Computer Won't Recognize Some DVDs

[xerces3379]

Hi all,

I've been running into some problems with certain DVD's not playing in my computer. I am currently unable to get my rented DVD of the Italian Job to work. The disc won't even show up under My Computer. The disc plays fine in my playstation2. I also could not get Terminator 3 to play on the computer. Finally after several tries (just putting the disc in and out) T3 started to play really jumpy. Both discs look kind of scratched up, but like I said, they worked absolutely fine on my PS2. (T3 also worked fine on my Apex AD 1500, I haven't tried The Italian Job on the Apex yet).

I tried cleaning the discs but this seems to have no affect. I also rented Matrix2 and The Phone Booth, and both of these play fine on my computer and PS2.

My question is: should I go yell at Blockbuster and ask for a refund on the rental? Or do you think a different DVD player from Best Buy for my computer might be less sensitive to scratches? I am using the Liteon LTD163 with Win 2k pro SP3. I searched through the forums and couldn't find a problem quite like this.

Thanks in advance.

[xerces3379]

I don't know if anyone cares, but the day I was having trouble with The Italian Job I must have reinserted the DVD 100 times (and restarted the computer several times). Then, just the other day I put the DVD in and it worked on the first try. I ordered a new Sony DVD player from newegg for $32 and hopefully it will be more reliable. (so far it runs seamlessly).

~X

[johns0]

sounds like a flakey dvd drive

[QuaiBoy]

I own The Italian Job, and T3 (Region 1) so my copies may be better than the Blockbuster stuff. I have had no problem viewing them (or backing them up) using my Sony DDU1621 DVD-ROM drive and Cyberlink PowerDVD software. Occasionally, I've had trouble backing up some of the older DVDs that I own. I put them in the Pioneer DVR-106d writer I have and they usually rip just fine, albeit at 2x.

Moral of the Story: Some DVD-ROMs like some discs more than others. Consider the Sony if all you're doing is viewing movies and don't care about maximum ripping speed (although it holds its own there too). It runs about $30 online, and reads 95% of what I put in it. I've owned several Sony CD and DVDROM drives in the past, and they all shine in read ability.
FWIW, I've heard about compatibility issues with the Lite-On drives and DVDs of varying condition and origin. Regardless, I have one on order as I would like to get some more speed out of my backup process (which it is said to excel at). I'm looking forward to comparing its abilities with the Sony.

Best of luck,
-Evan-

[tommyoz]

xerces3379,
What firmware are you using for your liteon drive? I have the same drive and had similar problems reading some DVD's. I shelved it about 6 months ago thinking it was dead. I decided to play around with it last night in my test computer. I got it back and running with the GH5Y firmware.