Used dvds. Sometimes they bend and still play and other dvds bend and skip. DVDs are not as wonderful as advertised.
There are two firmware updates available.
Plus a pdf for the update.
One update is April 2016, the other is May 2016.
I’ll tell you, once upon a time when my family used to watch a lot of DVDs & Blu-Ray discs we actually had 2 different players (a Sony & a Samsung) attached to the same TV. We used to get discs in the mail from Netflix (many of which were fairly battered), and sometimes a disc would be glitchy in one player but run fine in the other, and vice-versa. The fact, though, that you’re saying that multiple pristine discs are playing poorly in this player doesn’t sound right. I’d return the thing and get something a bit higher end. And by “higher end,” I’m not talking about a fortune. The “higher end” players might be $30-$50 more than you paid... which is like the cost of a couple pizzas.
After looking at reviews and features, we bought a Sony UBP-800M2 during the Black Friday sale at Best Buy last year. We watch Blu-Ray and streaming material.
Of the Blu-Ray and DVD items we’ve seen, we haven’t had a problem with a Redbox or library video that couldn’t be cured by cleaning the disc.
Do install any firmware updates you find from your manufacturer. We had one and it addressed some strange behavior.
Some players just don’t get along with some discs, but others might. Before taking the one you have back, get another one and compare the discs on that one. If different discs have a problem then it might be worth having two options.
Sometimes if you go into setup, then settings, you can find a button that says something along the lines of restore factory defaults etc. Sometimes that fixes problems like you have, or problems with streaming.
I’d go to the BB if it is local to you, with the “bad” (visually good) discs”, explain the problem, and try the “bad” discs in a few players, not necessarily higher price. Include a BP350. Different player models will handle errors differently. The BB Geek Squad (not necessarily floor salesmen, though!) should be able to help with any firmware issues.
If all players “mess up” on the discs giving you problems, the discs have a problem.
That said, I’ve never had a commercial CD or DVD “go bad” just sitting in storage. Home burned discs are supposedly more vulnerable (tho’ I can’t prove that, either.)
BTW, does “300” freeze at the same spot (scene) if you play it through freshly (say, after a DVD that works fine) vs. playing it fresh but skipping immediately to just before the “freeze” scene? Some players seem to “accumulate” errors on a disc until the player hangs, while others apparently resolve them, then dump or ignore past errors. (I may not be wording that very well!)
Let me guess: “You bought this at Fry’s Electronics”?
Guess, but if it makes it to around half-way, it’s having trouble with the layer-switch. 8+GB discs are dual-layer, 4+GB are single. I’d replace it at BB.
I haven’t used a Blu-Ray, yet. But some of the cheap DVD players were off-track when they were new and wouldn’t play many of the DVDs. Could that be a problem with some Blu-Ray players, too? Do they use read heads with lasers?
Perhaps they are not blue ray compatible
Probably need to clean the DVD’s with water and paper towel. Make sure there are no smears.. Also make sure the labels aren’t damaged.. If they are they will not play..
No help sorry but LG stands for Lucky Goldstar. Live Good is just a slogan they’ve used over the years.
This weekend is the 2500th anniversary of the 330 Spartans. The battle took place in late August of 480BC, that's 2500 years back from today.
bkmk
OTOH,bluray discs are far superior,picture quality wise,to DVD and bluray is even cheaper than 4K.
Thanks, everyone, for your advice! I’ll look into your suggestions and give an update in the next few days.
I’ve had players that had trouble with layer-change, which in optical media is how the manufacturers cram more information onto a disc.
The drive motor for the laser inside will actually have trouble at the layer-change point, and freeze, typically at the halfway point of a movie, which is where the laser needs to physically move to continue the film.
There is a phenomenon called "DVD Rot". When this happens, the disc will often freeze at the point of the layer change. Most (but not all) DVDs are "dual layer". They are basically 2 layers glued together so as to double the storage capacity. Over time, the glue holding the two layers can begin to separate causing the disc to freeze at the point of the layer change. This does not happen to the majority of discs and it seems to happen to certain discs made at certain times at certain facilities. For example, I bought the Errol Flynn Collection Vol. 2 when it was released. Of the 5 films in the set, 4 of them freeze at the same time (the layer change). This problem is unrelated to scratched surfaces as I bought those discs new and they look pristine.
Your problem could be the player, or it could be some discs that have gone bad. As others have suggested, you need to play the problem discs in other machines to see if they play. If they do, the machine may be bad. If they don't, the discs may have succumbed to "DVD rot" or are too scratched.
I have been using Blu-ray players as my only video players for over 10 years. They play DVDs as well as any DVD player.
Thanks again for everyone’s advice. Some suspicions a few of you had were confirmed.
Since I don’t have wi-fi at home, I tried to do a firmware update for the player at another location. I could connect to the site’s “guest network” but the player was not successful in establishing a connection to the LG site under my hands.
So I went to Best Buy to have them try what they could. The staff were more interested in making it into a “return/exchange” situation than troubleshooting, so I upgraded to a Sony UBP-X700, which is a $200 model. (I could gave made a lateral move in cost to the Sony brand with another model, but opted to go up instead...)
Came home, set it up, quickly scanned the fulsome instruction manual, and off to the races with 300 and A Bridge Too Far.
Once again, 300 froze midway through. (And I was reminded that Leana Headley, who played Gorgo, Leonidas’ wife, went on to play Cersei Lannister in A Game of Thrones.) A Bridge Too Far played a bit better. Places where it skipped over before were played jerkily instead. An improvement, but still a faulty disc.
My impression of the earlier LG player has risen, as I see it’s my collection of DVDs (most of which were bought used, but playable at the time of purchase) that is really at fault. Best Buy wins Round 2!
Thanks again, everyone! Looks I’ll have to comb my collection by watching it to see what can salvaged and what can be tossed!