Solution 1: Most likely there is a foreign mechanical object obstructing the tray mechanism. If, like me, you have kids around every corner then most likely a curious little one has pushed something in to see "just what will happen". With some luck you can solve the problem by opening up the unit (power-off, unplugging first, of course) and doing a visual inspection for what shouldn't be there (pieces of paper, coins, toothpicks, fibres, etc).
Alternative Solution 2: Sometimes what happens is that the tray loading belt slackens over the years (age, humidity, over usage) and fails to respond quickly enough. In the absence of any obvious foreign object(s) this is a likely alternative explanation. Drive-tray electronics (called SERVOS) are programmed to expect timing signals to come within well-defined intervals of time. If this does not happen (such as due to a slack belt), then the condition is registered as an error. Try replacing the belt if solution 1 does not work.
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The DVD player is a Yamaha DV-S5450.
Thanks for the suggestions. I don't have kids, and the DVD player sits high up on a shelf, so I don't think anything's stuck in there. The 2nd solution sounds more likely, although after I wrote this things changed: after about a week of inactivity, I inerted a DVD into the machine and it played...for about an hour. After an hour it then began with the shenanagins again, with the blocked messaged, which rendered watching the remainder of the movie useless. The following evening we picked up where we left off.
Then the next week it happened again. Apparently the machine was good to go for only an hour. I concluded that perhaps it was over-heating and that maybe there was a cooling fan inside the unit that wasn't working.
Then the unit sat unused for a while.
But lately, the last 4 or so movies we've rented, have worked perfectly fine. So go figure.
So maybe your solution #1 WAS correct, and that finally, whatever may have been lodged in there kinda freed itself eventually, I don't know. Because right now it's working.
Weird.
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