HDD/DVD recoder doesn't record or play dvds

[maybell]

Hi,
I'm not sure if I'm posting in the right place, but we have a problem with our HDD/ DVD recorder and player. It's an LG, and it won't record programs from the tv, and only plays a few dvds (they seem to be the ones that are not multilingual).
It plays cds, and the quality is perfect.
We never play or try to burn dvd, so the problem doesn't lie there.
It used to work perfectly, until we changed it location for a while.
We did send it back to the shop, but they are keen to sell us a new one and tell us the laser could be gone, which we don't believe as it plays some dvds perfectly.
We tried resetting the factory setting, but it didn't help. Could it be a software problem?
Thank you for your help,
Maybell.

[lowellriggsiam]

You said it won't record, it won't record to the dvdr, the HDD, or both. When lasers go out they can do erratic things, the most common error would be "unable to read disc", but that is usually the final end.

[maybell]

Hi,
It's not recording on the HDD. It appears to be, as the red light is on, but there's nothing there when we go to watch it.
As for reading DVDs, it spins for about a minute , and the message "disc unknown" appears before it is automatically ejected.

[lowellriggsiam]

The laser is either dirty, or on it's way out. In my experience when the laser is getting dirty it will frequently start to play dvds and then give error messages while playing them, a message like "cannot read disc". When a laser is dying, as I said earlier, it may act erractically. You can try running an optical lense cleaner in your player and see if that resolves your problem, if it doesn't the laser is starting to fail. The laser glowing red simply idicates it is receiving power.

[maybell]

Thank you!
We did buy a cleaning disc, and it was cleaned in the shop too. But how do you explain it does play some dvds ?(always the same ones, without fail)
We so hope it's not the laser, as we payed a fortune for that machine, and the garantee expired.

[lowellriggsiam]

Here's an analogy...the fuel pump in your car when it starts going out sometimes just won't work, other attempts you might get fuel to the fuel rail at a significant amounts that your car will operate and then it may stop working intermitently so that it may take you around the block once and then shut off, after several attempts your car may start again and take you a few more blocks. In the case of lasers they tend to act eratically in a similar regard. The DVDs may have had differences..different pressings..DL and not DL, mixed color schemes, or other things that aren't comming to mind. If you can find a region code hack for your DVD/HDD unit you might try using it, also if you open the unit and watch the dvd tray accept the discs see that the laser "seeks" the same way that the working ones do compared to the ones that won't. When you insert a dvd the tray pulls it in and attaches it to a spindle with a magnetic spool and seats it flat. If you watch the process you may look for anything that may compare differently, including the laser being obstructed, or even it turning off.