Fellow LoveFilm customers - is your BR player this "sensitive"?

PoisonJam

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My early Sony BDP-S350 (DVD region unlocked) is extremely sensitive to scratched or dirty BRs, except in a lot of cases it's a real stretch to even call what it trips up on a scratch. It seems it will trip up on the tiniest spec of dust or partial finger print. With DVDs it's a lot less sensitive.

It's a real problem as I have a LoveFilm account. The odd disc is in bad condition but most of them are in very good condition and this player still trips up. I wipe all finger marks off first and sometimes discs look almost immaculate and it can still trip up. It has a hiccup with pretty much every BR disc I rent. It's fine with my own discs as they're all in immaculate condition.

Are more recent players as sensitive to this? I'm thinking of getting Panasonic BDT310 to replace it.
 
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You have much more data on a Blu ray disc than on a DVD , the data track is much smaller and must be focused on much more accurately than a DVD player , so its a given that they will be much more sensitive to smudges , fingerprints , eyelashes and all that good stuff.

I have had a few discs that refused to play until cleaned , but not so many that I considered changing my player. ( Oppo).

Lovefilm and the like I can see being a problem , much the same as rented games or DVD's the issue here is that those discs get treated terribly , theres no incentive to look after them like there would be with your own property , and some discs arrive in terrible condition.
 
You have much more data on a Blu ray disc than on a DVD , the data track is much smaller and must be focused on much more accurately than a DVD player , so its a given that they will be much more sensitive to smudges , fingerprints , eyelashes and all that good stuff.

I understand that but I'm just wondering if other players are just as picky with BR discs as mine, especially considering mine is a very old/early player (2008).

My PS3 slim certainly doesn't seem to be as picky, nowhere near it, but it's obviously a different beast to standalone players.

I have had a few discs that refused to play until cleaned , but not so many that I considered changing my player. ( Oppo)

Thanks. Would definitely be good to hear from other LoveFilm customers I think.
 
My PS3 slim certainly doesn't seem to be as picky, nowhere near it, but it's obviously a different beast to standalone players.

The PS3 is a funny one. PS3s have a problem in that they blow the laser unit quite regularly. This is caused by dust collecting on the lens and the laser having to increase its power. Dust collects on the lens of the PS3 more readily than many other standalone BD players because of the PS3's internal fan and the way it takes air into itself for cooling purposes. The power to laser increase happens in 3 stages, the same power increases that are enacted should any player encounter issues reading any disc in any player. The more a player has to up the laser power in order to try read a problematic, dirty or scratched disc, the shorter the life of the laser and lens unit.

In terms of the laser and lens, the PS3 is no different to any other player. In fact it is flawed in comparison to many players because of its poor cooling arrangements in relation to dust and the laser's lens.
 
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not with lovefilm but blockbuster and i have been with them for 3 years. my last player (see sig) never ever had a problem reading discs and some of the discs i received were like a cat had danced on them, i watch a lot of films and at least 1 every night. i never cleaned the laser or dusted it in the whole time i had it. the room it sat in is a smokers room and is a very dusty place. if i get the same service life out my oppo then i'll be delighted.

i think it must be your player, possibly the unit had a knock in transit which may have put the lens ever so slightly out.
 
Same as Bibio in that I'm with Blockbuster. I used to have the same BDP-S350 as the OP and now have an Oppo '93. I've only had one film that was so bad that a clean didn't sort it. In this case I had to skip a chapter as it got stuck part way through otherwise. I usually clean any discs first with a spritz of 'Autoglym Fast Glass' and a soft paper towel as it cuts through any grease from fingerprints or whatever.

I don't know why people can't just pick up discs using the hole in the middle or by the disc edges.:mad:
 
My early Sony BDP-S350 (DVD region unlocked) is extremely sensitive to scratched or dirty BRs, except in a lot of cases it's a real stretch to even call what it trips up on a scratch. It seems it will trip up on the tiniest spec of dust or partial finger print. With DVDs it's a lot less sensitive.

It's a real problem as I have a LoveFilm account. The odd disc is in bad condition but most of them are in very good condition and this player still trips up. I wipe all finger marks off first and sometimes discs look almost immaculate and it can still trip up. It has a hiccup with pretty much every BR disc I rent. It's fine with my own discs as they're all in immaculate condition.

Are more recent players as sensitive to this? I'm thinking of getting Panasonic BDT310 to replace it.

I have the same player as you and mine is rock solid with any disc I have played since purchase of the machine.

Maybe your lens is dirty...?

Merry Christmas to all Forum members by the way!
 
It's been pretty sensitive as far as I can remember, though perhaps has gotten worse over the years.

I have moved accommodation a lot and it might have even been knocked out of place a little when I ordered it over the web. How can I clean the dust?

I recently got the laser in my 8-year-old NAD amp replaced (£45) but the Sony takes a while to load discs and I have a 3D TV now too, hence my looking at the Panasonic BDT310 (AV receiver doesn't do 3D pass-through).

Merry Christmas to you and all :thumbsup:
 
My S350 has also played every disc and mine is 3 years too.
 
Coming in late, I have a Sony S550, which is essentially the same player as yours, and I've lost count of how many Lovefilm Blu Rays I've sent back faulty. If your report them faulty online they either despatch another in addition to your normal quota or add an extra disc by way of apology. I'd say about one in five is dodgy. Never had a disc of my own cause me problems, only Lovefilm. Some turn up in shocking condition, so I'm pretty sure it's damage.
 
With me it's a lot common than 1 in 5 I'll have issues, and as I said before, some of them look almost perfect.

Picked up a Panasonic DBT310 for £150 from RS (+ 10% for supercare). It loads a hell of a lot faster just for a start, and doesn't take 2 mins just to think about ejecting a disc!

Whether it is more forgiving of minor marks on BR discs remains to be seen...
 

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