My Disc Won’t Play!

I have a defective disc! It’s true, occasionally you’ll get a bad disc. It’s also true that 90% of the time, the disc that won’t play is not defective at all. So, how can we tell if a disc is defective?

1) Look at the disc: If there is a very deep scratch… yep, it is likely the disc.  However, it takes a deep scratch to cause a disc not to play.  These discs are designed to hold up to some punishment.  If you are seeing light scratching or if it has rattled around in the case, it will likely still play. It may just need some TLC.  Start with a light lint-free (soft t-shirt like material) cloth and clean with a light motion running from the hub out to the edge.  You can also add a light spray of a solution of rubbing alcohol and a drop of detergent.

2) Your equipment may be at fault. DVD players work using a laser eye that reads the pits in the disc.  Sometimes that laser eye gets a bit of dust on it.  Open the door to your DVD player and blow in there… you don’t need a can of air, just a couple of good dry blows from your lungs may take care of the problem.  Yes, this can still be the problem even if your copy of Batman plays, but the train video won’t.  Hollywood videos are made with a more forgiving process.

3) Your equipment may not be able to play the disc at all. Game machines may or may not be able to play your disc.  The XBox is a great game machine, it is not such a great Blu-ray player. Play the disc in a machine designed to play the disc. Blu-ray discs will not play in a DVD machine, not even a HD machine, not even an “upconverting” machine.

4) Your equipment may be too old.  Technology marches ahead at a quick pace… and sometimes we don’t keep up.  DVD players made prior to 2000/2002 may not play some of our special interest DVDs. Very early Blu-ray players may also not be able to play our special interest Blu-ray discs.  How can you tell if the problem is the age of your machine? Pop the disc into your computer DVD (or Blu-ray) drive.  Will it play there?  If so, it is the machine, not the DVD.

5) The disc uses a different standard than your machine.  For a discussion of video standards, see what we have to say here. The quick take is the USA, Canada and Japan – and much of Europe – and then France and Russia – use different video standards.  In all cases though, your computer drive (DVD or Blu-ray depending on the disc) along with playback software (comes standard in Windows 7 and newer operating systems) will play your disc.

6) The disc won’t play because of a region code problem.  Only one producer we carry uses the region code system. If this impacts you please email Sunday River Productions and let them know: info@sundayriverproductions.com.  If you are stopped by the region code problem, there is nothing that can legally be done.

That is a lot to read! What’s the bottom line?
1) Clean your disc. Clean your machine.
2) Test your disc in your computer disc drive.
3) If all else fails, we are here for you. We will send out a replacement or work with the producer to get you a replacement disc. Write us: CustomerService@RailfanDepot.com