Low humming/vibrating noise from DVD player?
 

I just got the Ultimate X-Phile Edition of the X-Files: I Want to Believe.

When I put the Special Features disc into my DVD player, I heard a low humming/vibrating noise. At first I thought maybe my neighbor was outside using their air compressor. But no, the noise was coming from my DVD player. I pressed play, and the noise continued during the FBI warning, but then stopped when it showed the 20th Century FOX Home Entertainment screen. Then the noise returned when it got to the main menu, and the noise kept going when I played one of the features. The noise was still there after I stopped the DVD, and the noise finally stopped when I hit the Eject button. I put another disc in, and there was no noise. I put the Special Features disc back in, and I heard the noise again.

There must be something wrong with that disc. Perhaps the disc is somehow unbalanced? I have never heard that noise before. Wonder if the disc might damage the DVD player if I play it too long?

I've had this happen with The Golden Compass disc (and again for the movie "August"). It sounds like a disc that's off balance or something (can't remember the technical term off the top of my head right now). Can you exchange the DVD or was it a Christmas gift?

I've had the same problem and it only seems to occur with discs produced in the last 2 years.

I get this occasionally as well. It comes and goes, and sometimes the buzzing/vibrating noise is so loud it almost drowns out the sound. I assume it's an unbalanced disc. I figure even if it's only minutely off balance, it's gonna make noise when the player spins it around thousands of times a minute. There's probably not anything you can do about it, other than replace it.

Other than the noise, I've never had any problems playing such discs. I wonder if it harms the player?

If i were you i'd just go return it

Well I just exchanged it, and the replacement disc causes the vibrating noise just like the first one did! Very strange. Perhaps they are all from the same batch of unbalanced discs?

Does it do it in all players? Have you tried to play it in your computer? I have had this problem with double layer discs played in my Denon, but plys the feature parts of the disc fine.

I have a Denon DVD-2200 player that does this on many discs, but most play fine. Other players don't vibrate on the same discs, it's the player in my case. I'm no longer using the player since I have a Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD player and a PS3 hooked up to my main TV.

Try the disc in other players.

That's the player spinning faster for some reason. I'd guess poor disc formatting or file structure. This happens in all sorts of players. Esp right at first or in menus. Unless something seriously changed or it is very bad, I'd say probably normal.

Re: Low humming/vibrating noise from DVD player?
 

They all hum when laser reaches certain points on discs. Try not to have player stacked on top of other av equipment as their casings/cabinets only amplify the noise through reverbation.

Re: Low humming/vibrating noise from DVD player?
 

Interesting first post there Bing.

Re: Low humming/vibrating noise from DVD player?
 

This may sometimes occur because the layers of the DVD were not quite glued perfectly together.

I also think that many newer DVD players and Blu-ray players are becoming so cheaply made that they tend to make noises that couldn't be heard on older players.

On my Sony Blu-ray player, I can hear the laser guides shift inside the player signifying that a chapter stop is occurring. Those types of noises were never heard on any of my older DVD players.

Re: Low humming/vibrating noise from DVD player?
 

Should've also said, if you have to stack player on top of other gear try cutting up a sponge into small squares & sticking the pieces (blu- tack'll do) to dvd player's rubber feet. Should work wonders. Just choose a discreet colour!

Re: Low humming/vibrating noise from DVD player?
 

I would put it this way:

Since people now buy almost exclusively cheap, garbage players, a greater number of players in people's homes are now cheap garbage.

Re: Low humming/vibrating noise from DVD player?
 

Re: Low humming/vibrating noise from DVD player?
 

Agreed. As most people stream/download nowadays, i don't think they're prepared to spend much buying/replacing player. Manfacturers, no doubt, aware of this too.

Re: Low humming/vibrating noise from DVD player?
 

There really aren't a lot of players out there, are there? All I ever see are Pannys, Sammys, and Sonys. And they're all tiny, insubstantial things.

Does anyone else still make blu ray players? LG? Toshiba?

Not sure what currently available (and easy to find) players wouldn't be considered "cheap garbage" outside of Oppo.

Re: Low humming/vibrating noise from DVD player?
 

I have also noticed this humming/vibrating noise on my computer dvd drives. (Not just my standalone dvd players).

This highly "amplified" humming/vibrating noise typically happens when my computer dvd drive is reading a poorly manufactured dvd disc at a very slow speed.


I think what is happening here, is the combination of the poor quality dvd disc construction and the mechanical structure of the computer dvd drive, are coincidentally hitting the mechanical resonance frequency of the combination while the disc is spinning at a slow speed. (At higher disc speeds, the mechanical resonance is not being hit).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_resonance

Re: Low humming/vibrating noise from DVD player?
 

Interesting idea about mechanical resonance.

I'd almost be inclined to think it's because everything is getting smaller and is made of lighter materials that don't dampen out the noise as much as larger, heavier drives.

I've noticed that blu-ray also tends to be noisier than DVD. I have a Toshiba that sounds like it's grinding up my discs when I'm switching between menus, skipping chapters, or viewing special features. Other players do this to an extent, but this one is loud.

Re: Low humming/vibrating noise from DVD player?
 

(On a tangent).

It's even worse in the computer bd drive world.

For external bd drives, there's still LG, Sammy, and Pioneer currently making new bd drives.


For non-slim internal bluray drives, in practice there's only really one manufacturer left who is still making new bd drives: LG.

Just about everybody else has already exited the non-slim internal bd drive market. (ie. LiteOn, Sammy, Pioneer, Plextor, Sony, etc ...).

Re: Low humming/vibrating noise from DVD player?
 

Case in point.

I have two copies of the "X-Files: I Want To Believe" dvd. I believe both copies were not manufactured very well.

On my older computer dvd drives, this particular X-Files movie dvd disc could only be played at a slower speed. When played at this slower speed, the amplified humming/vibrating noises was there upfront and very loud.

In contrast on my newer computer dvd drives (ie. new drives manufactured in late 2015), this same X-Files movie dvd disc could be played at the top maximum speed of the drive. The humming/vibrating noise was completely absent.

(Some newer computer dvd drives might be designed slightly better at reading problematic dvd discs).

Re: Low humming/vibrating noise from DVD player?
 

Sounds like my Toshiba bluray player too. Very noisy on some discs.

My Sony bluray player isn't quite as noisy.

Re: Low humming/vibrating noise from DVD player?
 

When someone attributes this noise to poorly manufactured discs, is it because the discs may not be balanced properly? Meaning one side of the disc may be heavier than the other? The only time I remember hearing a noticeably louder hum is when I would play discs from the local rental place that had stickers on the label side, usually at about 6 oclock.

Re: Low humming/vibrating noise from DVD player?
 

The vast majority of former rental discs I have, will play at the top maximum speed on the computer dvd drive. Even ones with stickers on the label side, and/or are heavily scratched up. Typically these are titles released by the big movie companies like Universal, Disney/Buena Vista, Warner, Fox, Paramount, Sony, etc ...


On the other hand, the dvd discs I have which always play with a loud humming/vibrating noise, are typically titles released by several less popular and/or "bottom feeder" movie companies. These particular discs will only play at a lower speed on the computer dvd drive, regardless of whether they were purchased brand new or second-handed.

The primary reason a computer dvd drive forces a dvd disc to be played at a significantly slower speed, is when it takes too many re-reads to get an error-free sector.

Re: Low humming/vibrating noise from DVD player?
 

I have a Vizio and it is very noisy on all disc

I had one disc that vibrated my whole laptop when I put it in but worked fined in another regular drive. I've seen a few others do this but that one in particular was the worst.