I've had my adventures with recording on my EH80 many films from VHS at LP and experiencing tiling and abrupt stops of play. Based on advice on this forum, I re-copied them all at SP, and further based on this forum's advice, I heeded the warnings about sticking labels on DVDs and re-copied about 2/3 of my collection on Taio Yuden printable discs and even purchased an Epson printer to print the labels on these and the remainder of VHS recorded to DVD on my Panny and dubbed to DVD-R. A mammoth task just now completed.

Tonight I unsealed and played for the first time a new commercial recording of "The Prisoner of Zenda" purchased on Deepdiscount.com. In the last thee minutes of play, I again experienced abrupt stops and tiling. I replayed that spot on the Panny E80 and on my Panny RS]V32 player and experienced the same phenomenon. It appears that it is the disc, not the palyer(s).

I note a fingerprint near the center of the disc, and partially on the core. It's not mine. I habve a large collection of LP records and I'm extremely experienced and careful about edge handling as I've also always been with CDs.

Could the fingerprint be the problem and, if so, how do I clean it? Or are some commercial discs faulty and I should expect this from time to time as part of the digital experience (not something that ever happened with my commercially-recorded VHS tapes?

Normal single-layer (SL) discs read from the hub outward so, if the disc is SL, probably not the problem. BUT, if it's a dual-layer (DL) disc, it could very well be the problem since they read first from hub outward, then return the opposite way for the 2nd layer. (Useless 2004 stat: more than half of all commercial discs were DL.)

You might want to try a "Kelson-wash"... clean the recorded side with liquid soap and water and a soft cloth, dry thoroughly, then play flawlessly (I hope)!

The fingerprint could be the problem, but discs are amazingly resilient to surface damage. I've played several rental discs that I would consider badly scratched and marred and they've given me nary a problem. On the other hand, I've seen the odd, brand-new disc with no visible damage refuse to play due to poor pressing or who-knows-what problems.

If cleaning the disc fixes the problem, that's great - but otherwise it sounds like you've got a bum disc and you'll probably have to return it for an exchange.

Good tip on the dual-layer issue. This DVD conatins the 1937 "Prisoner of Zenda" on the first side and the 1952 remake on the second. I'll try the washing. I wonder how good DeepDiscount is on return policy. One of the benefits we give up for price is the ability to bring our discs back to a retail store which will normally replace a defective item.

I have never had a problem with DeepDiscount about returning defective DVD's, even ones that I had bought 6 months before but had not gotten to watch until later.

On the other hand, I've seen the odd, brand-new disc with no visible damage refuse to play due to poor pressing or who-knows-what problems.I had an odd experience like that. I used to have the Panasonic RV22 which is similar to the RV32 with a few less options. This was a very picky player -- I had a devil of a time getting it to play burned DVD-R's that eventually led me to replace it. I remember renting Starwars III from blockbuster and having the player lock up at a certain point playing the movie. I returned it and eventually went through 4 or 5 of the disks they had on the rack at blockbuster before getting my rental fee back. Every disk locked up at the same scene so there was obviously something inherent in the pressing that was interacting badly with my player.

So, it happens. Especially with older players like the RV22/32.

You might want to try a "Kelson-wash"... clean the recorded side with liquid soap and water and a soft cloth, dry thoroughly, then play flawlessly (I hope)!

I recommend using Sparkle glass cleaner. It is a glycol based cleaner, with no ammonia or chlorine. Spray a bit on a soft cloth, or paper towel, and gently wipe off the smudge. Wipe dry, and then play. This also will clean scratches well enough so that some will play, since it has anti-static properties, and will release tiny abraded particles embedded in the scratches, allowing the laser to read.

Never use a paper towel to wipe a DVD. Paper products have TiO2 in them as a whitening agent which is very abrasive. A soft towel that has been washed a few times is the safest and does not scratch.

Also, you are playing with fire using a solvent based cleaner on a polycarbonate disk. Fingerprints and smudges come off really easily with tepid water and liquid dish soap on a soft cloth. Why use anything more harsh.

Glycol cleaners are not exactly solvents. They are very gentle. I have used them on optical grade plastics for years, with no trace of hazing. I know Xerox used to recommend Sparkle. I don't know if they still do. Other glass cleaners, with amonnia, and/or chlorine, WILL haze up plastics, even acrylic sheet, so never use Windex on plexiglas! :D I haven't used Windex on polycarbonate, which I have worked with, doing some fabricating. I wouldn't use, just on general principles. But Sparkle is fine on polycarbonate, epoxy, polyester resin, urethanes...

I didn't know about the titanium oxide in the paper towels, figured they just used bleach, like most paper. I do know some paper towels are rather abrasive, because of their fibers, and I avoid those. I have seen unbleached, brownish paper towels, and will look into those, as I am sure they would not have the TiO2. Otherwise, on your advice, I will use soft polishing cloths. You probably know, TiO2 is used as a polishing compound, but not nearly fine enough to use on optical plastic! Now, I do have a kit that is used for restoring the surface of the windows in a jet cockpit, but I have never tried that on a DVD... Yet... :D

Fingerprints and smudges come off really easily with tepid water and liquid dish soap on a soft cloth. Why use anything more harsh.

Actually, liquid dish soap is rather harsh. It is an industrial surfactant, and I have had it haze some plastics, particularly epoxy and polyester resin. It can also be hard to get off all the residue. It will remove most fingerprints, but it will not easily remove the occassional gummy smudge.

Dish soap is really a detergent, not soap, not even Ivory is still real soap. Kirk's Coco Castille is REAL soap, recommended in art schools for cleaning brushes that would be ruined by detergent. So, if you insist on using a soap, I'd try that... :D

Most white paper has TiO2 in it to some level. Brown paper towels don't obviously but as you noted they are very rough compared a soft cotton towel. I would still balk at glycol ether cleaners because they may have other impurities, but if you say you have used a specific commercial product on optical plastics for years with success, that's good to know.

Liquid dish soap or liquid hand soap like Dial that are made for prolonged skin contact are good detergents (they're all surfactants) but not nearly as aggressive as say a liquid laundry detergent. They are more pH balanced towards neutral. I've been using them for years on polycarbonate without problem or residue issues. After rinsing my disks are squeaky clean ;-)

Most white paper has TiO2 in it to some level. Brown paper towels don't obviously but as you noted they are very rough compared a soft cotton towel. I would still balk at glycol ether cleaners because they may have other impurities, but if you say you have used a specific commercial product on optical plastics for years with success, that's good to know.


I used Sparkle on laser discs, before DVDs were invented. What makes it superior to detergents, or soaps, is that it never leaves a residue, and it releases tiny particles that are bound in scratches by static electricity, so I have often restored lightly scratched discs with it. At the risk of sounding like a shill for the company, I'll also say that it will remove even the odor of something like cat piss from a carpet, due to its odor/particle enveloping capacity. It will also remove chocolate, wine, chili, and blood stains from upholstery. Unfortunately, it will not remove indelible ink...