it reads but will no longer play anything it is a 5 disc help i would buy a new one but it is part of a home teather system

bill g, May 2004

my panasonic sa-ht80 sound goes wen u turn it up bout 2 mins den the sound goes den switch it on with the sound down and it work as i turn it bk up again the sound goes ne ideas plz

dean loveland, May 2010

The solution with powering the laser as Neil has described in detail worked like a charm in mine. Cleaning the lens didn't work, but once opened it is a good Idea to clean it as well. Now it works better than my pc's dvd.

Thank you very much Neil.

gp-Istanbul, June 2007

I have found the DVD player and surround sound to be very effective. I did replace the front two
speakers with larger 4ohm speakers.
A major problem began 2 years ago Some New DVDs would not always play. Message on LED display says "NO PLAY".
I discovered today that the problem lies with the laser being underpowered for some DVDs.
On the web I found a fix.
Follow or get someone competent to fix SA-HT80 with the following instructions:

1. Remove all disks from player.
2. When door is open slide front door cover upwards to remove.
3. Leave door open.
4. Important! UNPLUG FROM THE MAINS.
5. Remove the 3 screws from under the front panel then remove cover screws.
6. Disconnect player from the mains. Remove cover.
7. Once you have removed the cover you will see on left side is the drive parts.
8. Pull out the two flat cables which go to the Drive from the
vertical circuit Board(Hold the cable with thumb and forefinger close to the
connector and slide the flat cables out of their connector.
9. Remove the screws fixing the drive unit to the base of the cabinet.
10. Now remove drive unit.
11. Placing the drive upright on a flat surface proceed to remove the two screws holding the Plastic bridge
that sits over the disk.
12. Also undo the screw on the small circuit board which holds the disk sensor switch onto the bridge
and unclip that small board. Remove the disc retainer(This has a magnet which helps to clasp the disk in
place when in operation.
13. On underside of drive remove the two small screws from the drive circuit board.
You can now gently prize this board loose.(There is some resistance as a plastic clasp is holing onto the
underside.)
14. Turn Drive back to upright position.
15. Remove the screws which hold the drive in(Screws go through rubber mounts to cushion the drive).
16. Once you have loosened the drive look at the underside and you will see one flat cable goes to the Laser.
Where this cable meets the metal part you will see a tiny device connected on the outside edge
of the flat cable.
17. Turn the POT 1/5 off a turn clockwise(looks like a small washer and be gentle with it) I used pointed
nose pliers for this.
18. Now reassemble DVD player.

I have been able now to play previously unplayable disks.

Neil, October 2005

Our player started to display "This type of disc cannot be played" when trying to play original discs, and it got gradually worse until we simply used a dvd/cd lens cleaning disc which completely cured the problem; and for just a couple of quid!

Martin Wyatt, September 2005

How can I put my DVD SA HT80 reading not original disks?

Paulo Lopes, December 2004

Many Panasonic models have defective spindle motors. When they are replaced they need a mechanical alignment to minimize jitter. It also could be a bad pickup (laser).

russ, June 2004

i also have a panasonic sa ht 80 5 disk changer my dvd would read the disk then display this disk can not be played and the disk is an original too. then in time it started displaying error 1274 or something like that this is a code so panasonic can find the fault. so i took it to a panasonic repair shop it cost me £120 to fix the problem i was told that when you open it up there are white ribbon connections joined to the 5 disk changer these are damaged and need repairing i paid the cost cause i like the sound from the 5.1 system it works find you can go to the panasonic website to see where a local repair shop is www.panasonic.com or www.panasonic.co.uk plus to play copied disk on it you have to get it chipped with a mod chip go on google and type in panasonic dvd player mod chips to find out.hope this has helped you out good luck mate

ste in liverpool uk, June 2004