Netflix DVDs on a Sager NP9150

I'm having problems loading DVDs that come from Netflix. At first I thought is was a hardware problem because I could hear the DVDs spin but it also sounded like my DVD player was chewing on the disk. It would try for a while and then give up.

I believe it is the stock optical drive that came with my NP9150. The system information window gives it this name cddvdw sn-208ab. It plays CDs fine as well as any DVD I own, about 400. It seems only to be an issue with disks that I receive from Netflix. The disks can be flawlessly new, as I'll get them on the release date so they've never been watched/scratched. Sometimes they never work, sometimes I can eject/insert the disk enough that it will finally read it.

Is this a known problem? Is there a solution?

 

It might be related to Netflix's DRM on the disks.

https://help.netflix.com/en/node/395

Have you tried updating the driver for the DVD player, or using different software for it?

 

Most machines come with CyberLink Power DVD. If you use it, the DRM shouldn't be an issue anymore.

 

Thanks for the link Pat. Do you know if Netflix uses a different DRM than store bought DVDs? I wonder if that is the problem, something on my computer is a threat. I do have VSDC for cropping homemade videos. Maybe that is considered a threat by the DRM.

I already removed Cyberlink Power DVD from my machine. It kept updating itself and posting ads. Ever so annoying. Not that I'm sure it would help. The movies don't load so the disk drive reads empty.

I'm hesitant to update my driver as if it is a DRM issue that considers VSDC a threat then I don't want to install a driver that might make this problem worse.

 

I'm not 100% but when I was looking for that link before, there seemed to be a good amount of pages mentioning people complaining about it. So it is very possible.

Have you tried using a different program to play the DVDs? Not sure if that might help or not, but is worth a shot though.

 

Try VLC. If VLC won't play it, nothing will.

Http://www.videolan.org

 

Yeah, that is what I was thinking might be best. VLC will run about anything. Just never tried netflix dvd's with it though personally.

 

Well VLC can play protected DVDs out of the box and if Netflix is using some other kind of protection, the DVDs wouldn't be compatible with standard DVD players either.

There's even a way to get VLC to play protected Blu-ray.