Originally Posted By: Pendragon
After reading your post, Joe, I (too) burned a DVD and guess what? That DVD is likewise not readable on my Sony CD/DVD player.

That would make me suspicious of the drive in your Sony CD/DVD player. It may simply be the lens in your Sony may be dusty or dirty or a laser has failed.
  1. Can you play other DVDs in the Sony? I would start testing with commercial discs which are easier to read and more relaible than burned discs. (See my previous post)
  2. If you can play commercial DVDs then before buying more media, I would invest in a DV/DVD player cleaner kit from the neighborhood office supply or Radio Shack.
  3. Even a shot of canned air might do it. Be sure the drive has been inactive for 30 minutes or so to allow the lenses and lasers to cool thoroughly and use short bursts of air to be sure you don't hit a hot lens with a blob of liquid air which can easily shatter the lens.
  4. If all of that fails then it is time to try a different media. There have been more than a few threads on FTM with media suggestions, but as far as I can tell the closest thing to a concensus is
    1. Avoid cheap "house brand" media
    2. Go for the better grades of whatever brand you buy
    3. Verbatim and Memorex are frequently recommended.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein