It's strange that a new copy of "Aliens" should exhibit the problem, and it did occur on other discs, including "Enemy Of The State". I'm sure it's some sort of buffering problem, but the problem does exist, however occasional, and Sony is still shipping their product blaming it on the disc and not handling the problem as they should. The problem seems to be discs alright, but certain disks played on THEIR players!
Meanwhile, they will just keep shipping, selling and service stone-walling.
I have heard enough about other Sony equipment horrors that I know I will never buy SONY again in the future. I want to spend my money on a product I know will perform as touted.

Last word: The Toshiba 3109 I purchased has been playing all disks flawlessly. I like the picture better too...