Problems playing certain DVDs

Hi.
There seem to be a number of posts with similar issues, but not quite the same.
I've got a PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-107D which has recently begun to have issues playing certain DVDs. It seems selective in it's decision to mount them - playing some, not playing others.... Sometimes, I insert it a second time and it will work, but generally - if it won't show up the first time, it ain't happening.
When they don't work, it makes a horrible grumbling noise before spitting them out.
I can't seem to figure out why some work and others don't....... They're all bought DVDs - nothing burnt or iffy. DVDs that have even worked in the past.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks and I am sorry if this is somewhat reminiscent of other posts.

Hi discarnatequern-
Greetings and welcome to the Apple boards
It sounds like the drive is,about to fail completely. Have you tried a lens-cleaning kit? Some folks have reported success in cleaning the drive.
Luck-
-DaddyPaycheck

Similar Messages

DVD drive plays certain dvds and others not

I've accidently locked my dvd drive to a certain region (not sure which), and i know that i cant unlock it. But i realise that i can play certain dvds and others not, for example in my Will & Grace collection i can play the first 5 seasons but not the later ones. When i try to play the later ones, dvd player tells me to eject it because 'the dvd does not match the drive region code'...But why can i play the other ones which have the same region code??

If you locked your machine in the wrong region code, take it in for service.

New i5 MacBook Pro won't read or play certain DVD's

Just got a new i5 MBP and it won't read certain DVD's that I put in. It tries to read them but then spits them back out after a few seconds. Any thoughts?

If you talking about movies, It might be a simple case of region. The first time you insert a DVD movie your mac asks for your region and you can only play DVD movies from the region you selected. If i'm not mistaken, VLC might not have these restriction and will play any region formated DVD movies.
You have the ability to change the region that you've selected but be careful cause you can only change it an x amount of times.
If you talking about regular burned DVD than it might simply be a problem with the disk itself. You should test them out on another machine to determine if your MBP has an issue with its super drive.
Hope this helps.

Imac want play certain DVD

My imac wont play a certain DVD that i need it to play. It will play other DVDS fine.
I can play this DVD on other imacs with no problem
just not the one I need it to play it on. it goes into the spinning beach ball.
really weird stuff......
I've deleted preferences, etc. run permissions, archive and install. to no avail.
any suggestions??

I've got the same problem - you might want to check the state of the DVD - I put in a perfectly clean disk, it spat out so I put back in maybe 10 times, to find that my drive has scratched the surface of the DVD rendering it unusable. I'm heading in to the Apple store and see if I can take the iMac in for a new drive - sounds like Apple has serious quality control issues here.

My MBPro will only play certain DVD's

My MacBook Pro will not play third party DVD's such as Dragon Dictate but will play Apple DVD's and DVD's that I have burned. I get the message I get is "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer." think this started after the recent system update to 10.7.3. I tried the DVD in onother MacBookPro that did not have the system software update and had no problems. I downloaded the combo update and re-installed the system software but this did not correct the problem.
Where do I go from here?
Peter

Peter Edwards1 wrote:
Where do I go from here?
Re-set the SMC
Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964>
If that doesn't work, try, as dominic23 said, using a lens cleaning disc. If that doesn't work either, and if the machine is still under warranty, take it to the Apple store or AASP.

Computer Freezes When Playing Certain DVD

I just bought my first Mac in the form of the new generation of Macbook Pros last week. There is one DVD that seems to always freeze in the same spot when playing in my computer. When I start playing from after that point, it plays normally for awhile and then freezes again. It freezes to the point that I can only shut down the computer to fix it because force quit does not work and I cannot get out of fullscreen mode. I just tried the DVD on a friend's Macbook that he bought in November and it played without any problems. Could this be a problem with the drive or is the DVD probably to blame? Any help would be greatly appreciated, including advice on closing the program without shutting down the computer.

Same problem here. Some notes:
Has occurred on at least two different DVDs for me; both unscratched and playable without issue in other drives.
I believe the picture freezes first, then the sound freezes a few seconds later. Mouse can be moved, but movement is jerky, like the mouse position is being updated at 5fps.
Hard reboot only way out; I've let it sit 20+ minutes to see if it recovers, no luck.
Santa Rosa 17" MBP Mac OS X (10.4.10)

My iMac will not play certain DVDs after upgrading to OS X Mavericks

I bought my iMac about 2 years ago, it worked fine, no problems until a few months ago, i upgraded to OS X Mavericks because it came up on app store updates and it was free so i upgraded. Ever since then it is very picky about which DVDs it plays, some it accepts straight away with no hassle, others it tries to read for a while until eventually ejecting. I have looked in other discussions but there isn't a solution that i've read that works. Any suggestions?

