DVD skips/stops & picture breaks down
 

HELP!! Hi, I have a Sony SLV-D560P DVD Player/VCR combo. This DVD player plays DVD, DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW, and DVD-RW. I bought this player to replace an older player that I had for the same reason this new player is now giving me. I'm a member of Netflix.com, and 3 out of every 10 DVD's gives me trouble. Somewhere throughout the movie, the picture breaks down into little digital boxes all across the screen, and the audio skips. Sometimes the DVD just stops on a scene after going through a few seconds of digitized skipping, and even hitting "stop" on the remote can't unfreeze it. Very rarely the problem goes away after ejecting the disc and wiping it with a cloth. But I do this each time BEFORE I even insert the DVD into the player.
What causes this problem?
Even though this is a brand new DVD player, could it be defective?
The only thing that sways me from that is that I've noticed that it only happens with the Netflix rentals, or other rentals from stores (Blockbuster). Store bought, brand new DVD's have NEVER done this to me.
Any help, or info, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a bunch!
New member,
Timothy Morris

i'm not sure if this is a great help or not, but i found this while looking for a problem i was having with my current brand new player:

http://www.hackingnetflix.com/netfli...e_playing.html

You answered your own question

The rented discs are dirty, scratched or both. Even if you cant see the problems it may be enough to freeze the player.

Some players play scratched or dirty discs better than others.
Try some windex or alcohol to clean them. Rub from center hub toward the outer edge. I find it's usually fingerprints causing this...............
Good luck!

Look up http://myweb.accessus.net/~090/sonydvd.html. If recalibration doesn't help now, it will in the future with that model. Make sure you calibrate with a disc that has no problems.

There are also invasive fixes if you search the net.

Your description is precisely what happened with my S360 at first, although I wasn't using Netflix. It got worse over time and eventually I gave up and junked it. The recalibration helped for awhile.