DVDs won't play in some players

[greatmane]

I have an interesting situation that I hope someone can shed some light on. I own a Toshiba dvd player and about 90 dvds. I have 18 dvds that will not play in my player. I know these are good dvds because they play perfectly in a friend's Sony player, but they will not play in my player. There is nothing special about these dvds. Some have DTS tracks and some don't. Some are bargin bin selections and some aren't. They are from all different studios. In the past few days I have tried 2 different dvd players and neither of them would play the disks. I'm just wondering what is going on and why these particular disks won't play in my player but will in my friend's inexpensive Sony player.

Greatmane

[Mike P.]

Have you tried using a DVD lens cleaner on your Toshiba and have you tried cleaning your DVDs?

[jvc]

The new copy protections have created havoc, for some people's players.
They've tried so hard to stop people from copying their dvds, that they've created read problems with some players. A lot of people have had this problem. Disney and Sony discs are the worst culprits.

A firmware update, for your player may fix it, if one is available. If not, the only other solution, other than buying another player, can't be discussed here.
Good luck!

[greatmane]

It isn't a dirt issue, I'm talking about brand spanking new dvds without a mark on them and the rest of my dvds including some not so pristine play perfectly. I did however find a firmware update so I'm going to burn the cd and I'll let you know if it works. Thanks.

[greatmane]

Update: I did the firmware update but it still won't play these dvds. It must be a copy protection issue. Perhaps I can find a Sony in your store since I know those will play the disks.

[brent_s]

Player model numbers and specific problem titles might get you some more relevant responses.

The DVD spec, at least early on, did leave room for some interpretation in the authoring so some titles have been known to cause problems due to the disc not conforming to the manufacturers interpretation of the spec. Usually a problem with early generation gear and titles.

-Brent

[doubeleive]

the reason you have a problem with some dvd's is because of the process used to make the dvd's some may be single layer, others dual layer, different formats, etc.. if your dvd player is a few years old regardless of how well it is maintained it simply may not play all formats, if you are thinking of buying a new dvd player take along a known problem dvd and try it out first in the model you are considering buying, for example some "matrix" scenes are known trouble spots for many players. just my two bits is all....

[Bob_99]

A very timely post as I just ran into a similar issue this past weekend. I played a brand new DVD in a Sony RDRVXD655 and it would get stuck for a few seconds every four or five minutes but then continue to play. When I put the same DVD in my Sony RDR-GX7, it seemed to play fine. This was a bargain bin special but it very curious how some players handle them better.

Please note that I am not trying to hijack the thread but just wanted to mention a similar situation.

Bob

[Mike P.]

Some say it's a copy protection issue, others say it's a format issue, yet I have a 9 year old Pioneer DV-525 that has never missed a beat with any DVD. I've also had a newer Toshiba SD-1600 that was nothing but grief. Go figure!

[Bob_99]

Mike P. wrote:

Some say it's a copy protection issue, others say it's a format issue, yet I have a 9 year old Pioneer DV-525 that has never missed a beat with any DVD. I've also had a newer Toshiba SD-1600 that was nothing but grief. Go figure!

Mike,

Wouldn't you think that the newer machines would better handle these problems. In my case, the GX7 is about three years old while the other unit is only a few months old and I would expect the GX7 to run into problems with these new schemes. It just goes to show that I don't know too much about DVDs.

Bob

[Mike P.]

Bob_99 wrote:

Mike,

Wouldn't you think that the newer machines would better handle these problems. In my case, the GX7 is about three years old while the other unit is only a few months old and I would expect the GX7 to run into problems with these new schemes. It just goes to show that I don't know too much about DVDs.

Bob

Since the older machine works perfectly and the newer one doesn't, I think it's a build quality issue. What other reason could it be?

[Bob_99]

Mike P. wrote:

Since the older machine works perfectly and the newer one doesn't, I think it's a build quality issue. What other reason could it be?

Quite possible and it is a major concern (one I was trying not to think about). I'll have to play more cheap DVDs in it and see what happens. Thanks for your thoughts.

Bob

[greatmane]

The older machine is a Toshiba SD-4000 and it is still for sale in some stores. Newer machines that I've had trouble with include Durabrand, Phillips, Magnavox and my present Zenith DVB712. The machine that works is a Sony DVP-NS315. Curious as it may seem I have several questionable dvds that neither the Sony nor the Zenith will play and yet the Toshiba has no trouble with them. Go figure. As an aside I have had no trouble with The Matrix in any machine. They all play it perfectly. Thanks all for the help and advice.

[bobgpsr]

An experiment to see if it is some oddball copy protection issue, would be to take a problem DVD and make a DL DVD-R "backup" of it using a PC with DVD burner and free software such as DVDFABdecrypter. Saying to do this only for a DVD that you own.

The DMCA still needs to be tested through the courts for its alledged conflicts with what many feel are legitimate "fair use" issues for individual usage at home. IMHO.

[Bob_99]

bobgpsr wrote:

An experiment to see if it is some oddball copy protection issue, would be to take a problem DVD and make a DL DVD-R "backup" of it using a PC with DVD burner and free software such as DVDFABdecrypter. Saying to do this only for a DVD that you own.

The DMCA still needs to be tested through the courts for its alledged conflicts with what many feel are legitimate "fair use" issues for individual usage at home. IMHO.

I'm not sure that this narrows it down to the copy protection as a new disc would also eliminate the chance that the DVD itself may have been made a bit out of tolerance. This could also explain why it works on some and not others. I've seen floppy magnetic media that would work in some drives and not others because the alignment of the magnetic material was slightly off. I realize that with optical drives the odds are probably smaller but it could be a possibility. Please feel free to correct me if this is not correct.

Bob

[greatmane]

Update: I managed to find the exact model of the Sony player I was refering to used in the electronics store on this site. Since I already know it works for these dvds I grabbed it. Problem solved.

[greatmane]

New update. The problem is not in the players, it is in the video card in my computer. For some odd reason it doesn't like certain dvd's. Since I hooked the player directly to my tv I have no trouble at all. Thanks again for all the great suggestions.