Any robust DVD players? (1 Viewer)

[BobH]

My Pioneer DV414 lasted one year before the mechanism failed.

My Panasonic RP56 is four months old and already showing signs of the mechanism wearing out.

I sometimes play either DVDs or CDs all day long and apparently the mechanisms can't handle that for long.

I know many players use the same transports and I see machines from $300 to $3000 using the same transport.

Doesn't somebody make a player with both solid mechanics and good DACs and electronics? I have never seen a review mention the robustness of the transport.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

what features in the DVD player do you need? If you don't need progressive output might I suggest you look at something like the Sony 7700. Its one of sony's former flagship DVD players and as such is built like a tank. If you need progressive scan the sony 9000ES is the current flagship and also has top notch build quality.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Bob: One thing I've noticed about DVD players and have heard from several owners discussing their experiences with DVD players is that they do not liked to played "all day long." Why not watch a movie or two, then let the player rest for an hour or two before watching something else?

 

[Ruben Zamora]

Damn Boy, watching movies all and listening to music all day long. No wonder it doesnt last.

Get out do some stuff around the house, dont be lazy LOL.

DVD players run HOT. if you play them all day long you heat them up and components wont function right.

 

[Bob_L]

Wow, that was REALLY helpful, guys!
I have a home office and I often play CD's most of the day while I'm working. His question about DVD player durability is a legitimate one.
Since when is it acceptable for a vendor to build a non-durable product and then blame the customer because they used it TOO much?
Can we get REAL in this thread?

 

[Jack Briggs]

And his query is receiving legitimate answers. So there. It's a simple fact that DVD players do not cope well with marathon viewing/listening sessions. I'd give a player about four hours of work, then consider giving it a rest.

 

[BobH]

I was a little surprised to get a flame from an administrator, not to mention the others.

I use the DVD player for movies AND as the transport for music since many people have told me it works as well as most CD player transports and I have noticed that the specs for modern DVD players are better than most CD players.

I have a family and the player is sometimes in steady use, particularly on a weekend. If Japan cannot make anything but thin plastic crap, then so be it; but somebody point me somewhere else if you can. My impression is that even high-end manufacturers use common transports from Japan and put their efforts into the DAC for added value.

I appreciate the recommendation of the Sony and will look into it, although my opinion of Sony is pretty low, both in quality and reliability. They trade on innovation.

 

[Jeff]

I don't see any flames here.

Anyway, for longevity, I recommend the Pioneer DV-09. It's built like a tank and will probably last as long...Well, not quite. It also has the quietest transport of any DVD player built.

The only thing is, the DV-09 does get very warm and borderline hot when playing a DVD for 2+ hours but when I had one, I never had problems.

Jeff

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Sony is pretty low, both in quality and reliability

Well the thing with Sony is that the first model in a new line tends to be the flagship model by which others are judged. The Sony 7000 and 7700 were two of the top DVD players when they were made and were built very well. Both of these models are made to do DVD and CD at a high level and should be able to withstand the longer playing times you require. On my 7700 there's a demo mode that will play back a DVD in a continuos loop so it its designed to do that in a store I'm sure it can do what you want. If you don't require DTS there is a 7000 being sold in the for sale area of HTF, if you need DTS you'll need the 7700.

The Pioneer DV-09 is a nice player as well but it suffers from lip sync issues and several other bugs, IMO I'd avoid that model (do a search on the forum if you want more info on that model since there was a discussion on it a week or so ago)

Another option might be to seperate your DVD and CD transports and purchase a dedicated CD player. These should allow you to play CD's all day without the heat build up that DVD players get...just a thought

 

[Jack Briggs]

Someone show me the flames, please. We don't allow that here. In what way were you flamed? (Send a PM, please.)

Bob, I and the others were simply pointing out that DVD players can only be operated for just so long before problems occur. As was pointed out, the machines can run hot. What I've seen usually, is that things are okay if you run, say, a couple of feature-length films back-to-back and then let the machine rest. Play it all day long, however, and anomalies crop up.