Hi,
I have just had the same problem with my iMac and after upgrading to Mavericks my iMac would not wake without pressing the power off button and re-booting.
Anyway, I have since done a complete new install on my iMac and have gone 5 days without an issue with the iMac not waking. It was a bit of a pain to do but my own view so far is that the problem is linked to the upgrading of the OS instead of a clean install.
My iMac now flies with a new OS installed instead of an upgrade.

Problem playing burned dvd outside North America

Hello !
So i burned a dvd on my mac (bought in cupertino), with some pictures(jpg/png) and videos(mp4/mov). I sent this dvd to my folks in India, and on their PCs it simply wont read the dvd. I verified that the dvd works properly on my windows laptop here in Toronto.
Any idea why the dvd wont play on windows PC / laptop in India, but works fine here in north america ?
Is there some setting 'international' or somethin that should be set/unset when burning ?
Thanks !

Hi Setla,
And welcome to the forum. If it looks fine on your set top box and you used the same media as the disks you sent to your friends. Then I would drop the encoding bit rate and / or convert your audio to dolby (if thats applicable). Compressor checks for a maximum bit rate on build but that doesn't necessarily mean all players will be able to handle this (stacks of variables). My first choice would be to convert the audio and then if need be attack the video.
When making DVD's I would also recommend using something like Toast as this will go through a verify cycle which should rule out any dodgy media or writes.
Enjoy.

Problems playing certain videos in Front Row

I just got my new iMac G5 the other day, so this has been my first week experimenting with Front Row, which I ADORE by the way. On to my issue, though...
I have many tv shows in iTunes -- Law & Order, King of Queens, South Park, and Family Guy, mostly. Whenever I open up Front Row to play a video, the only selections I can choose from are Law & Order and Comedy Central Standup (the Comedy Central one is the only one I've purchased through iTunes -- all of the other ones have been ripped from my personal collection). Anyway, all of them are set as "tv shows" in iTunes... and yet only those two show up. Any idea what's going on? I'd like to be able to access ALL of my videos.
Thank you!

Are they showing up under Movies or just not at all?
If they are in the Movies (or any other FR Menu) it could be due to how the person who posted them for download compressed / handled them - you can try this on one to see if it makes it show up in TV
http://members.verizon.net/pucklock/vIDInfiltr8/vIDI.html
If they are not there at all, it could be that although they play in Quicktime or iTunes that there is something in the original conversion causing a problem. I ran into that with a couple that I didn't do the actual compression on, and running them through iSquint using optimize for iPod and h.264 settings they then showed up under my movies menu in Front Row
http://www.isquint.org/
Dual G5, Intel Mini, TiBook, iMac FP800 Mac OS X (10.4.6)

DVD Player won't play some DVDs

My DVD Player won't play certain DVDs. Presumably all commercial DVDs should be playable in the software. Fox discs are a problem. I can get Player to turn on, but after the menu, the screen flashes a reading error, from which it could not recover. Yesterday I tried to play a Paramount disc, and nothing happened. The computer didn't even acknowledge that there was a disc in the tray. A Wolfe Video wouldn't read at first (I got a dialogue box that the disc was blank) but I put it in again and that time it played.
Also, on a side note, I would like future editions of DVD Player to add the feature of allowing the viewer the ability to go backwards a frame at a time, as well as forwards.

