[mythtv-users] DVD hardware

Sarah Hayes sarah at sarahhayes.is-a-geek.net
Mon Feb 25 19:24:44 UTC 2008


Brian Wood wrote:
> On Feb 25, 2008, at 12:33 AM, Ben Newman wrote:
>
>   
>> Only tangentially myth related I know, but does anyone else have
>> troubles keeping a working DVD drive in their system?  We seem to only
>> be able to keep a drive in our system for about 3 months before is
>> starts having problems when trying to watch DVDs: skipping, stuttering
>> and eventually just not able to read a DVD.  I'm assuming this is just
>> because the cheapie DVD drives I use just aren't meant for the heavy
>> use frequent DVD watching puts them through, but it sure is
>> frustrating.  Does anyone have any recommendations on a solid drive
>> that won't need frequent replacement?
>>     
>
>
> You can get cleaning disks for around $5-$7, the ones that cost as  
> much as the DVD drive itself usually have test and alignment signals  
> on them, not just cleaning features.
One thing to keep in mind is to get a 'good' cleaning system.  It's 
quite possible for the ones with bristles jutting out of a little 
plastic riser to go whizzing around... and smack the optics out of 
alignment as it goes up/down to try and focus on the disk.  If you hear 
a high speed 'smack' sound during use you know what's happening.

In ye old workshop I used to be in we stripped players down and used IPA 
and a cotton bud to very gently VERY GENTLY wipe the optic assembly down 
(along with clearing obvious crufty gunk out of the motor assemblies 
then add fresh gunk as needed).  Long winded I admit, but we did see a 
number of damaged units appearing and the customer saying "I used this 
on it" whilst handing over a cheapo cleaning disk.

Sarah



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