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Sony BDP-BX1 randomly freezing (1 Viewer)

BillBR

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Hey folks,

I own a BDP-BX1 and have since December 2008. So far it's been running without a hitch but in the last few weeks I've noticed something troubling. Randomly, without seeming cause, blu-ray playback will suddenly freeze. All it takes to get things going again is simply rewinding (or fast-forwarding) the disc for a second then hitting play, but the fact that it's happening is making me nervous, and certainly annoyed. I am running it using just an HDMI connection straight to my Samsung LN22A450. It happens with any Blu-Ray disc, and all the discs I have are in impeccable condition (e.g. no scratches, smudges, or fingerprints).

The weather has been pretty hot up here in NYC...around 80 degrees indoors. Could it be the heat? I've also noticed a difference in playback with TrueHD sound mixes vs. other sound mixes...meaning that with television broadcasts/standard def DVDs, half volume on the tv set is fine...with a BD running a TrueHD mix, I have to turn it up to full volume to hear it properly. Or is there something suddenly wrong with my HDMI connection (I have of course checked the cables to make sure they are inserted correctly and snugly).

Any advice or assistance would be appreciated
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Jim Mcc

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I don't have a Blu-ray player yet, but I've been following threads for many different models. The freezing problem is very common and random. It doesn't make sense to me. I have never had a single freezeup or any problem with my HD-A2 player. Does your player have the latest firmware? If not, you need to load it.
 

BillBR

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Thanks for the reply, Jim.

Literally a few minutes before I saw it I thought to check the status of my firmware...and sure enough, there's an update I need to install. So I shall do that and see if that fixes the problem. I must admit the discs I have noticed this happening to are ones that have been released in the last few months...
 

BillBR

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Well, I received and installed the latest firmware update, confirmed that it installed, etc. etc.

And of course, the problem still persists. I have a new theory though...

My roommate and I just watched Independence Day (on standard DVD) and then I decided to pop in the True Romance BD to listen to some commentary. At no point during Independence Day did the player freeze, skip, anything. After about 20-25 minutes of True Romance, it did a slight freeze. Then 10 minutes later, another one, only this one was longer. 5 minutes later, another longer one.

So what we have here is an exponential pattern. And standard DVDs don't seem to be affected, so it can't be some dirt on the lens/in the player or a broken part (can it?). I think it might be from extended usage and the heat in my room due to the weather.

So does anyone else have anything resembling this problem, with ANY player? It'd be nice to know if my problem is something I'm just going to have to suck up and deal with, or something that needs to be repaired...
 

BillBR

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After scouring the forums here, I think I may have a better theory. I found a post regarding a problem someone was having with their Sony (forget which model it was) but their description of the problem sounded very similar. BD's locking up, DVD's playing fine, etc. About the only thing that was different was in their description they said once it happened they couldn't control anything and had to reboot the player...thus far, that is not the case for me.

Anyway a reply in that thread mentioned that it could be a lens alignment issue, which would of course need repair. Even though my player is still under warranty, I wonder if it's worth it...
 

Jim Mcc

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I still haven't bought a Blu-ray player because of this problem. I've been following a few different player's threads at AVSforum, and every single one has the same freezing problems. I don't know if it's the players and/or the Blu-ray discs. It 's ridiculous.
 

TravisR

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Originally Posted by Jim Mcc

I still haven't bought a Blu-ray player because of this problem. I've been following a few different player's threads at AVSforum, and every single one has the same freezing problems. I don't know if it's the players and/or the Blu-ray discs. It 's ridiculous.
It's also isolated. No doubt that it sucks for those that it happens to but it's not something that occurs to a large number of players.
 

BillBR

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Yeah Jim, just based on looking around these threads it does seem to be a problem with most players...though there's no rhyme or reason to it. Basically it seems to boil down to whether you are a lucky or unlucky person

Anyway I had planned to wait it out as you have, but the BX1 was a Christmas gift and now there's no going back. I was on the phone with Sony earlier today, and they had me do a system reset. Upon thorough testing afterwards, it seemed to lessen the problem but not remove it.

I'm thinking of picking up a Maxell BD lens cleaner...I figure it may be worth a shot at this point. The problem is that it seems if regular DVDs continue to function properly, Sony won't believe it's a lens problem and may not grant a repair...
 

TravisR

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Originally Posted by Jim Mcc

How isolated? There's no way to know. I'm not buying one til this mess is straightened out.
It'll never be straightened completely because there's always going to be defective merchandise (just like you may be a car that's a lemon, a computer that has a bad hard drive, a soda that may be flat, etc.). You should only buy what you feel comfortable purchasing but if that's your only reason to hold out, I think you're waiting because of a very unlikely possibility. It's like saying "I'm not going to drive to the store because I might get into a car accident."- it's true but it's not a very likely outcome.
 

Jim Mcc

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Travis, your comparing this to driving a car is pretty silly. From everything I've read about the frezing problem it's only happening with Blu-ray discs, not SD DVD's. That tells me it's either the studio's fault with the transfer or the Blu-ray portion of the player's fault. I have never had any freezeups with my HD-A2 players, nor do I remembering reading about a problem like this with HD-DVD's.
 

TravisR

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Originally Posted by Jim Mcc

Travis, your comparing this to driving a car is pretty silly. From everything I've read about the frezing problem it's only happening with Blu-ray discs, not SD DVD's. That tells me it's either the studio's fault with the transfer or the Blu-ray portion of the player's fault. I have never had any freezeups with my HD-A2 players, nor do I remembering reading about a problem like this with HD-DVD's.
Over the years, I've read about lots of DVDs that skip or don't play on DVD players too. Like I said, if you're not comfortable, you shouldn't purchase a player but I still think it's very unlikely that you would get a player that has a problem with freezing.
 

LaserVision

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Bill, To me your BD player problem looks like a heat problem. BD discs have a 1.1mm layer of polycarbonate covered with .1mm of laquer. This construction makes them expand different on top and bottom side, causing warping and problems for the laser pick-up to stay in focus while reading the disc.
This problem does not exist for DVD, as they are made using two 0.6mm substrates bonded together. Hence they will not warp when warming up as top and bottom expand the same. This is in line with the fact that you do not seem to have problem playing DVD.
Warping can also be caused by moist, as the different materials react different to moisture.
A lens cleaner will not help and I would personally advise against using it.
 

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