Wow, excellent choice on a CD player!

Since the player can play multiple formats of discs, it may be getting a little confused with the type of disc you are inserting.

Are these discs store bought stamped audio CDs, audio discs burned on a computer, or MP3 discs?

Please provide some more details and I'll see if I can offer any advice.

As far as the skip FWD/REV issue, it may be related to the disc type.

These are all just store bought CD's, no cd's that have been burned. It does also play the SA-CD's, MP3's, etc, I have none of those. There is no button on the player to reverse. Like I said I haven't used the remote yet, there might be one on there. That's no big thing. I just didn't know why it takes so long to "read" and why it doesn't just play right away, like on my portable and in the car.I really don't like that waiting for 2-3 minutes before it starts to play after you put it in. It is worth it though, because my CD's sound better than they ever did. This thing has wonderful sound. I want to buy some SA-Cd's. Thanks!

My guess is that the read head has an alignment problem. I'd contact their customer service.

Here is a link that might be useful: Onkyo C-S5VL

Agree with Randy. If the discs are clean, and not scratched, then it sounds like a problem in the laser block - contact Onkyo or the retailer for an exchange for another new player.

BTW - If the discs are scratched, use turtle wax to remove them. Apply, let dry, and then buff off in straight lines from the center of the disc out. Rinse the disc off under running water and dry well before playing.

Also, the back button is directly to the right of the display. Press and hold to search backwards, press once(and release) to go to the beginning of the track, press twice (and release) to go back to the previous track.

the read unit maybe has a bit problem, you can clean it via a clean disc, if is hardware problem, maybe you need to change it (the the laser header)