Any robust DVD players? (1 Viewer)

[Jeff]

The lip syncing issue with the DV-09 is very exaggerated. It only affects a handful of older DVD's and the odd new one now and then.

As far as other bugs, I've never heard of any before and never had any with the one I used to own. It was a great player and I should have kept it since I'm looking for a DVD player that doubles as a good CD player.

Jeff

 

[Selden Ball]

Bob,
You might want to consider getting an industrial grade DVD player instead of consumer grade. They usually have much more robust mechanisms since, for example, they're often used in advertising kiosks where they have to run continuously.
See, for example,
http://www.dvdcity.com/dvdplayer/dvdv7400.html
I hope this helps a little.

 

[BobH]

The advice I got (posted above) to convert a plain Pioneer DVD player into a super DVD/CD deck comes from a trusted friend and long-time industry expert. Naturally I welcome any other of your comments if you have tried this or heard about it:
www.modwright.com shows modifications of DVD players by replacing passives, filters, power supplies etc. to generally upgrade the noise and jitter characteristics of the players. Cost is $350-400 on a $100 machine. That part seems reasonable to me. The upgrade with an outboard DAC is what I don't know about so I will continue to investigate that. FYI and thanks.

 

[Selden Ball]

Bob,

As best I can tell, ModWright's upgrades are only for the electronics (filter caps, opamps, etc), not the transport mechanism itself. You may eventually still encounter the hardware problems you've mentioned.

External DACs are a completely separate issue. You should try one with your current system to see if it makes an audible improvement. The benefits of reduced jitter and upsampling can apply to any situation. Some people are impressed by the results. However, others are unable to hear any difference whatsoever. It really depends on the rest of the audio chain.

 

[BobH]

Thanks Selden.

I understand the "mods" are not for the mechanical but I don't know why I have having reliability problems and I am not sure if it is mechanical or electronic or both as caused by heat. I have the player in a home entertainment cabinet that has the back open and plenty of space around the components. Other components don't feel even warm but the DVD player does. The player is starting to not read some CDs on the first insertion which worries me. If it fails I have a decision to make on what to replace it with.

On the other page you asked about the rest of the chain:

Panasonic RP56 DVD player 3 mos old (on Vibrapod sandwich)

Toslink 1 m cable and RCA cables to pre/pro

Classe' SSP-25 pre/pro with 24/48 DACs and separate analog bypass option

Classe' CAV500 five channel amp (500W/ch)

Five Magnepan speakers and REL sub

Obviously the Panny is the cheap link. Since I had heard that such a DVD player is good enough if you send the signal out optically, I thought I was ok. This failure problem really could be bad luck with poor quality control.

There are so many options to consider:

1. Another DVD player

2. Another DVD player with BelCanto2 DAC

3. Another DVD player with mod and DAC

4. Another DVD player with DVDA (internal DAC)

5. Separate DVD player and SACD player

AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH

Thanks for the information - that is what I need right now.

 

[Don Wheeler]

I wonder why so many players do MP-3 when one disc can play almost 10 hrs Just a thought.

 

[Selden Ball]

Bob,

You might want to consider adding a fan, just so the drive stays cool. There are several threads discussing how to minimize the fan noise. e.g. run a dc fan at a lower voltage.

Sometimes dust on the optics can cause problems, too.

People have reported mixed luck with cleaning disks, but they can't hurt.

 

[BobH]

Death at last! The Panny froze up again just after being turned on. Long enough for the menu to come up. According to Best Buy, even though parts are in warranty, I will have to pay $50 per hour labor to fix it.

For the record:

Pioneer DV414 - 4 mos. to failure.

Pioneer DV414 - 17 mos. to failure.

Panasonic RV30 - 9 mos. to failure.

Panasonic RP56 - 3 mos. to failure.

Best Buy now offers a replacement guarantee for $10 if you buy it within 3 mos. of purchase. I recommend it, obviously. Wish I had known. Other than that, there seems to be no happy ending . . .

 

[Jack Briggs]

Well, Bob, there could be if not for the "play-all-day" thing. Why not two players. They could rotate duties. And then a separate, dedicated CD player.

You clearly know your stuff, and your system is definitely impressive. But consumer DVD players are not the sorts of machines that would see duty at a television station, for example.

Whatever the case, good luck.

 

[Westly T]

You could use a computer-based system. They provide the best progressive picture when properly equipped, better then the best DVD players. They can run 24/7, and if the mech. fails, it'll cost you less then $50 to replace just the drive!

I've had a few DVD players, and the Sony's have never failed while the Panasonic failed with very little use. My 1.5 - 2 year old Panasonic that’s probably only played 50 movies will only make it 1/2 through a movie. It stops being able to read the disk. If you put a CD in it can read it but not DVD's. If you let it cool down for 20 minutes, you can finish the rest of your movie if it's not too long. Sometimes it needs 2 rest periods to finish a movie.

 

[BobH]

Thanks Jack and Wes. I am learning just how fragile DVD players are. I have been asking the technicians at Best Buy and Circuit City and they get a lot of service returns but I haven't seen a pattern between Panasonic, Toshiba or Sony. So my experience is not atypical apparently (small sample size though).

Since the problem appears to be the playing mechanism (including the laser), I wonder if any machines are going to be robust. I am going to try to find out which of the higher-end players use transports or parts from bulk manufacturers. I would sure like to find a solution that doesn't include junking players quarterly. It's for good reason, for example that BestBuy doesn't have a replacement warranty on DVD players like they do other goods. "Special case."

