Figuring out this bly-ray player issue

demonix · 4 Dec 2015 at 18:07

I'm not even sure if this is the right place for this, but I thought someone here might know what the heck is going on and if it's even worth trying to get the thing working properly once again.

I've been having issues with my blu-ray player (toshiba BDX1200) where it either doesn't acknowledge that a disc is in the drive when one is put in or it just states that the disc is unsupported and spits it out (the former only relates to DVDs and the latter only relates to blu-rays) only for it to work normally when the disc is put back in.

That is until yesterday when I put a DVD in, got the no disc message, went through the open/close routine and I got the no disc message again which repeated when I tried again (it even happened with a disc that was working the day before) and it only started working when I tried a blu-ray which actually ran after the second go, but when I went back to a DVD it continued with the no disc malarky until I decided to try blowing into the only gap that goes into the player (I don't even know if I managed to blow any air into it) and after a few more attempts it finally worked and read the disc (I was only a few attempts away from bringing an old DVD player back into action).

From what I heard the drive does start up, but at least on the DVD side it's probably the same as when it starts up and checks if a disc is already in the drive (and it does seem to do a bit more with a blu-ray which is probably why it comes up with a different message) which I'm hoping is just something that needs to be cleaned, and not a sign that I'll have to spend £100+ on a new player since my current one is region free (and multi-region (since there is no region free option) for blu-ray) and since I can't get any of the toshiba players that can be made region free by firmware update.

So, is this something that can be fixed with a few quids worth of cleaning materials, or will I have to throw around £50 into a new player and eventually burning another £100+ on getting it modified to play my region locked DVDs and blu-rays.

lucid · 4 Dec 2015 at 19:09

There could be any number of issues, but the most likely are a failing laser diaode or a motor starting to pack up. You can try cleaning the lens assembly (lid off, Isopropyl Alcohol/ AKA isopropanol, cotton buds) but it rarely resolves the issue unless you smoke like chimneys

If it was a failing laser diode then the symptoms would normally first affect those disc formats that are hardest to read. I would expect Blu-rays and any home recorded DVDs to be problematic before commercial DVDs. In your case you're having issues with both DVD and BD discs, so I think the likely culprit is a failing motor. That's actually good news because motors are a fairly easy part to replace.

If you want to try a little test (and assuming you know better than to go touching live electrical parts) then take the lid of the player off and watch what happens when a disc is loaded. If the motor is at fault then the disc won't spin up on loading. You'll see it twitch very slightly as the motor attempts to spin up. That's the stiction of the bearings. Give the disc a quick flick-start and you'll find it will load, read and play correctly.

The next bit is more complicated, but not hugely so. It's disassembling the drive so you can get the part number of the motor. There's normally three or 5 screws under disc crown to be removed. You'll find that the crown has holes in it which allow you to rotate the spindle and line up over the screw heads. Once you have the part number then Ebay/CPC/RS Components and the web are your friend.

Replacing the motor will involve soldering. I can't help you with that. You either have the gear and know how to do it or you don't.

lude1962 · 4 Dec 2015 at 19:24

Could be dirty lens/ sticky mechanism, but unlikely.
You've got nothing to lose by opening it up and giving a clean.
I've had no joy personally trying to resurrect a player or two after the dreaded no disc message appears time and time again.
As far as I know it contains 2 lasers one for DVD and one for BR, that's why the BR would get further.The DVD one seems to wear out first as that's the one used the most.

demonix · 5 Dec 2015 at 19:49

I didn't think this was prudent to the current problems, but I did have occasional (very rare) issues where the image would pixelate for a few seconds and come back to normal even though a replay of the affected section comes back with no problems and there would be freezes where the only way to restore playback was to rewind and resume playback (both on blu-ray only and the latter might be more of a disc issue since it only affects certain discs and always occurs in the same place).

Also (if I missed part of this information out originally) it does seem to attempt to run with a blu-ray in the drive which is likely why I get an unknown disc message instead of no disc (with a DVD in it just sounds like it acts like nothing is there with the drive engaging the disc and then disengaging the disc) which is making my think that there's just dirt or dust (since my room has it really bad when it comes to dust) on the lenses that needs cleaning, but if its one or more parts of the laser assembly that are giving up the ghost it's likely going to be more economically viable to buy a new player and get that modified since I don't have the equipment or the skill to replace any single components (and getting the equipment to replace those parts is just going to add to the cost).

I'm also running out of backups since I took my old tohsiba SD270E out of mothballs and found that that had a damaged laser since the drive started up, but what I heard after a few seconds (along with the fact that it wasn't recognising the disc) didn't sound that encouraging and I couldn't remove the top off it completely to inspect the drive, so I'm down to my old Philips BDP3000 which should still work (but I have to claim it back).

I'll be doing the cleaning in a little over a weeks time (since I'm finally getting a new TV after an age, and it means I'll have to do a bit of re-configuring of components and to move the unit a bit) so any further news won't come until after then.

demonix · 13 Dec 2015 at 19:03

A little update

After hearing a few new noises when a disc is loading I've decided to not bother taking any further action with it (plus I've still had problems finding anywhere that stocks the suggesting cleaning solution on small quantities and doesn't charge the earth for it) and have decided to buy a cheap upscaling DVD player which will be a backup once I get a main multi region BD/DVD set up sorted out.

Avalon · 14 Dec 2015 at 10:12

A glass cleaning wipe will do the same job, phone screen protectors come with them or it's about £2 a ltr when i order it for work. Power it down, strip it and see if anything is fouling the mechanism/lense. A place I used to work spent hundreds sending optical drives to be re-worked for it's duplicators, the first week I reckon I saved them a months wage just by stripping the cases and removing cellophane/dust.

demonix · 15 Dec 2015 at 18:15

I opened the top up and had a look at what happened, and I'm starting to lean towards a faulty drive motor considering what I observed.

DVD: The disc starts spinning ever so slightly (it only advances a fraction as if the motor starts and stops), I hear a tick-tick-tick sound and the laser does its standard test before it stops and won't do anything until I open and close the disc tray.

Blu-ray: The initial disc spin has a bit more effort since it actually starts but stops before the disc goes through one rotation which is likely where the unknown disc error is coming from as it starts reading when the disc starts spinning, but it can't tell what disc is in the drive because of that.

In both instances, when it actually works the disc spins up the second the disc is locked into position, and (I didn't think this was important to begin with) if a disc is run in it for a while any further disc put in after it will work without the problem cropping up again (from my limited experiments), so I'll most likely keep to my current plan since if it is the motor then it'll be too much for me to fix myself (plus getting everything that is needed to repair it along with the parts is likely to cost more or around the same price as my getting a new player and getting it modified).