Any robust DVD players? (1 Viewer)

[Scott Merryfield]

If DVD-V capabilities lead to premature break down when used as a CD player, why aren't there more DVD-A or SACD players that stand alone. I know Sony makes 1 or 2 SACD players w/o DVD-V capability, but why aren't there more? Surely could expect to run the new Pioneer SACD/DVD-A player for more than 4 hours at a time without worrying about it, couldn't I?

Since both DVD-A and SACD are still such niche markets, I doubt that any player that did not include a more mainstream format (DVD-Video for DVD-A or CD for SACD) would generate enough sales to justify the design and manufacturing costs.

 

[BobH]

You can also buy it, bring it home and honestly tell her that you are just trying it out. You then have a few days to convince her that she needs it too. Non-fatal if successful.

 

[BobH]

Uh, oh yeah, back to robust players; besides the Sony 900, any others to recommend? The 9000 seems to be unavailable locally. The Pioneer Elite DVD37? Others?

 

[Justin Doring]

Jack: I know people who have burned-in the Sony DVP-9000ES by running it for 500+ hours straight, so a well-designed player should not have to "rest." The other "cheap" players I mentioned were used infrequently (no more than a few times a week and only for around 2 hours at a time), yet they still broke in just over a year. My point is that if a DVD player is well-designed, it will not break, regardless of how often and how intensely it is played, and that a poorly-designed player is going to break regardless of whether or not it is played a little or a lot.

 

[Jeff Keene]

I think I may just get the Pioneer combo player, as I don't think I can wait much longer. I'll keep the 6200 around though, and alternate its use as a CD player. Hey, I guess I have a Pioneer Laser Disc player I could use for this, too.
I'm still not sure I buy all this, but I certainly don't want to wear out my stuff pre-maturely. SOMEDAY I'll look into a high-end player, but I'm waiting until I know more about the future of the newer formats and how they fit in the audio scene.

 

[Robert Elliott]

Jack:

Isn't that the 'what's in the past is in the past, let's not revisit it honey' routine?

I never tried it with a motorcycle though. Wonder if she would notice me coming home with a different bike when I take mine in this weekend...

 

[James_A]

I work at a store that has had an RCA 5 disk player running 12 hrs a day for about a year or so... and no problems. If ya need the model number, I can get it for you. Don't know about the quality of the image, but it works well...

Jim

 

[Mark Zimmer]

Or you could just take the opposite fatalistic tack and buy an ultracheap player assuming you'll have have to replace it quickly. You'll probably get just as much life out of it as a $600 player at a fraction of the expense.

 

[RobertSchaez]

Bob,

How about a Technics DVD-A10? Although this unit is no longer available, you might find one on Ebay. I have had one for 4 months now with no problems, though I don't use mine as many hours as you do. It is built like a TANK, very heavy, smooth tray operation, etc. Also plays DVD Audio discs, but unfortunately not CD-R,RW, or MP3s.

Rob

 

[Keir H]

I wonder if there was any way to adding cooling features to a DVD player? I think my JVC 723 is dying ( nearly dead) because of heat, but it's hard to trace if it is heat related or the spinning mechanism, or maybe the laser is dusty. Anyone seen any small heatsinks for smaller chips on computer motherboards that can be possibly retrofitted inside a DVD player? How bout a fan of some type? I really like this player and if I buy another, I'm sure the same thing is going to happen after 3-4 months if that seeing the trend.

 

[BobH]

Keir

You might be able to find little heat sinks somewhere but I doubt they would actually help you. Very few ICs are true heat generators and those have heat sinks already because the design required them. A small fan blowing across the board would be more useful but be sure there is an exit for the hot air.

In real life heat is probably not your problem. Circuits run fine while warm and failures are more likely to be caused by thermal cycling (on, off, on, off). Cold is disasterous. Excessive heat may be causing failures at passives or material interfaces that you can do nothing about.

I would suggest you take the player to have the laser aligned and cleaned. That recovered my player since the laser was out of spec. Vibration is a big enemy of optical systems. BestBuy does this for $25. If that doesn't help, fuggitit.

 

[Keir H]

Thanks BobH! I'll look into those Vibrapods, I hear they are amazing little tweaks. I did not think about the laser adjustment. My player just shuts off when it wants to. I think if it's totally broken it would just not play at all, but the funny thing is I can get it to play at times for about 40 min. or so, hot or cold. (Dracula, {Winona Ryder}) I know, I should just go out and get the RP56 and be done with it but I hate to have to buy a optical cable when I have a great AQ coax. Shucks....

 

[BobH]

If you get a

 

[Philip Hamm]

How about a Technics DVD-A10? Although this unit is no longer available, you might find one on Ebay. I have had one for 4 months now with no problems, though I don't use mine as many hours as you do. It is built like a TANK, very heavy, smooth tray operation, etc. Also plays DVD Audio discs, but unfortunately not CD-R,RW, or MP3s

I have one also, and it is indeed built like a tank. It is as heavy as my CLD-99! Robert, FYI the DVD-A10 does indeed play CD-RW.

 

[RobertSchaez]

Thanks Phillip,

I haven't tried that yet, I always thought CD-RWs were the toughest to handle. If a machine could play RWs, they could play Rs, but mine definitely won't play one. I'll give an RW a shot!

Rob

 

[Will Gatlin Jr]

DV-09 here!! Never had any problems.

 

[Jason Caudill]

I would be careful to write off any of these companies as no good because your dvd player(s) failed. I would bet any one that best buy and circuit city see more panasonic, toshiba, and sonys back simply because they are the most popular brands. Overall I would say that they maintain a pretty good reliability record. I almost hate to say it but my Pioneer 525 is still running strong. I have plenty of ventaliation and some make shift virbration reduction (mouse pad cut into four pieces, dont laugh:b ) under mine. I do believe that my player is slightly better built than those on the shelf in a b&m today. I have never opened it up, but the sheer cost of the thing 3-4 years ago vs today is astonishing. Nothing besides mass production, sheaper labor, and cheaper parts could have dropped the price so fast. Jason

 

[John Geelan]

I almost never use my Panny RP91 as a cd player. I have a Sony XA1ES for that.

My RP91 is exclusively for DVD-Video and DVDA's.

The dvd players that I have had seem to be more in need of TLC than cd players.

JohnG

 

[Vic_T]

Also,

Some people I know, including the Reliability Engineers I work with, always run a "burn in" process on new electronics whenever they buy them. When you first take it out off the box, run it for a marathon session -12 hours or more (you don't necesarryily need to be sitting in front of it the whole time). If any problems occurs, the warrenty is still valid - you should have now problem taking it back and getting a different model.

 

[Jack Briggs]

I absolutely agree with the contention that a well-designed and robust player should run like a champ--that includes the Sony 9000 and Tosh 9200 and the like. But it never hurts to err on the side of caution.