PS Wes? The 1.6s are sweet, aren't they?!!

 

[Robert Elliott]

I just had to jump in here. No one actually believes or accepts this do you; you should only play your DVD for a couple of hours before letting it 'rest'? Get real. Call the company and lose your mind; their product is garbage and acceptance of such nonsense is giving permission for them to screw you while you smile. Many companies, by the way, actively promote this disposable mentality and and consumers are eating it up.
Electronics have a MTBF. The company didn't determine that MTBF by resting the item between tests. It was run continously until failure. If it has an expected life of 5000 hours and you use it up in 7 months, expect your product to die. If you are a heavy user, spend the money to buy the product with a longer MTBF. If the product falls far short of its MTBF, raise hell; if the products MTBF is of comical nature, raise hell and don't purchase it.
I have had my DVD player since DVD arrived on the scene - still pissed at how much this thing originally cost. It gets warm, as do most electronics, and is played hours on end every weekend by the kids. In fact, it has a couple hundred hours of Shrek on it in just the last 2 - 3 weeks (don't ask how much I have enjoyed them being home for Spring Break) I would be promptly pissed if it stopped working or acted funny and the company suggested I restrict my viewing or listening habits. I assure you a Website would be on the Net right quick proclaiming their corporate policies and failings.
Think about the lunacy of what is being suggested: A device built to view movies should be used sparingly and for defined durations??? The damn thing was designed poorly; demand a refund. What's next? Refrigerators that only keep a weeks worth of groceries cool at any one time or object if you open the door too many times? Cars that can only be driven to and from work before requiring a pit stop or require more frequent 'rest' if they are actually filled to capacity?

 

[Robert Elliott]

Bob H.

Put simply, I won't buy audio or video equipment from Circuit City. I endured the same issues with a series of VCR's from them. I was astounded the products seemed to half a useful life of 6 months - one after another they broke. One after another I raised complete hell with Circuit City and got another one and the cycle would repeat. My mother went through the same thing with microwaves by the way.

I simply purchase my equipment elsewhere and have never had anything else fail on me - which actually sucks sometime because I can't convince the wife we need to upgrade.

 

[Philip Hamm]

My original Toshiba SD2006 (?) bought in November 1997 is still going strong in my brother Pat's apartment.

 

[Tom Johnson]

Panasonic RP56 DVD player 3 mos old (on Vibrapod sandwich)

What is a Vibrapod sandwich?

 

[Westly T]

Robert Elliott said

Put simply, I won't buy audio or video equipment from Circuit City. I endured the same issues with a series of VCR's from them. I was astounded the products seemed to half a useful life of 6 months - one after another they broke. One after another I raised complete hell with Circuit City and got another one and the cycle would repeat. My mother went through the same thing with microwaves by the way.

I still have my Panasonic VCR I got from Circuit City about 5 years ago, still with no problems. Look at the item, not where you bought it! If you get the same product it doesn't matter where you got it. I also got a microwave from them, also a Panasonic, and it is the best one I've ever had. No problems over the few years I've had it.

 

[Westly T]

PS, My Panasonic DVD player I got at The Good Guys craped out after about 50 movies. I guess I better avoid The Good Guys according to your theory!

 

[Robert Elliott]

My Panasonic DVD player I got at The Good Guys craped out after about 50 movies. I guess I better avoid The Good Guys according to your theory!

Westly,

My theory, bluntly put, is every av product I have purchased at Circuit City has died an untimely death. It was not one product or one manufacturer, it was a series of VCRs and a series of Microwaves. Their customer service sucked and I was frequently left with no equipment and bags of excuses.

Some people avoid buying off the Internet because they don't know where the items are sourced, likewise I avoid buying from Circuit City for the same reason and a high failure rate of the merchandise. YMMV. Purchase from Circuit City to your heart's content but please do not ridicule my experience and response to validate yours.

In any event, you have misread my theory so a clarification is in order; I wouldn't buy Panasonic AV equipment regardless of vendor! I do, however, think they make the best Microwave ovens but did not and would not purchase mine from C.C.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Robert: Paraphrase me more accurately. I did not say play the thing for just two hours and then go for a walk. I think I said something more to the effect of four hours. Thing is, DVD players are not built like tanks. They're amazingly complex, fussy machines. I handle my players with extreme care, and keep them dust-free. But neither one puts in more than four hours of duty during any given session. JB

 

[Westly T]

Granted Circuit City has its issues, but my experience has been very different. Of the three chain B&M stores in my area, Circuit City has had the best customer service. They have always made things right and never left me with out equipment.

Robert Elliott said:

I wouldn't buy Panasonic AV equipment regardless of vendor!

While I agree with you on the Audio part, they have had many good video products, like the RP91. They may not be top of the line, but they do have some good video products. The DVD I have was a second player in my bedroom, and did a fine job till it failed. I am a bit upset at its failure and choose not to replace it with a Panasonic product, but I don't agree with you about never buying Panasonic A/V equipment. I also wonder what brand equipment you got. Perhaps the fact you never buy Panasonic equipment had something to due with your repeated failures?.

I do understand your viewpoint, but felt it was a rare chain of events that led to it. I felt it should be put in line by my inverse experience with them.