Netflix DVD Not Working

[spur911]

It seems they sent me a damaged dvd. I tried cleaning with windex but my dvd player still wont play the disk. It seems there are some scratches. How do I remedy this situation?

[mkelley]

You mark on it "damaged disk" (there is a checkbox) and go to the website and "report a problem with this DVD" and they will quickly send you a replacement (in most cases you'll have the new one in less than two days).

Oh, and you return the damaged one to them, natch.

[spur911]

Thanks, I already sent for a replacement. What I really want is to see if I can make this 'damaged' dvd playable. Any ideas?

[ricky1756]

playable or copyable?

[tompika]

playable or copyable?

Isn't it the same?

[hothandiman]

Spur911, Try this: Gently polish the DVD with toothpaste and a cottonball. I have found that triple protection Auqa Fresh works best, but Crest will do in a pinch. Next, rinse the DVD in warm water and pat dry with a lintless cloth. Finally, apply a thin layer of vasaline to the DVD. Now try to play it in your DVD player. Bingo!

[andkiich]

Since the disk does not belong to you, please resist the urge to try and "fix" it by any means. If they see it returned gunked with toothpaste or some such, they may think that you damaged it, tried to cover it up and just want another one.

Do like the previous poster stated - return the disc and wait patiently for a new one that should arrive in a couple of days.

[overloaded_ide]

I wouldn't bother trying to fix a NETFLIX dvd. For one thing if you trash it will they want you to buy it? And another thing is if you claimed it didn't work, well should it really be working when you send it back?

The toothe paist should work, but what is the vasilene for?

[Ejoc]

I had that happen, worse Netflix experience ever! I sent it back as damaged, and they never logged it in, so for about a month they said I had it out. After searching the web I found their customer support phone number, and they had to mark it as being lost in the mail, but I know they got it, I never had a problem with a lost DVD.

My suggestion is never mark them as damaged, I tried to do the right thing, and I got screwed for it.

[j1d10t]

I got one movie from Netflix that was damaged, reported it, they sent me a new one, that one was damaged, reported it, they sent me a new one, that one was damaged... I went though 5 DVDs before I got one that would play. They never said a word to me about it, and they kept sending replacement DVDs - I sent back the ones that wouldn't play of course, but they never even sent me an e-mail saying "why are you having so many problems?" I've found that if I have a problem with a movie being unplayable, it's usually a kids movie (and someone has let their 6 month old chew on it, or something), or a new movie, and I've had to wait a month to get it (then when I get it looks like it went though the war). I agree with mkelley, and andkiich - don't try to "fix" it, just wait for a new one to show up.

[spur911]

Netflix actually offers suggestions for cleaning the DVD. If the toothpaste trick really works than I don't see the harm in trying this method.

Netflix can be a great service, but nothing stinks more than getting a string of unplayable dvds. Further, netflix rarely compensates you for this.

I am not trying to copy the dvd, merely trying to watch it. I tried it in my computer, and three other standalone units. All came back as unreadable 'dirty'.

Tempted to try the toothpaste trick...

I have one or two of my own dvds that are scratched, how would I go about fixing those with toothpaste? Do I apply just to the purported scratch? Sometimes it can be difficult to identify the specific culprit lesion. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Do the dvd cleansing systems work to buff out the scratches?

[FOO]

Belt sander on the Netfix ones.

[The village idiot]

If you own scatched disks, find one of the disk repair devices. They go by Disk Dr. or DVD Dr. or game Dr. They are all th same and work by polishing the disk. A friend has one and it does work, I've seen the results. About $50USD. Get the motorized one for easier use.

[hothandiman]

EDIT -- THIS IS A JOKE - DO NOT TRY THIS !!!!!

Spur911, there is another technique that I did not mention because it is fairly involved. Here goes:

1. Immerse the DVD in a solution of acetone. If you do not have ready access to industrial acetone, buy several bottles of Cutex (tm) nail polish remover and pour into a pie plate and soak the DVD for about 30 minutes. This should remove all unwanted dirt from the disc.

2. Periodically agitate (every 5 minutes should work) the DVD in the solution to insure even distribution over the surface.

3. Immerse the DVD in Coca Cola to nutralize the acetone solution.

4. Spread a paste of car wax on the DVD. Attach a lambs wool buffing pad to your electric drill and buff using an oscillating motion.

5. Place the DVD in your microwave to "set" the buffing compound and to achieve the maximum reflectivity index. A carosel microwave works best. Use about 45-75 seconds on high.

