It will play commercial CD's occasionally. If the player sits dormant for a few days, it won't play any commercial CD's. If I run a few SACD's thru it, it will play some commercial CD's, but not all. It will play any CDR or DVDR of any age, no problem. Weird, I know. I sprayed some air in thru the open door and that didn't help. I really don't want to take it apart to get at the lens. Most of the forums say the cd lens needs to be replaced, not the SACD lens. I guess the SACD lens is playing the burned stuff? I'll replace the whole thing before I start messing around with a laser. It's pretty old.