It's a problem with some consoles. For example the Playstation 2 is notorious for the message "Disk Read Error".
However, the Xbox seems to suffer a large amount of failures to read optical
media, even brand new disks. Some people it seems are having big
problems with Halo 2. So much so that even developers, Bungie, have responded.
Some early Xbox's were made in Mexico at a plant that used DVD components that didn't work correctly. The laser wasn't
bright enough to read some disks. If you had problems under warranty, that's fine. However, the cost to repair this
issue once your warranty had expired is $80.
Rather than calling for a class action lawsuit, a newer solution has been suggested. Instead of lawsuits, it
essentially boils down to harassing Microsoft to do the right thing. Microsoft have deep pockets. Hopefully someone up
in Redmond will realise the amazing amount of kudos and good will that fixing this issue would generate.
Engadget
TUAW