HELP ! My DVD doesn't play ! (1 Viewer)

[Sean A]

I was in a Hitchcock mood the other night , and I pulled out my DVD of Vertigo to re-watch . This was the very first DVD I ever bought, back in 1998. Well to my surprise, when I put the disc in my Sony player, all I kept getting was message saying that "The Disc is Dirty". Of course, I proceeded to clean it , but still got that same message every time I put it in . Then I tried my Psycho DVD, which I bought at the same time as the Vertigo disc, and kept getting the same message. These DVDs simply wouldn't play .
My current player is a Sony that I bought in 2001. These discs played fine in my previous Sony player. I was wondering if there was some reason why the newer player wouldn't play these older discs, or perhaps that the discs somehow went "Bad" (even thogh they've been kept in optimum conditions). Has anybody else had issues like this ?

 

[Shane_M]

My Sony DVD player started doing that to new disc that I'd just bought. I'd bought it 2000.

I went out and bought another DVD player (Pioneer) and haven't had a problem since.

There is a problem with some older DVDs through. Do a search in these forums for Disc Rot you should find some useful info.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

There were a couple models of Sony (Mine was the S360) that had faulty lasers or something that would start to give this message and eventually just seize up completely. Sony refused to acknowledge there was any problem. You may be experiencing early symptoms of this. Be prepared to go DVD player shopping.

There have been some isolated reports of Vertigo being one of the handful of discs that had faulty lacquer used and eventually going bad; mine is a first pressing bought on street date and I just played it fine without any problems, so YMMV.

 

[Sean A]

I hope it's not the player itself. I suspect it's a disc problem, since 2 DVDs I bought on the same day in 1998 are both not functioning . I tried several other discs (including some that I remember buying in 1998, such as the first version of Boogie Nights ,) and they played fine.
I'd rather spend $40 to replace Vertigo and Psycho than $150+ on a new player

 

[Greg_S_H]

Do you have a way to test the discs in another player? Sorry to say, but I had the same problems with a Sony player that others in this thread had. I now have a Pioneer, and have had no further problems.

 

[Jesse Skeen]

Sure you don't have the parental lock set?

 

[Jason Hughes]

It's "disc rot". They layers have become slightly seperated and the aluminum is oxidating. They're just drink coasters now... Even though they worked at first, they should not have made it out of the factory.


Actually, Universal is pretty good about replacing discs that go bad (assuming they are not scratched or otherwise abused). The Digital Bits has contact information for all of the studios. You have to call them.

 

[Jay*W]

I had a similar problem with my previous Sony player. At first it affected only a couple of discs, but it grew progressively worse over time. A new player solved the problem completely.

Jay

 

[CraigF]

You know, you can see if it's the so-called disc rot. There is some visible discoloration when the metal layer oxidizes. If you don't see anything obvious, and the discs used to play, then it's likely the player. Go to a store with your discs and try them in a machine you might like to buy (JIC), that's the (obvious) easiest way to determine whether discs or player.

FWIW, I learned years ago that Sony disc players seem to have a somewhat limited lifetime before you start getting playing problems...IMO it's the laser diode assembly, gets weak or misaligned, I gave up on them, I'll save you my oft-repeated rant. Not worth fixing unless it's one of their ultra players. Their players aren't the worst by any means, don't get that idea, but even some of their very expensive ones are not immune to this, yet it doesn't happen to lots of dirt cheap brands over the same time/use frame. Go figure.

 

[Sean A]

I tried several older discs the past few days . So far, all of them have played OK, so I'm hoping the player isn't the problem . If it continues, I guess I'll be heading to my local electronic emporium . (Especially since I have a 3 year old at home who MUST watch "The Lion King" and "Thomas the Tank" everyday !! LOL)

I noticed that the Vertigo and Psycho DVDs seem to be a slightly golden color. Is this how "laser rot" would look ?

 

[mikey ra]

I checked my Vertigo disc two days ago (orange cover) for the first time in about two years. It does not play!!!! I tried it on three different players. WTF? It played perfectly after I first purchased it.

I checked my Psycho disc and it still plays fine. Both the the discs were bronze in color as described above. Has anyone had any luck in getting replacement discs from Universal for older discs that apperantly have the DVD rot?

 

[Greg_S_H]

:frowning: :frowning:

Geez, I should never have typed that. Almost immediately after I did, I've been having all kinds of problems with my player. At first I thought it was the disc, but now it's doing it on every disc I put in. Freezing up, pixellating. I don't abuse my player, but it does get a lot of use. I inherited this player, and it was probably originally purchased in '98. A good, long life, but I really didn't think I was going to have to be in the market for another player so soon.

 

[Mark Maltais]

I've had a few problems like that, one disc was rot (enemy of the state) I could actually see the problem on the disc, and the other was harder to figure out, it would simply say "no disk".

After bitching about it enough and asking question I was told that some new form of macro vision copy protection was causing problems with certain players WTF??? :frowning:

I ran out and bought a new LG player (the one that upconvers to 1080i) and problem solved. Good excuse to upgrade and the new dvd player has BEST.....PICTURE.....EVER

Still pissed about my player not playing though

 

[Glenn Overholt]

I think the 'no disk' error is just another way of telling you that it won't play. It isn't necessarily rot or a player.

Because I got that on my 'The Jackel' disk. It had played several times on my Pioneer, but earlier this year,it just didn't! I tried five other players too, but Universal had several disks that wrote off. sent it to them and two months later, got a new one from their newer edition.

Glenn

 

[michael deakin]

My copy of "The Spy Who Loved Me" just recently packed up. It refuses to play on any dvd machine, With the error message No Disc appearing on all.
This was the first special edition of this film, And one of the first i purchased.

mike.

 

[Dick]

Yes, dual-layer discs in earlier days were mostly gold-tinted, for whatever reason - perhaps for easy identification. Nowadays, almost all discs are silver.

 

[Kerrie Lambourn]

i have a sony that i bought in 2000 or 2001 and it starts playing a dvd and then will freeze and turn its self off completely....i asked a guy in an electrical shop about it and he said that a certian sony dvd player overheats and turns itself off....dont know how right he was...but i will never get another sony again.....i found a new dvd player solved my problem....allot cheaper dvd player too...works great though.

Kerrie

 

[PopBodhi]

Universal discs from 1998 are usually defective by now. Vertigo was the first to become "unplayable", Born on the Fourth of July, Psycho and others have been discussed here at length in the past. As a previous person posted, contact Universal and they will replace your discs. I have a new Vertigo and Born on the Fourth of July thanks to their excellent customer service! Sony could learn a thing or two from Universal.

 

[Alex-A]

Some of my friends wonder why I don't trust Sony merchandise. I've only ever had two DVD players, and both were JVCs. I only bought a new one because it could do progressive, which looks great on my WS TV. I've noticed that very few brands will actually play virtually anything you have. My JVC can do DVD/VCD/SVCD/MP3/JPEG and it's read every kind of DVDR I've tossed at it. I don't know why other players have to be so pricey when they don't even read half of what these do.

As for your unplayable discs, it could be a bit from both camps. Your player might be starting its journey to the paperweight pile, and your discs may be at the point where only a handful of players can still read them. Not a good combination. Even if it turns out that your discs really are shot, I'd look for another player anyway.

 

[Mark B]

Add me to the list of VERTIGO rot victims. Mine stopped working 3 years ago.