[RESOLVED] Non-playing DVD

Hi there,

My wife and I usually watch DVD on an old laptop which owing to the age, does not always play the files (Power DVD5)

In that case, we bring in the big guns, a Dell desktop and decent screen, with what seems to be a DVD player that is more tolerant of disk aberrations.

But not this time. Trying to watch Dexter 5 on the desktop, and all I get is either a 'Unsupported disk' or 'incompatible format' message. Even VLC will not read the disks. The set is virtually new and the disks all clean.

The laptop is reading one of the disks, but not the others. Returning the set is the number one option, but is there anything else I can do?

Grateful for your suggestions.

Thanks

Rex

Re surface the disk may help, yes, I have run new dvds though one of the cleaning machine and had them work afterward. But, had to return 1 as it was all messed up from the factory.

Try washing the DVD in lukewarm water with a few drops of detergent in it. That slightly alters the reflectivity of the disc, which sometimes helps.

Thanks for the replies. I will give it a wash and let you know how it goes.

I have had this issue before sometimes washing does help. The reason for posting this time is that the disk set is virtually new, totally unscratched and with no finger prints. There are four disks in the set and not one of them plays on the desktop.

Rex

Thanks; have washed the first disk and it is now playing on the desktop.

Rex

Good news :)

If there are any more issues, the next thing to do would be to get a cleaning disc and give the DVD lens a clean.