Hi, Doug.
This is starting to sound like a different problem. Your original report seemed to apply only to specific DVDs. Now it's with all DVDs. Before we get into how to reinstall DVD player, let's try a few other things that are more likely troublemakers with DVD Player.
1. As a general check, run the procedure specified in my "Resolving Disk, Permission, and Cache Corruption" FAQ. Perform the steps therein in the order specified.
2. Reset DVD Player. Peform all of the following steps before attempting to launch DVD Player again:2.1. Trash the com.apple.DVDPlayer.plist file in your Home > Library > Preferences folder. This file is the preferences file for DVD Player.
2.2. Using Get Info, make sure you are the Owner and have Access of Read & Write on the following folders on your account:• Home > Library > Application Support.
• Home > Library > Application Support > DVD Player.
• Home > Library > Application Support > DVD Player > Settings.If not, correct the permissions accordingly using the Owner and Access pop-up menus in the Details sub-panel of the Ownership & Permissions panel of the folders' Get Info windows.
2.3. Trash the contents of your Home > Library > Application Support > DVD Player > Settings folder.3. If none of the above sorts it out, let's see what Console can tell us: After the problem occurs, make note of the time, then immediately check the ends of these Console logs for clues that may have been logged when the problem occurred.
4. Note that none of the above rules out the possibility that your optical drive has become defective.4.1. Can you burn DVDs, e.g. even data DVDs from Finder?
4.2. See if the freeware VLC Media Player (nee VideoLan Client) can play the DVDs.Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-816 won't play *some* DVDs now (mysteriously!).

Quite mysteriously, my Mac is refusing to play some of my DVDs.
The DVDs aren't scratched or unplayable. I tested them this weekend on someone else's multi-regional player.
These DVDs most certainly did play before on this laptop (a late-2003 Titanium Powerbook--details below) but now just do not! Won't read at all. The DVD never mounts on the desktop. Sputtering. Eventually get spit out.
The two DVDs that my Mac now refuses to play are GRAHAM NORTON FOR YOUR PLEASURE [Region 2] and TABOO THE MUSICAL [Region 2 or maybe Region 0].
I can't imagine what's happened/happening. These played fine as recently as March 2007. I've done nothing to my firmware since that time (on purpose, at least!).
I just got the new BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE DVD [Region 2] and it plays just fine. It also plays all Regions (limits reset by Region X).
Any idea at all why my drive refuses to read/play certain DVDs?
Your help &/or theories are appreciated!
Thanks.
==
BIG BUNNY’S TITANIUM POWERBOOK G4 (15”)
System Version: Mac OS X – v. 10.4.11 (Tiger)
Kernel Version: Darwin 8.9.0
Machine Model: PowerBook5,2
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (1.1)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 1.25 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 512 MB
Bus Speed: 167 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.7.1f1
MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-816 (Firmware Revision: XXJ3)

It started the same way on my PowerBook G4 15" aluminum with the same optical drive (my laptop is from Sept 2003). After reading some DVD/CD and some not (even didn't recognize them in Finder), once, when I tried to write something on DVD-R (or+R - I don't remember) it didn't do the task - neither with Toast Titanium 9.0.4, nor with Dragon Burn 5.0.5, nor with Disk Utility...!?
One of Geniuses in one Apple store told me my optical drive is about to "die" and I shoul replace it. Well, the estimated cost of replacement was close to $450.
I decided not to do it within Apple.
I ordered new optical drive "*+Apple SuperDrive 8x DVD Burner Drive - Aluminum or iBook G4+*" (MATSHITA DVD-RAM UJ-875S - Reads DVD:Yes; CD-Write:-R, -RW; DVD-Write:-R, -R DL, -RAM, -RW, +R, +R DL, +RW; Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, DVD-DAO) from POWERBOOK MEDIC.COM for $99 + shipping. I replaced it myself for about 2 hours. Replacement by professional shouldn't be more than cost of the part.
Now, I have a new powerful and fast optical drive working as a dream.
I wish you lack.
prof. DEJA VUE

Movies stall or hang up when playing on DVD player

I've used both IDVD 5 and iDVD 6 but the problem continues. DVD's tend to "hang up" or "stick" at multiple scenes when playing on a DVD player. The same problem occurs on all sorts of DVD player of family and friends. This issue does not happen when playing the DVD on a computer. The movies are created in iMovie and the sent to iDVD with Themes added and then burned. I've tried disc immaages vs a burn - same result.
Any ideas what is causing this problem and how to overcome?

My iMac G5 is 2 months old, so probably not an issue. I am currently using Memorex 16X DVD's, but get the stall, hang up and freeze problem when playing on DVD players. This is not an issue playing back on computers. I started making movies on a Dell a year ago using Microsoft Movie Maker and experienced the same problem. Totally different systems, different applications...but the same issue.
All sorts of makes DVD players both in the U.S. and England and Canada have problems playing my DVDs.
I have tried saving as a disc image and the burning, but not a solution.
Is Toast better than using Apple's iDVD or disk utility to burn DVD's. Is there any way to control burn speed? Does Toast allow different burn speeds? Should I use 16X DVD's or 8X or whatever?

