So as of late my CLD-D704 has been working fine, with the exception of once in a while taking a long time to stop spinning a disc after it stops, which I know is probably an indicator that I need to clean or replace the rubber ring on the spindle to make sure it grips the discs. But today I noticed a new problem with my player, a strange clicking noise. It took me a while to notice, as it seems as though it doesn't start until about halfway through playing a disc, and by then the movie was loud. Anyways, it makes the noise whether the player is playing or paused, and sounds like a rhythmic clicking, like something is spinning and either hitting something, or is off kilter. I recorded a video of it, so that hopefully someone on here can tell me what it might be.

https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10151138482439443

So yeah, just to summarize, it makes this clicking noise from halfway into a disc on both sides, but once it starts playing a new side, there is nothing to be heard. Anyone have an idea?

I should also note that while this clicking does seem to be a bad sign, when it starts up, neither the picture nor the sound is affected, the disc continues to play without any noticeable difference.

Leaving any blemishes on the last half of the disc surface?

Nope, no marks on either of the discs that I played, either side. It makes the same noise whether it's playing either side of the disc, right around the same time into the disc, between 35-45 minutes in on a CLV disc.

Unfortunately (I think I mentioned in another thread) my home and work computer are on dialup so I can't watch videos. Is the clicking rapid? Does it seem to follow the rotational speed of the disc? In other words, slower clicking as it works to the outside of the disc?

It's kind of hard to describe the clicking, but it sounds like while the disc is spinning, and towards the last third or quarter of the video on the disc, it's possibly interacting with or hitting piece, maybe a piece that dangles. It almost sounds like the ticking of a clock. Or like when you reach the end of a vinyl LP, and the record keeps spinning, but the stylus can't go any further forward, so it just keeps playing that last part of the groove over and over. But in this case, it's before the end of the disc, and neither the video nor the audio was effected.

Update: After opening it up and cleaning the rubber ring (which it needed), I tried it again, this time with the 2 discs I played this morning (both the same movie, just on different discs), as well as a spare disc, Jurassic Park, that I had laying around just in case. When playing the movie from this morning, the problem persisted. However, when playing Jurassic Park, there was no trouble at all. Looking closer at this mornings movie, I noticed the discs are slightly warped, both of them, which I guess explains why it was causing issues with my player.

With the lid off, I listened to where the sound was coming from. My best guess is that the sound was coming from the gears under the tray that slide the tray in and out. I guess since the disc is warped, it was shaking the player, causing something to rattle around in that general area. It gets louder and faster the closer to the end of the discs that it gets. Is there a piece in that area that possibly needs tightening, or should I just shy away from playing slightly warped discs? (Truth be told, I didn't even notice the disc was warped until I took a really close look at it)

Duncan; it is not a taping like the lens hitting the LD surface, it is definitely a gear sound like the tilt adjustment on the edge shifting tilt positions.

Yeah, I "think" we have it solved

don't play warped discs, look at some of those plastic inner sleeves that come with the discs.
they tell you not to play cracked or warped discs.

only recently have i received warped discs, they have not been stored right.
so just keep them upright and wait a little before you play them.

Yeah, I mean, I didn't realize it was warped until I had the lid off and could watch it spin up, and notice it wobbled a bit. The only other disc I ever played that was warped was again, only subtly warped, and I didn't notice until I started it up. Then my player was vibrating a ton, so I figured it out then.

I guess from now on I'll be very careful to make sure the discs sit flat, or look at them from the side, before I put them in my player.