Our JVC DVD player, about 4-5 years old, DVD-RW compatible, has problems identifying that there is a DVD-RW in the player (all other disks including DVD-Rs work just fine). Insert the disk...READING....NO DISK. Eject, turn it a little, re-insert...READING...NO DISK, etc. Eventually it will find the disk and the disk will then play just fine. I have at times had to re-insert the disk 25 times before it decided there was a disk there. I'm using SONY DVD-RWs and it doesn't matter if it is a disk I've used 100 times or a new one right out of the wrapper. I've been told that the laser is not strong enough to pick up the dark media. Any truth to that and if so, is there another brand of disk that would be lighter to lessen this problem? All feedback appreciated! Norm
Far less light passes through the semi-metal alloys used for rewritable media than through the dyes used in write-once DVD-R/+R dyes. DVD-/+RW media often confuse older DVD players because the player sees the lower reflectivity and assumes that means that the disc is a DL layer; so it tries to focus on the first, upper layer of a DL disc and cannot read the DVD-/+RW. Firmware updates to the players can sometimes resolve the problem if such updates were made available. In your case you may be stuck with DVD-R media instead of DVD-RW unless you want to replace the JVC DVD player.