DVD players are amazingly sophisticated devices. But they are made by humans and are therefore subject to wear and tear. And they sart acting a wee bit funny after, say, more than four or five hours of continuous operation.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I'll second Andrew's suggestion of buying a separate CD player to handle your music needs. You can find some pretty robust CD players for between $500 - $1,000, including some Sony ES models (among other brands). This would ease the burden being placed on the DVD player.

 

[Bobby T]

What about DVDA players? Are they a little more durable or are we only supposed to listen for an hour or two?

 

[Jack Briggs]

Since DVD-A players all play DVD-Video, the same would apply. And no one is saying "for an hour or two."

I also agree with getting a separate, dedicated CD player. I have some dear friends who have a very nice home theater. But I keep chastising them not to use their Toshiba SD-6200 also as a CD player. They run that thing a lot, and I was there when they bought the thing--emphasized to them just how "high end" a player the 6200 is.

So far, they've been lucky.

Again, I'd avoid running a single DVD player for more than, say, four hours continuously.

 

[Gordon Ripley]

What about MP3 CD's? With an MP3 CD doesn't the player only spin for a couple of seconds, just long enough to load the file. I assume this would be easier on the drive mechanism, wouldn't it?

If so, that may be an option for you Bob, assuming you don't mind some loss of sound quality, you can also get approximately 160 songs on an MP3 CD.

Gord

 

[PaulKH]

If it's background music playing all day - I just play it from my computer (from the hard drive). You can even feed the audio to the home theater system from the computer.

But on reliability, some ask why they can't stand whole days or use... well look at the *intended* use, which is play 1 or 2 CDs, or play a movie, etc. That's how most people use them. They're not designed for the kind of use being talked about here. If you want to subject them to that use, then expect to pay a LOT more. It's like asking a Camry to drive in a race. It's a good car, but it's not designed to withstand that kind of abuse.

Having said all that, my old Toshiba 2109 (now my second player - it's in the basement setup now) is still cranking along and is used almost every day. It's been used for 4 years with no problems.

 

[BobH]

Thanks everybody, I think the advice to have a separate CD player makes sense but there are no local stores that carry them anymore (with few exceptions). More below.

I take back the "flame" comment after re-reading the posts, but I did feel I was being patronized with the comments about getting a life and being told to baby the DVD player.

I find it incredible that one cannot keep a DVD player going more than four hours without it going "funny." Failure mechanisms for components, boards and solder joints are usually accelerated by thermal cycling not extended time at elevated temperatures. Something in the design is causing a shift in specified mechanical or electrical properties that causes "funny" behavior here. Odd. It has happened now with two Pioneers and one Panasonic. One should be able to leave the units on ALL the time and get better reliability than turning them off and on repeatedly. "It's mystery; but it will work out in the end." (Shakespeare in Love) Maybe I am just unlucky.

As for my solution: When the Panny goes "funny" for good and/or I save up enough money, I think I will:

1. Buy a cheap Pioneer DVD (333/343 etc)

2. Modify it at ModWright to improve filters, jitter, capacitors, power supply, etc.

3. Buy a BelCanto2 192kHz/24bit DAC

Use it for both DVD and CDs again. This combo sounds better to me than SACD or DVDA that I have heard. And in time when the format war is over, get a multichannel player and do the same thing with it.

Of course I am open to other ideas and I appreciate what I have heard here.

 

[PaulKH]

BobH - once again, neither of my Toshiba DVD players 'goes funny'. I have DVD titles that are just eye candy (DVD International's Aquaria [make your TV into a fish tank] and EarthLight [shuttle footage]) and they've played for hours and hours and hours. No problems.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I think the advice to have a separate CD player makes sense but there are no local stores that carry them anymore

If you are not adverse to purchasing online or over the phone, J&R Music has some great prices on Sony ES carousel players. They can be found at www.jandr.com .

 

[BobH]

Thanks Scott but I was looking for a solid, single tray player with good build quality. Instead I will modify a standard DVD player as I outlined in my post.

I really do think I must just be unlucky. Despite the warnings of well-meaning posters about the delicate nature of DVD players, I think they should survive constant use.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Where do you keep the player? Is it well ventilated? Is it near a heat vent? That may be the reason why they're going like that