Problems playing on Windows machines

Colleagues of mine who are using PCs with Vista are having a problem playing my DVDs created using iDVD on their machines. Vista is telling them they have to pay $15 to upgrade WMP for the DVDs to work. Does anyone know a way around this?

Not exactly sure what's going on the PC side of the equation as to why Vista would mandate upgrading WMP but you can make the finished iDvd a bit more compatible by simply using Roxio Toast to make a copy. You can do this from the DVD itself or from a disc image made to the desktop.
Click Here
If all attempts fail to play in the PC then try making a data DVD in UDF format using Toast. The DVD will likely play fine in most computers but may have issues when using a number of set top DVD Players.
Hope this helps but if not just come on back.

Problems playing DVD with DVD player

I have my original superdrive. Today, we were playing a DVD we had burned with iDVD. It was playing just fine until it got to a certain point and then it kept freezing up. I got an error message stating: DVD Player encountered an error it could not recover from. There was an error reading from the disc. It might be scratched or dirty. [-36] But, the disc is not dirty and it plays just fine in my son's computer. I have used a Maxll Lens Cleaner a half dozen times and it still hangs up when it gets to this point on the DVD. Anyone have any suggestions as to how I can solve this problem?????

Defects on/in DVDs can be unseen by the eye but the
drive's laser can have problems reading the "bad"
areas. I've seen this problem from Mac to Mac (or
PC). What about other discs? Same problem?
Regards,
Yes, same thing with another disc the other day, just I was told that it was a defective disc. But, considering the same thing happened today with another disc and the disc plays just fine in my son's emac, I think the problem is my super drive.

ITunes 11.0.4.4 crashes when I play certain songs and the problem is spreading.

Ever since I downloaded iTunes 11.0.4.4 (for windows 7), the program has been crashing whenever I play certain songs and at this point the problem is spreading, more and more songs that weren't problems before. I have been through just about every troubleshooting step I could find more than once, reinstalling, safe mode, conflicting programs... if a solution out there was even vaguely related to my problem, I've probably tried it. The only modification that I've made to the program is enabling 1/2 star ratings, and I don't think that's the problem because the earlier versions of itunes worked fine with it, and I've tried temporarily moving the itunes preferences xml to make it generate a new one, and it didn't fix anything.
My library has over 14,200 tracks so I can't possibly delete and then re-add all the problem tracks to iTunes, and even if I could, I've tried doing that with a small number of specific songs already, and while it worked at first some of them have started making iTunes crash again at this point.
I understand that the problem is most likely that my library is corrupted, but I'm very wary of the solutions to that problem that I have seen because I have had to use them before more than once, and each of those times I've lost thousands of songs (last time it was 5,000 tracks) in the process and a shockingly large percentage of the tracks came back disorganized and improperly labeled (some of them as 4 letter strings of capital letters that I can't seem to identify without using shazam) and without ratings ( I have "keep iTunes files organized" and "copy files to iTunes media folder when adding to library" in preferences checked.)
It takes a huge amount of time to redo the information for the amount of tracks I have even if you buy software to help automate it, and it would take me 5.7 days to redo all of the ratings I've done, and ratings are important to me. I've added a lot of new tracks since then and my library is still 2,000 tracks smaller than it was before i had problems last time. The solution scares me enough that I've put it with the crashing for two months now, but it's getting unmanageable. If anyone can give me a way to fix this that would leave my library intact, or at least minimize the damage, I would be extremely grateful.
Thanks.

I found this and it worked!!!
kcp123456789
Re: iTunes keeps crashing when I select iTunes store (Win 8) iTunes 11
Sep 26, 2013 5:43 AM (in response to Bristol1981a)
I had this exact same problem. I found a fix on another support post that worked perfectly for me. Browse to C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\Apple Application Support and copy the filen named QTMovieWin.dll. Then browse and past that file into C:\Program Files (x86)\iTunes.
Hope this helps you. My iTunes store is working fine now.
God bless!!

Problems playing certain DVDs

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for