JohnthePilot

Hi,
I'm sure there is a very simple answer to this, but I can't work it out. My LG DVD-ROM DRD8160B won't recognise DVDs. It plays CDs fine. My other drive, a DVDRW IDE 16X works fine so it's not as though the Codecs are missing. I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers but that hasn't helped. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Pilot.

JohnthePilot

Have I upset the Hardware Team? Surely someone's got an answer for this.

Deleted090308

Hi,
How old is the LG drive? Maybe it needs cleaning.

Nicholas

JohnthePilot

It's a couple of years old. Perhaps needs retiring like me. I've tried cleaning it, but with no success. It's strange that CDs play perfectly.
Regards,
John.

Deleted090308

I've had the same problem. I think it's because DVDs are more demanding than CDs - and the laser 'gets old and tired' . Some cheap drives only last for about two years.

JohnthePilot

Oh well! More expense I suppose I guessed that might be the answer, but we live in hope. Thanks for your help.
Regards,
John.

JohnthePilot

I can get a Sony CD/DVD player from Misco for £10. Not as bad as I thought it would be.

Deleted090308

That's cheap!

JohnthePilot

That's what I thought, so I ordered it. Delivery tomorrow.

JohnthePilot

Hi Nicholas,
new drive turned up today. Misco charge extra for next day delivery so I just paid for 3 day delivery. It still turned up today. It's been the same with everything I've ordered off them. It solved the problem BTW.
Regards,
John.

Deleted090308

Good news

smz

I thought I would throw this in. I too have a LG DVD player/recorder. Funny thing is that they boast about Super Multimedia Compatibility but I am not sure I have seen a pickier player then LG. Not to mention it takes about 30 seconds to fire up once you press the power button. Thought I would throw it in that LG and the inability to either recognize or play certain things is probably more common then you think. I bet a lot of people haven't responded because LG isn't the household name for these things? I couldn't help myself to a bestbuy openbox price... They had the unit with a sealed remote and manual priced at $59... This unit even up converts to 1080i via the HDMI port which I got a cable online for $7. The only thing I would trust the LG with is retail DVD's or for recording, it seems to like these Office Depot branded DVD+RW discs so that is what I use to record and I can take the discs to any dvd in the house and it works.

JohnthePilot

Thanks smz.
My LG had even stopped responding to retail DVDs. The new Sony is just fine and my Emprex burner produces DVDs that will play anywhere, so I'm upa nad running again.

smz

Emperex, lol. The sticker underneath says BTC.

Actually in come cases the BTC drives will be more compatible then some brand name drives. Glad the Sony worked out though.

JohnthePilot

It cost £35 and works fine, so I'm not complaining

smz

Well I sometimes like to stick with the household names since I am old school with a lot of things. So, who was one of the first makers of the cd player? Sony would be correct. In my garage I still have one of those units. They were so expensive back then but you know what, the quality they put into making it was unbelievable. You look at a regular cd/dvd player nowadays, it's like total plastic and light weight as can be. I don't think LG makes anything that is ever labeled super high end anyhow. Though I switched cell phone companies last summer and first got a Samsung phone and it was a clunker, got another one, and it had issues, so I settled with Sprint to give me an extraordinary deal on a LG Fusic. So I have respect for LG as a company as this phone is just awesome. but when it comes computer or consumer electronics... it's not #1 on my list. My mother's LG phone isn't all that great, but then again she has Cingular Phone service.

JohnthePilot

I always used to believe in the saying that "you get what you pay for" and it's still true with some things. Many, many years (too many to remember ) ago I bought a Wolf electric drill. It cost nearly 10 x what a Black & Decker would. That old drill is still going strong yet I've gone through no end of B&Ds during the same time and at the end of the day, a drill is a drill is a drill. With electronics, though, because the technology is changing so rapidly, I'd rather buy something cheap, that does the job, but wont last. Then when I replace it I can get the latest technology. I'd hate to be still using my old Motorola "brick" just cos it's still working. There's no point in buying expensive electronic equipment that's going to last years cos it's going to be out of date.

smz

Those Motorola bricks are unbreakable... I think there are exceptions to the rule but let's not go down the Motorola avenue or if you are familiar with ham radios, I have a set of Icom 02 & 04 series radios which were also labeled as bricks...

You can drop these things a thousand times and they still work... One thing I know about LG is all their products seem a bit on the fragile side. I don't think I would ever classify them as a Cheap brand like you would refer to Kraco, Funai, or any car stereo that pep boys sells.

JohnthePilot

The point I was trying to make is that, provided it's robust and does the job, there is no point in paying a lot for electronic equipment that's going to last for years. I paid a lot for a high end TV 15 years ago and it's still going. I wish it would break down so I could get something more up-to-date, but I'm loathe to get rid of it cos it's still got a good picture (and because it cost so much in the first place).

Deleted090308

Sounds like the Sony was a real bargain - fits your (and my) electronics 'ideology' perfectly