How to measure ac voltage

I'm fixing a dvd player, which has a live and neutral pin, but when i connect the multimeter between live and earth i get 0 volts. I know ac voltage is different from dc because it is a sine wave, but why can't i get a voltage reading of 240volts? Why is it just 0 volts?
(and i've switched the multimeter to ac reading)

You should measure 240Vac (or whatever the line voltage is). Do you measure 240Vac at the line socket?

ac/dc said:

I'm fixing a dvd player, which has a live and neutral pin,
do you mean just a two pin plug, no earth pin?

but when i connect the multimeter between live and earth i get 0 volts.
Why are you measuring between live and earth?
What are you calling "earth"?
The chassis of the DVD player?

why can't i get a voltage reading of 240volts? Why is it just 0 volts?
(and i've switched the multimeter to ac reading)

The chassis is probably floating, not connected to real earth. If so, you will not see any voltage if the chassis is not earthed.

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You need to define what is "earth" and consider where to connect the meter probes.

JimB