I have a panasonic dvd player model number sc-ht80...i recenlty purchased the dvd the center of the world...and for some strange reason it will not play on my dvd player...and yet when i play it on a sony brand of dvd player it plays with no problem...does this make any sense to anyone...my panasonic plays my 200 other discs fine no problem...if the disc is region 1 shouldn't it play on all players...i don't see why i am having this problem...does anyone have any suggestions or thoughts...i called panasonic and they want me to send it in for repairs...i am not paying all of that money when the disc should play...please let me know if anyone has heard of anything like this...thanks

-- Christopher Denley (cddenley@yahoo.com), December 28, 2001

Answers

Your problem is impossible to diagnose, but I can make an educated guess. Welcome to the dirty little secret of the DVD world - all DVDs do not play on all DVD players. This has nothing to do with region issues, which I will discuss later. What I mean is that if you bought 200 DVDs appropriate for the region of your DVD player, you might find that a few of them don't play correctly. There are lists at various places that talk about which DVDs have problems with which players. It could just be that your Panasonic is not ever going to play the DVD and repair won't help. I suggest you do a web search for DVD and problems or something like that. The FAQ at www.dvddemystified.com might be able to point you to such a list. I have seen them, but it's been a long time and I don't remember where any of these lists are. For example, I have an older DVD player that simply refuses to play DVDs that use Seamless Branching (this is common in DVDs with tons of extras). This has to do with mastering issues involving the DVD and how the players are put together. I remember reading in a UK DVD site how they have blasted Disney for making DVDs in Britain that most DVD players could not play and Disney was accused of violating the standards for DVDs as the root cause of the problem. I've never heard of your DVD, but if it's a Disney DVD, you might have a problem due to the way it was mastered. I have not personally had any problems with Disney DVDs, but I only have 2. As far as your statement about region 1 discs goes, it's not quite accurate as you stated it. For example, a region 1 disc should not play in a region 2 player, so region 1 DVDs won't play on ALL players. I would more accurately state that in theory, all region 1 DVDs should play on all DVD players that support region 1 DVDs, but keep in mind what I said above that some DVDs are problem DVDs and may not actually play on all players. As a general rule, the more complex the DVD is, the more likely it is to have problems. If you are not having any other problems with your Panasonic player, I certainly wouldn't send it out for repairs as a repair may not fix the problem at all.

-- Jason (Jason.Shumate@equant.com), December 28, 2001.

I have an SC-HT80 as well, same problem, on MANY discs. I rent a lot of discs (netflix) and the Panasonic won't play more than 25% of them - and NO disney discs.

-- Paul Evans (nospam@bexandpaul.com), January 03, 2003.

Try going thru the lense cleaning procedure. I've foun this works.

-- David Jeeves (david@jeeves8868fslife.co.uk), February 11, 2003.

My HT80 USED to play a every disk. Now it won't play anything with a solid label on top. If there isn't a shiny ring showing through the label it won't play. This includes, Charlie's Angels, The Green Mile, Fast and the Furious, and many others. I can't even rent Blockbuster movies anymore for fear it won't work. It sounds like it can't possibly be true, but I just sat down a few minutes ago and did EVERY DVD I had. So if it's silver on top, it'll probably work.

-- Jerimie Turner (info@hubbatubba.com), March 21, 2003.

Do a search for a Laser mod. This will fix the problem of not reading disks that it used to. Crappy LASER. I did this myself last evening. Panasonic has indicated that it is a reflectivity issue.

Crank up the voltage to the laser and enjoy your movies again. Same as a PSX mod.

-- Jerimie Turner (info@hubbatubba.com), March 21, 2003.

I too have Panosonic SC-HT80 and I can't play many DVD's. i have tried to clean the lens and nothing. I have rented DVD's and they will not play and when I take them back to blockbuster they will play just fine. I can understand that maybe once a while you'll get a DVD that will simply not play on a certain brand of DVD player but you really have to take a gamble with the SC-HT80.

-- Jaun Pancho (Panchito272000@yahoo.com), March 24, 2003.

YOUR PROBLEM IS NOT WITH THE DISK ITSELF. IT IS THAT YOUR LAZER IS UNDER POWERED. DO A LAZER MOD TO YOUR UNIT AND THIS WILL RESOLVE YOUR PROBLEM. THE LAZER MOD MIGHT COST YOU AS MUCH AS A NEW PLAYER THOUGH. THE LAZER IS ACTUAL UNDER POWER SO IF THERE IS ANY PART OF DISK THE LAZER CAN SHOOT THROUGH THIS CREATES THE PROBLEM.. GOOD LUCK.

-- JOHN VANCE (ZIPPIWATCHES@HOTMAIL.COM), June 10, 2003.

Hi All, I've the same problem .... Bought Matrix reloaded the dvd 2 works fine and No way to usew the DVD1 !!!!! :-( I noted that If I do an HOT start it works !!! in other word I will start with a working DVD for 10-15 mins after I use the "not compatible" DVD and it WORKS !!!!!!! don't ask me WHY !!!

