing is that both non-working disks share a similar quality – they’re completely covered by artwork, from edge to central hole. Meanwhile, the disks that do work all have artwork that covers only about 90% of the disk, with 10% of “blank space” surrounding the central hole. My question is – is it possible that early DVD players had issues with disks with “too much artwork” or something? I suppose I could just have two bad disks, but before I returned them I just wanted to see if this was a common problem in ancient DVD players such as mine.

:rolleyes: Edited on preview: okaaaaay, after re-reading that description even I can’t picture what I’m talking about. Here’s a really bad artist’s rendering of what I’m trying to describe. (Feel free to laugh at my graphics!) In my DVD player, DVDs that look like sample A aren’t working, but those that look like sample B do.

Yeesh. If anyone can make heads or tails out of what I’m asking, more power to ya! Oh, and seek help immediately.

BTW, for the record, the disks that are working are Fargo, To Kill a Mockingbird, When Harry Met Sally, and Shawshank Redemption. The duds (technically speaking) are All About Eve and Contact.

2

Do the discs work in a regular (set-top) DVD player?

Also, I’m sure you’ve checked this, but just to make sure: Are the discs clean on the bottom, free of smudges, fingerprints, and scratches?

The laser is below the disc, and the reflective layer is in the middle of the disc, so the printing on top of the disc shouldn’t affect the reading process at all. The weight of the ink is negligible, and if the disc were off balance you’d be able to hear it. Sounds to me like you either have bad discs or a bad DVD-ROM drive. If it’s the drive, you can get a new 16x drive for about $30.

3

It has nothing to do with your recently purchased discs. The fact is that pc dvd players have a finite life span. With repeated and regular use, they can be expected to wear out and cease to function after awhile (it’s the servo-motors that conk out first by failing to spin the discs to a proper speed).

For example, my Samsung laptop dvd player – which was bought in 2002 – eventually called it quits in 2004 after two years of regular use. I simply contacted the Samsung after-sales guy (I live in Korea), and he kindly came out the next day with a brandnew DVD-CD-ROM player, installed it for me and charged me about $56 for the whole operation. Now, my dvds work like a charm!!! It was never the dvds!!! It was the dvd player all along!!! I suggest contacting your Dell after-sales service guy to get a replacement dvd-cd-rom drive/player.

4

Oh man, I didn’t see these responses! I thought I’d subscribed to this thread, and when I didn’t get any emails, I figured no one had deciphered my rambling. Rats, sorry about that.

Thanks very much, guys. To answer some of the questions – alas, I don’t have a regular table-top DVD player, Mr2001, so I don’t know if it’s just me. kmg365, you may be right about the player being worn down. Still, I only rarely use my DVD/CD player. I mean, yeah, now and then, when I have a software program to install… but that’s about it. Heh, maybe it’s dying of boredom.

So yep, I’ll take your advice and just contact Dell. Ah well, I knew it was a longshot that my half-assed theory – that it had something to do with the artwork – was anything more than a coincidence. :slight_smile:

I appreciate the help, thank you again!