DVD-ROM drive won't read blue discs

[Manwards]

Konichiwa!

I'm a total n00b, and I apologise in advance for my extreme stupidity. I hope somebody here can help me out. Anyway, I'm running Windows ME and my DVD-ROM drive is a Mat****a SR-8586, with the firmware revision 3Y19. It plays everything fine so far, but today I received a set of DVDs with blue undersides, which I've never tried before. The player doesn't even recognise them, it's as if there's nothing even in the drive. I'm really bummed about it, I was looking forward to watching them using PowerDVD, as it's the only way I can watch DVDs with my headphones on... watching DVDs on my tiny TV screen with my two-year old brother screeching over the near-mono audio is no way to enjoy something.

Anyway, I guess that's my deal. Again, I'm sorry for asking what is probably a really dumb question, but I'd really appreciate it if someone could help me. Do I need a firmware revision or something, and if so, where can I find it? The official Panasonic site is totally useless and I'm scared of downloading any old driver in case it messes something up.

Oh, and I hope this is in the right forum. I posted it here because I get the feeling a firmware upgrade or a driver update in general would fix the problem and allow my drive to recognise these blue discs. If not, then I apologise yet again.

Arigato gozaimas minna-san,

Manwards

[Darthtanion]

Re: DVD-ROM drive won't read blue discs

From the sounds of things, you're watching movies which have been recorded to DVD? If this is the case then you're likely having a problem with either the format of the burn (DVD-R vs DVD+R) or it was burned poorly. Unless the disks are substandard, it will probably be the method used to burn the movies.

[Manwards]

Re: DVD-ROM drive won't read blue discs

The DVDs are official, they aren't copies, they're just recorded to blue discs as opposed to silver ones. The DVD-ROM drive in my PC won't even recognise their existence, but it's a good 3-4 years old now and I've never upgraded the firmware. However, the DVD drive on my stepdad's new laptop recognises it with no problem. It isn't a disc problem, it's just my DVD drive. The discs were tested before they were sent to me and they worked fine, so I know the problem is with my hardware.

Do you know where I could find the latest firmware upgrade for the Panasonic / Mat****a SR-8586? Perhaps if I upgraded it to the latest firmware it would solve the problem.

Thanks again,

[Darthtanion]

Re: DVD-ROM drive won't read blue discs

Just do a quick Google search, but with the age of your drive, it is possible you'll need to replace it with something more modern. With the changes in recording standards, it isn't unusual to have a drive no longer be usable with current disks. It was like this with the first generation CD drives, so it may well be happening again.

[Nickol]

Re: DVD-ROM drive won't read blue discs

Try here...
http://www.opendrivers.com/categoryc...Panasonic.html