One of the most common problems that occurs with DVDs and DVD players is skipping. This skipping is similar to when a CD skips and misses whole sections of data and messes up the sound and flow of the song. The same thing occurs when a DVD skips only it messes up the picture and can cause you to miss whole sections of a movie. An excess of dirt, grime, dust, and even fingerprints can damage discs and contribute to skipping. The best way to repair a DVD player that skips is to thoroughly clean the player and the discs to ensure that all the data can be read properly.
Step 1
Take some DVD cleaner and spritz it on the back of your DVD. Take a soft piece of cloth and gently rub the cleaner starting at the outside edge and making your way to the hole in the center of the disc.
Step 2
Check the disc under a lamp and make sure there are no fingerprints, dust, dirt, or smudges left on the disc. Also check that there are no deep scratches on the disc. Scratches can be repaired with a special kit, but if they are too deep, you will have to replace the disc. Scratches prevent the laser lens from being able to read any of the special data encoded on the disc and can cause a lot of skipping.
Step 3
Turn your DVD player on and insert a DVD player cleaning disc from a kit. There are many types of kits at different prices. Go with just a basic kit that includes a disc cleaner and a cleaning disc for cleaning the DVD player. You can find these kits at most local department stores or at online electronics stores.
Step 4
Play the disc and allow it to clean the laser lens inside the DVD player. Just like the actual DVD disc, the lens inside a DVD player can also suffer from a buildup of dirt, dust and grime. This is another way that might prevent the laser lens from getting to read the information on your DVD in certain areas and cause it to skip. After the disc has run its course, remove the disc from the DVD player.
Step 5
Place a DVD movie into the player and watch it all the way through. If the disc begins again to skip, check the disc once more for damage. If the disc is clean, run the cleaning disc one more time to make sure all the dirt and dust were cleaned off. If the problem persists, other repairs to the DVD player likely will be in order.
Things You'll Need
DVD player cleaning kit
DVD disc cleaner
Soft cloth