[Axatax]

A good 50% of my CLV LDs exhibit wavy lines on at least one side of the disc. I would best describe the "lines" as a woodgrain type pattern in the image. I don't think it's a player problem since I've tried the problem discs on a friend's player and I see the same patterns at the exact same spots. Two discs which are basically "ruined" due to this problem are The Firm and Hunt for Red October - these discs are probably the worst with this problem.


I think it's a manufacturing problem but I find it hard to beleive that so many discs would be affected. Has anyone else seen similar problems and might know the cause?

 

[Rachael Bellomy]

I've seen a scant few LD's develope/have some mostly horizontal lines, some blusish and some darker, blackish. I have no reason why though. I've seen alot of LD's and this is not common! If your player, which you should identify, isn't part of the problem, hmnn, what could affect so many discs? Hmnn, warping? Check your suspect discs, are they very flat? I can't imagine anything else that could possibly afflict so many discs, other than rotted Sony discs! Any possibility that these discs have been too hot or too cold at some point? Have they been stored badly, anything other than standing straight up to be exact.


Is it possible that both you and your friend's LD players are both a bit long in the tooth? This sounds like stuff I saw with a CLD-D702 that had a problem with the laser once. You should describe the annomalties a bit better too. Does it happen at the same latitudes of discs so to speak? Twenty minutes in, forty minutes in? Anyplace in the disc randomly?


What players are these? Clues is clues...

 

[Josh Z]

I'm guessing the "wood grain" pattern is crosstalk. This may be caused by warpage in the discs, but I'd venture a guess that both LD players probably have laser alignment issues, which is quite common in LD machines of a certain age.

 

[Axatax]

This page has some images at the bottom which look similar to the problem I'm having, however, the problem in my case is *much* more severe - to the point where the image is very, very distored. If this were the player, I would suspect to see this problem on most if not all the discs to some degree since the problem is very apparent. I say "wood grain" since this is exactly what it looks like. The image below is quite tame if it's the same issue. Some of the "waves" can run clear across the screen. The top of a head can be on the left of the screen and the jaw can end up on the right of the screen - almost stretched, like a scrambled cable channel.

http://www.pulsingcinema.com/feature/laserrot/

http://www.pulsingcinema.com/feature...t/iudm-ld1.jpg


The machine I'm using is a CLD-97 and the other machine is a more recent unit that also plays DVDs though the exactly model # escapes me at the moment (probably no older than three years or so).


The patterns start to appear toward the second half of the affected discs, but not on every disc, and not on any CAV disc that I have noticed. Alot of the "bad" discs also have an overall picture quality of poor to passable. It's quite possible the discs weren't stored correctly since _most_ of the problem discs I aquired from other people and can't vouch for their storage.

 

[Rachael Bellomy]

That looks just like what the malfunctioning CLD-702 I saw did and on the second half of discs too. I don't know exactly what the laser problem with the 702 was. It was a used player I was looking at but did not buy. For the most part, I believe this to be a player problem. Good luck on it!

 

[Josh Z]

The artifact posted above is crosstalk. The problem doesn't necessarily have to affect every single disc to be originating from the player. CLV discs are more succeptible to it based on the way that the laser reads the disc.


Still, first things first, check for warpage. Lay the disc down on a perfectly flat surface and see if any of the edges are raised.

 

[Rachael Bellomy]

Josh, I've seen that stuff erupt on perfectly flat discs. About 10 years ago, a local dealer let me take home a used CLD-D702 to try for the weekend. It did just what's going on in that screen shot midway through every side. My technicam friend was working late that night and agreed to let me swing over with it. He said it needed a new Laser and proably somethin' else? I can't remember the details...


Needless to say I dropped off the 702 with the dealer on monday morn and said no thank you. I think a really dirty laser could even be the cause...? Strange things can happen sometimes when they're just barely clean enough to stille mostly function. Que?