Is my DVD player POSSESSED?

I've experienced a similar problem that may (read MAY) be solved by simply powering the player down, and then unplugging it for a few minutes and plugging it back in. My player exhibited this problem about a week after it was out of warranty (about 9 months ago). It started out by refusing to read the occasional dis (although it never locked or froze in the middle of discs-this problem may be related to something else) and over the course of a couple of weeks got to the point of not reading anything. My owner's manual actually suggest unplugging the player in the trouble shooting section (but who reads manuals!), as this essentially reboots or resets the player. I still run into the odd situation where the player freezes when I load a disc, maybe once every month or two, and unplugging it and plugging it back in solves the problem. I would also suggest cleaning every rental DVD with some kind of a commercial cleaner, as most of these discs don't look too good to me. I clean every one I rent, plus treat them with Auric Illuminator, and in 2 years of heavy use (both CD and DVD), I've only had 2 movies that froze in the middle of playback.

I use my Theta Carmen as a CD transport as well as DVD player, and I also have found some weirdness. It skips more often than other players, and just last night spit out Watermark (which no other player has refused to play). I think the Theta stuff must be very VERY sensitive to minor flaws. When I asked the Theta tech, he suggested making sure the disc is properly centered. I believe the devil theory, although I conjecture that the government is involved. You see, there is this...uh-oh, they're coming for me...

HDM, I tried unplugging the unit. I have found that to work on pre-amps before but no luck on the DaViD. I will see about picking up some of that cleaner you recommend. Dbwl sounds like a typical tech answer. Have you thought about sending the piece in? Maybe it just doesn't like ENYA? I thought about compressed air or possibly a DVD player cleaning disc. But those scare the hell out of me more than the devil himself. I was able to hop over the bad track #13(Coincidence,I think not) And finish watching the rest of the movie. If this problem gets any worse it's back to the factory OH BOY!!!

I had this problem with a Panasonic DVD player. When I had it serviced the technician said there was a problem with the laser, and this was not the first time he had seen it. No problem after the laser was replaced.

Glen, I have thought about sending it back. I haven't tried things like cleaning the CD's though. Many are old, and have minor scratches. For some reason, the Theta skipped much more when it was new than after it had been burned in. Until it spit out that one CD last night, I had figured the occasional skip was not enough of an annoyance. Now, I suppose I'm wondering again. I think I'll discuss it with my dealer (the unit is only a month or two old). If the dealer suggests any of these are typical problems for Theta, or ones that can easily be fixed, I'll probably send it in, 6 weeks or not. I'll let you know what he says.