Aboutcleggsan Expertise Consumer Electronics of all kinds. Audio, esoteric audio systems and components, video, tv. Digital equipment for consumer use. Ham radio and automotive electronics.
Experience Electrical Engineering; recording, broadcasting, design, international standards, tv and radio theory and practice.
Organizations FELLOW of AES (Audio Engineering Society)
Senior Life Member of IEEE (Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers)
International Consulting Organization
Publications IEEE Spectrum
Various Consumer Electronic publications
Education/Credentials BSEE
MSCS
MBA
Awards and Honors Famous Engineer for Digital Audio
Question The following question was given 2 years ago, and I was wondering if someone had an answer now that they didn't have then. Here is the question....."My DVD player on my Panasonic combo TV model PVDF2704 has suddenly stopped playing DVD's and CD's. Any DVD/CD I insert results in the message "This type of disc cannot be played. Please insert a different disc". THIS IS THE EXACT PROBLEM I AM NOW HAVING. PLEASE ADVISE.
Answer Did the player work properly before? And, did it fail suddenly or slowly over time?
Will it play dvd discs on any kind?
Will it play regular music cds?
Are you playing only CD-R or dvdr discs?
However, it is most likely the player has any of these conditions with number ONE being the most common for older machines. Newer ones are usually number TWO or THREE below.
ONE: The laser diode inside the optical pickup is weak, dying or dead. Often you can tell it is going weak because it will not play a dvd but plays audio discs quite well - but eventually will not play the audio either.
TWO: The optical pickup is badly out of alignment. It can be cause by wear, bumping or dropping the unit - which knocks the delicate assembly out of adjustment.
THREE: The digital detector which reads the digital information coming off the disc is defective and cannot decipher the data.
FOUR: The lens on the optical pickup is too dirty to let the laser beam shine through sufficiently. It can be cleaned with a cotton q-tip (but don't use any liquids on it).
Unfortunately, as stated in the reply of two years ago, the acquisition of a new dvd player is less expensive than repair. The minimum repair charge if you take it into a shop will be around $60 to $70 plus parts. You can purchase a new player for $30 and up and just connect it into the a/v inputs on the tv.