6. Apply a thin coat of vegtable oil to the DVD to prevent further degregation. I found that canola oil works best.

The DVD should now play. If it does not work, it must be your dvd player.

[Styro]

The toothe paist should work, but what is the vasilene for?

Um, easy entry? Hmm, I'm all out of vaseline, I wonder if K-Y would work...


-- Styro
Sheesh. Mark it as 'damaged' and send it back...

[jwedge]

buy DVDXCOPY Platinum, it comes with DVD X Rescue software that reads the damaged DVD and rewrite it.

[The village idiot]

EDIT3:

[The village idiot]

The toothe paist should work, but what is the vasilene for?

Um, easy entry? Hmm, I'm all out of vaseline, I wonder if K-Y would work...


-- Styro
Sheesh. Mark it as 'damaged' and send it back...

The grease can fill in some of the scratches. It will also make the surface smotth so that light will go through. Only needed if the disk is cloudy after polishing. A good plastic polish and brightener would do the same. You can get plastic polish at US Plastic from their web site. A link is in my cd printer guides, then just look for the plastic polish.

[BobK]

buy DVDXCOPY Platinum, it comes with DVD X Rescue software that reads the damaged DVD and rewrite it.

That's what it's supposed to do. I've only tried it on one disk- I've had trouble reading that disc in 8 different DVD players. It worked in the 9th one I tried (a Magnavox). DVD X Rescue didn't recognize it as a DVD.

[AzNSpiKeys]

oh... you guys actually use Netflix huh>? i was one click away to subscribe Netflix today but then..i found this article.

http://dvd-rent-test.dreamhost.com/


i'm lucky that i didn't subscribe ittt lol...i don't know the test is true or not but oh welll....

[Styro]

oh... you guys actually use Netflix huh>? i was one click away to subscribe Netflix today but then..i found this article.

Lies, all lies (ymmv).

I have never encountered anything like this on Netflix. For the past several months I've been receiving movies on the same day they are released for sale in stores. For example - tomorrow I should get 'daddy daycare' in the mail. Three movies a week, every week. I love it (the service).

-- Styro

[mkelley]

Obviously with tens of thousands of Netflix customers everyone's experience can vary. But from MY experience, this is absolutely nothing to worry about.

In the first place, I fall into that tier of Netflix that (according to the article) I shouldn't get any movies that I wanted at all -- I rent from them over 30 movies a month (my wife and I love films, we cancelled our sat movie coverage, and this is the only way we watch anything). Do I get "long wait" or "very long wait" on some films. Absolutely, but I also get the newest releases the first day they are out (they usually ship to me the release that comes out on the typical Tuesday on the *Monday* before it comes out!) by smart scheduling in advance (Netflix allows you to queue up films that haven't come out yet). The longest I ever had to wait on a film was a few weeks, but this was a very old film that was no big deal to wait for (and I have 60 or more films in my queue -- I always get my movies each and every week).

If I were dissatisfied with Netflix I'd cancel right away, but it works great and indeed, one of the things that IS great is you can cancel anytime. Try it out and find out whether you like it or not before worrying whether an article some guy wrote six months ago has any validity in the fast changing technology world of today.

[BobK]

oh... you guys actually use Netflix huh>? i was one click away to subscribe Netflix today but then..i found this article.

My gosh- now I realize how I've been getting ripped off. My experience is similar to mkelley's- I've been getting 30-40 movies a month (averge cost about $1.25 per movie). After reading that article I'm going to rush back to Hollywood/Blockbuster and pay for $4.00 per movie to make sure I never have to wait for any particular movie.

[TBoneit]

The toothe paist should work, but what is the vasilene for?

Um, easy entry? Hmm, I'm all out of vaseline, I wonder if K-Y would work...


-- Styro
Sheesh. Mark it as 'damaged' and send it back...

The grease can fill in some of the scratches. It will also make the surface smotth so that light will go through. Only needed if the disk is cloudy after polishing. A good plastic polish and brightener would do the same. You can get plastic polish at US Plastic from their web site. A link is in my cd printer guides, then just look for the plastic polish.

a. Does the grease transfer to the DVD tray?, Seems like it would.
b. the grease will tend to catch dirt?
c. the grease could transfer back to another disk and get it dirty?
d. t do you do to clean the player tray after this is done?

Just curious, I'd be afraid to use something like grease/vaseline

Cheers
Roger T

[TBoneit]

Speculating!

If I had to guess, I'd be guessing that the person that wrote that article is the type that holds their movies a moderate to lengthy priod of time.

