It's happened to you. I know it has. You've just finished watching your favorite movie on DVD, then press the eject button on your DVD player. Nothing happens. You press again. And again. And again.

I had a similar experience with a PS2...I dropped it in transport (~2 foot fall, but on a hard floor). The disc tray popped out, and the eject mechanism was completely fouled...wouldn't push it in or ...

In an attempt to reuse the guts of his broken DVD player, DIYer Dmitry was able to put together a feature-filled, motion-sensing, remote-controled desk clock from salvaged DVD parts and an Arduino.