Problem with Samsung Player

[iap738]

Hey guys -

I'm having some trouble with my Samsung (E5900) player and I'm wondering if anyone here has any tips.

For the past month or so, I've noticed that the player struggles with discs manufactured within the past 1-2 years. It takes a long time attempting to load the discs, and then ejects them displaying a message that the disc cannot be read. I figured out that after power cycling or factory resetting the player I can get the discs to load, however it takes a long time. This is also an issue on discs from outside North America (region free discs that have worked fine in the past).

Additionally, I've noticed that on occasion the screen will flash with white pixelation. Usually if it does it once it'll happen a few more times throughout the duration of the movie/show thereafter. This is likely a problem with my HDMI cord though, as I tested on another player and it did the same thing.

After a Google search I read that Samsung is notorious for not releasing firmware updates on certain models after some time has passed, and that could be the reason why the newer discs won't load and old discs are fine. Could this be the case? I'd hate to have to buy a new player as this one is less than 3 years old.

I'd greatly appreciate any input or solutions from similar experiences. Thanks!