Netflix would have to be crazy to send a new release to someone that sits on it for a week or two before returning it. Whereas if it goes to someone that watches it and returns it promptly they do not need such a large stock.

Just my speculation of course.

Cheers

[mkelley]

The main point of the article was the profitability ratio of someone who holds a movie longer is higher than someone who quickly turns over the film. The theory is that postage and handling eats up the monthly charge.

You're right in that it discounts the stock factor completely, but I'm not sure how relevent that is. Someone would have to be a statisician to figure it all out, exactly what the best price point is. We haven't even touched on those people who remain customers versus those who join and quit (there have to be added costs to processing new applications). But I have to imagine that Netflix has priced their subscriptions accordingly.

In some ways it's like insurance -- the group pays as a whole to amortize the cost/profits. In this regard, I'm a person who files a lot of claims (rents a lot of movies) and am no doubt subsidized in some degree by those who pay the same money but keep films longer. But I still maintain Netflix either doesn't penalize me for it or the penalities are so low (my wait for films) that it doesn't matter.

[Will Hay]

EDIT -- THIS IS A JOKE - DO NOT TRY THIS !!!!!

[overloaded_ide]

So everyone likes Netflix then basically?

Maybe I will have to try it out
I never cared for the idea because I figured the mailing time would prohibit the viewing of enough movies to make it worthwhile.

How do you get that many movies a month? I mean a couple days to get them, watch em one day, couple days to send them back.
Seems like it would eat up a week for just 3 movies for one day?

How does this actually work, from you guys using it well? I know I can read what ever they say if I go to thier site but whats the real deal here?

And about the grease/vasilene. I know you don't glob it on by the fist full, but still doesn't the heat from the laser melt it then the spinning disk sling it off inside the player?? Even if only a fine layer is aplied and wiped back off, I would think it still would be a problem.

[mkelley]

I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm on the 8 disk plan, so that's how I get 30 (or more) movies in a month. On the 3 disk (basic) plan you could get up to 12 movies a month most likely (although that still comes out to less than $2 per disk rental).

Netflix has distribution centers all over the country. The basic idea is you are no more than 3 days mailing time from any distribution center, so if you watch a movie and then mail it back you can figure on a week or less to get your next one.

For me that's almost exactly how it works -- I'm getting about a 6 day turnaround (holidays delay all this) so I do end up seeing about 8 films each week, or slightly over 30 films each month. There are exceptions -- sometimes the mail is slower than other times -- but I live in a very small town that has to forward all our mail to the larger postal center 30 miles away. I know for a fact this eats up an entire day, as I once experimented when I was in Reno (my larger city) and mailed directly from there, and sure enough, my movie arrived one day sooner (five days). Those people who live in larger cities ought to get very good service indeed.

To see a movie each and every day you need to space out your returns -- when I first stared I got 8 at once and then returned them one at a time until they were spaced out accordingly. Thus I get a movie nearly every day the mail runs now (sometimes two when things bunch up). This works out well for my wife and I since we dropped our sat. movie package -- I was paying about $40 per month for movies we never watched, and now I pay the same and get all the latest releases as well as DVD quality (and letterbox!). For me it was a no-brainer.

But by all means check it out -- you need to see how the service is for you and whether it makes economic sense (you may not watch or need that many films -- some people only rent a DVD on the weekend). You can also try Wal-mart's similar service. I joined with them as well to compare, but their distribution center is at the south end of my state and it takes about 10 days turnaround time, so it's not nearly as good (Wal-mart says they will be adding more centers: clearly this is the key to good service with these rental schemes). Both of them have good selections of movies, although Netflix has some older stuff no longer in print (Wal-mart started later) and while there is obviously a lot of overlap there is also stuff that each has the other doesn't -- it's quite interesting to compare the two. I also think Wal-mart has less of a wait time for the family stuff, something you might consider if it's a factor for you.

Both services have free trial periods, so there is absolutely no reason not to give it a go at the very least.

[hothandiman]

I see that people are still talking about grease, vasaline, oil, etc. I guess that I created a monster! My 2 posts were meant as a joke! I have never heard, read or tried to put oil or grease on a DVD. I do believe it could damage a player. As far as toothpaste goes, I do remember reading some posts that talked about this. Apparently it fills in tiny scratches or something. I found it amusing when I read it, but I have not tried it. At least with the toothpaste, after rinsing the DVD, there would be no chance of damaging the player. I would try some of the commercial products for disk repair out there. Another option would be to rip the disk to your HDD then burn to DVD. I have found that computer DVD ROM drives are often less fussy abount scratches, etc.