[blkfrd]

I've got a 5-6 year old Pioneer HTZ-55DV Home Theater System which has been a good system until recently. When I load a DVD into the tray and close it, I get a high pitched sound from the DVD unit and then the tray opens back up...the DVD will not load.

I took the cover off of the unit and inspected it for any wear or damage...none. I then loaded a DVD with the cover off and watched to see what happened. The DVD does spin, but as soon as it starts to spin, the high pitched sound occurs from below the DVD. I don't see anything slipping that could cause the sound and there are no belts in this unit. I suspect the spindle motor (is that the right name for the motor than spins the DVD?) is going out, but i'm a little unsure because of the nature of the sound, but maybe the motor can make this sound when its going bad. The sound is definitely not coming from any speakers.

[chuckg]

Could well be that the motor bearings are going out. You might be able to spin the disc motor by hand with the unit turned off. If it squeaks, it's dead.

DVD players are so cheap now that "replace" is usually cheaper than "repair."

[blkfrd]

Thanks. DVD player is probably not a good description of this unit. This unit is an integral part of the HTZ-55DV and it has a lot of the electronics in it including the DVD/CD player, an AM/FM tuner, display interface, control cable interface and other surround sound electronics. Control cables and the display all plug into this unit.

It looks like the DVD/CD assy can be removed as a unit and replaced though.