Mauri

-- Mauri (maurifonosp@mhotmail.com), October 27, 2003.

Thanks cddenley for having this website.

I having the same problems that everyone is having. With Maxtrix Reloaded and many others DVD discs, I also had problems with the first DVD disc, but not with the second (the special DVD).

We should not be paying for repairs, shipping and handling. The companies, DVD makers and players system such as Panasonic, should pay for repairs, etc. This is why it is not good to buy a system that integrates everythign (DVD, DECODERS, SPEAKER SYSTEM) because if Panasonic refuses to fix it, you get stuck with a very expensive garbage.

If Panasonic does fix the problem or makes sure that DVD disk industry make disks that can play on their equipment, we should not buy anything from Panosonic. This corporations only cares when the CEO or the Board of Directors loose money. We the consumer must educate ourselves by readings review or sites like your cddenley before buying garbage.

-- Ausberto E. Beltran (aebpobox@yahoo.com), November 09, 2003.

I feel relieved I am not the only one having a s----y time with my Panasonic SC-HT80, but on the other hand I think it sucks that we have the same problem... None of my DVDs will play wether Disney ones or shiny or non shiny ones. Tomorrow morning I am calling Panasonic to make a formal complaint. Damned its Saturday night, I rented T3 and I can't watch it. Instead I am sitting at the computer pissed off about a $500 DVD player that won't play DVD. May everybody should call Panasonic and complain if they have not done so yet. The more the merrier.

-- (p.chheng@verizon.net), November 16, 2003.

I have the SC-HT700 DVD Home Theater System with 5 DVD/CD Changer, 5 Satellite Speakers, and Subwoofer MSRP $349.95. I can't read the DVD I make on my computer even though three other brands had no problems with it. I complained to Panasonic to just let me know what brand DVD-R will work ??? (silver ok ?) If anybody can recomend a brand that doesn't have a problem like I have please let me know.I used a Sony DVD burner. Thanks, Allan

-- Allan Biggar (allanbiggar@hotmail.com), January 18, 2004.

Hi:

I'm glad I'm not the only one having a problem with a Panasonic DVD player!

I just bought a SC-HT800V home theater system, and it has problems playing a lot of discs. All the discs play fine in my old Toshiba, but not in the new Panasonic.

There's no pattern, some discs play fine, others won't. The system says that it "doesn't play that type of disc" when I try to play them. I try them in my old Toshiba, and they play fine.

I've owned and recommended several Toshibas, and they've always played everything fine.

I guess I'm going to take this P.O.S. Panasonic back.

-- Bill Daley (bdaley98@yahoo.com), January 20, 2004.

Many thanks to Jerimie Turner. I was confused about what the laser mod was since the only mod I knew for Playstations was the mod chip. Long story short, here's just one website concerning the laser mod: http://www.modstation.eng.net/repair.htm

I used Yahoo and put'PSX voltage adjustment' in the query.

It's a bit frustrating to give a gift only to have it start skipping a year after. I haven't done the adjustment yet but the next time I see the unit, it'll be done.

-- John Kim (keunjk@yahoo.com), February 08, 2004.

Note to all, if you have a DVD player that will play rented DVDs all the time you are on of the luckiest poeple in th world. I have been learning that this DVD thing is a sham. Most DVD players if not nearly all will not play most if not nearly all DVDs. WE HAVE BEEN HAD $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ And had but good. I mean totaly ripped off by an industrial sham that there is no way out of and no recourse for. Whoopie.

-- Sid Pool (sfpool@fivearea.com), February 28, 2004.

You guys are scaring the SH@T out of me. I just bought the SC-HT80 2 weeks ago. It's working just fine. It's reading EVERYTHING. It reads all my movie, some of which are region 3 with no problems. I got it brand new on ebay for $185. I'm very nervous as I have read some reviews from people with the same problems. It's working perfect, but I'd like to know if there's anything I can do to prevent this from happening.

-- (gannz_2000@yahoo.com), March 05, 2004.

"My problem" was solved by getting a new laser unit put in. $200.00

I've since bought a combo DVD-VHS machine that plays EVERYTHING (by Go-Video). It's not a receiver though, so I have it hooked through the Panasonic for the audio features. Cheesey workaround... but the key word in there is "work".

-- Nummagumma (nospam@bexandpaul.com), August 31, 2004.

I too have a HT80 - purchased 5 years ago. In the last 6-9 months I had problems reading a disc here and there, and now it pretty much refuses to play any new discs I rent. So... after scouring the web I just went out and bought the latest Phillips DVD player for 70.00. It was easier and simplier than trying to fix my unit and I got LITTLE help from the support desk at Panasonic.

-- kevin Pace (kapace@aol.com), November 01, 2004.

I have found a fix for the Panasonic SC-HT80 / SA-HT80 to rectify the "No Play" fault.

Switch on the player and remove all disks. Press the "Stop/Tune" button on the front panel and at the same time press the "10" button on the remote control. The player will initialise. Insert a DVD and it should play normally.

-- Bullish Bear (bullish_bear@tiscali.co.uk), December 12, 2004.