I have a CLD-980 player that recognizes CD's; but, will not play them. This all started when I got a CD-Video in the mail and tried to play it on 980. The OSD says "Compact Disc Play"; but, refuses to play it with the OSD changing to "Compact Disc Stop". I have tried other CD's with the same results. The player does read and play 8" and 12" LD's with no trouble. I removed the cover and the CD does spin up and then stops.

Anyone with any ideas why?

FYI: The player has the CD, CD-Video and LD icons on its front.

can you take a picture of the disc that you to in the mail?

This is an example of the CDV that I got off E-bay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DAVID-BOWIE-Sound-Vision-Plus-CD-Video-Gold-Disc-RYKO-CDV-Rare-/1617905492022

I have tried 3 audio only CD's and I get the same behavior:
The tray opens and I place the CD in the 5" well with the label up. The tray closes and the OSD says Compact Disc Stop. I press play and the OSD goes blank and you can hear a faint whir as the CD is spun up and then down. The OSD changes to Compact Disc Stop and that is it: No sound for a CD and no video for the CDV.

Maybe this player was not meant to play CD's or CD-Videos?

Huh, it is meant to though. Are there any error messages?

Perhaps the spindle motor isn't working quite right, or the centering's off...

Sounds like spindle motor center to me

There are no error messages; but, then this player only has 3 LED's on the front and a digital counter for the chapter. Very barebones. This player had been stored for some time as I had little need for it. It was only in the last few years that I got it out to test. I use it for playing those LD's without digital sound. My other 2 players (CLD-D406 and MDP-600) feed their optical sound into a SDP-E800 which then acts as a AC-3 decoder and/or optical switcher. Those 2 players can play LD's without digital sound; but, the sound would never reach the amp.

Lord knows that I have enough other players that can play CD's (HD-DVD, BR, DVD, DVD changer, CD changers) so the 980 is not a deal breaker for me. I just wanted to play the video on the CDV that I got off E-bay. The audio section does play well.

FYI: Both the CLD-D406 and the MDP-600 cannot play CD's because they will not drop the CD off the spindle clamp when the open tray button is pushed. I could play a CD in either one; but, I would need to remove the cover to get the CD out. 8" and 12" LD's drop off the clamp because they have more weight than a CD.

I am experiencing a similar issue with my player, which I got today. CDs sometimes work, but in most cases it will try to scan for track 1, and then go to track 0 and not play.

Spindle motor centering is more critical for CD than LD. This is usually a spindle motor centering issue. Close enough to play all LD's but hit and miss on CD's. Need to have it centered using a CD. These older units are fun!!

Using a CD? What CD would I use to do this?

You can get it close enough with any music CD. You may have to recheck side B LD playback as it has a separate adjustment

The first disc I put in was Dark Side of the Moon, and it would not play the first three tracks, but setting it to track 4, the disc played as normal.