Here's a simple fix for DVD players and Recorders not recognizing your store bought, or blank DVDs.


There is nothing more frustrating than buying a 50-pack of blank DVDs and to have your player tell you the discs are not recognizable. Or not being able to play your favorite movie you’ve had for years.

I do a lot of video recording on DVD discs, and I must have thrown away at least 50 brand new blank discs thinking it was the fault of the disc manufacturer.

And using a lens-cleaning disc seems to help for maybe a disc or two – then the issue would start all over again.

As it turns out, it’s not the discs. It’s your player.

In 2007 I bought 3 of these Sony DVD Recorders - Refurbished from Sony. And, all at once they each failed to read discs. At first, I assumed they were programed to somehow stop reading in the year 2020. Well, that didn’t make any sense.

Fortunately, I discovered the problem, thus the solution…

If your DVD Player / Recorder has a few years on it, chances are, the grease on the lens-head glide rods has dried up and is causing the lens-head to stick when it first reads the disc. If the head cant glide across the disc to read its format, then all bets are off when it comes to playing or recording.

Grease is a homogenized concoction of oil and soap. And once the grease has dried and pushed off to the ends of the glides, the head cant travel smoothly enough to read the tracks.

Most DVD Player / Recorder manufacturers use white lithium or silicon grease on the glides. I advised using a silicon oil as the grease will eventually wear away again. The oil will saturate the glide rod journals and hold longer and revitalize any surviving grease.

I will show you how to General Service this recorder as it was the most sophisticated player of its time. Your player is probably much simpler and will be easier to service.