Have I killed my DVD player?

[caernavon]

My DVD player, a Sony DVP-S360 that's probably ~4 years old, has stopped reading the discs I put in it -- it reads, reads, reads, then displays "no disc" and that's that. I recently began watching DVD-R discs; the player allegedly isn't designed to play them, though of course it does. Well, did. Have I somehow killed my DVD player by doing this, or is it just a coincidence and it was just about to spit the bit anyway?

[psx_pirate]

Try running a laser cleaning disc in your player ... it maybe that the lens is dirty playing dvd-r's in it wont have caused it to fail ... if cleaning the lens don't do the trick then its a safe bet that the player was dying anyway

[lordsmurf]

"Cleaning discs" are worthless. They scratch the lens and merely smear dirt, not clean it.

Want to really clean it? Take it apart.

First blow compressed air into it and blow debris out of the unit.

Next gently swab the lens once or twice with a cotton swab (q-tip) slightly soaked in an isopropyl alcohol. Repeat with a dry one.

Let stand for a couple minutes (1-2, no more).

Put back together. Should be fine.

[psx_pirate]

I agree partially with ls but i have on occassions used a cd lens cleaner disc when i need a quick fix and havent had any problems with mine scraching the lens. following lordsmurfs suggestion will obviously do a better job of cleaning the lens but the reason i suggested the cleaning disc was because some people will not feel compitent enough to dismantle their dvd player, secondly if the player is still under warranty then removing the cover to clean the lens may void that warranty and therefore using a laser cleaning disc is probably the only option.

[lordsmurf]

may void that warranty

Only if there is a sticker on the unit that blocks your ability to open it without tearing the sticker. Usually not.

[psx_pirate]

may void that warranty

Only if there is a sticker on the unit that blocks your ability to open it without tearing the sticker. Usually not.

thats true

Having said all that i see that Caernavon's dvd player is 4 years old, if it were mine i would think about replacing it anyway, players are so cheap these days that after 4 years its hardly worth the effort of dismantling it as it will probably need doing again sooner rather than later due to the amout of dust collected inside (blowing it out with compressed air will get rid of most of it, but not all of it)

[yoda313]

My DVD player, a Sony DVP-S360 that's probably ~4 years old, has stopped reading the discs I put in it

I have that exact same model hooked up to my surround sound. I have noticed odd glitches occasionally. I bought mine quite awhile ago too as an open box unit. It has started to not like some newer commercial discs - though it does play them just not perfectly.

The odd thing is its not liking fujifilm dvd+r anymore. I'll have to try some other brand +r I have floating around to verify it. But I can still play -r perfectly. And actually I believe it OFFICIALLY supports recordable dvd but I can't confirm that at the moment - I'll have to dig out the manual.

But the first thing to try is to use different brands of blank discs. -R should be no problem at all. +R may choke a bit though.

[caernavon]

yoda313, that's good advice, but my player is no longer playing any discs, not just the ones I've burned myself. I think it's probably dead.

/moment of silence.

[yoda313]

yoda313, that's good advice, but my player is no longer playing any discs, not just the ones I've burned myself. I think it's probably dead.

/moment of silence.

Oh sorry. Yeah then with the price of players these days a new one may be in order. Good luck.

[redwudz]

If it's dead anyway, you have nothing to lose trying to clean the lens. Look upon it as an educational exercise.

[MOVIEGEEK]

Yeah if the player is 4 years old it's out of warranty(most have a 1 year warranty),I would do as ls said.I have fixed old computers,tv's,DVD players and receivers with a can of air...you won't believe the amount of dust and pet hair that accumilates.
Another trick with DVD players is to unplug the power for 10min then plug back in and cycle the tray a few times.

[caernavon]

If it's dead anyway, you have nothing to lose trying to clean the lens. Look upon it as an educational exercise.

Yeah, you'd think so, but the lens cleaner I bought has a menu (it also has test tones and a few other doodads) -- which won't come up. Now, if you can't even get your lens cleaner to play, you may have a problem.

I did end up unplugging it for a time while I vacuumed. No dice. On a positive note, it's not like DVD players are expensive these days.

[handyguy]

Does it load them?

Happened to me once with one player, I opened it up & the part that spins the disk just needed a push, after that it was fine.