DVD player quality

[Chris Shelly]

Hello,

I bought my first DVD player when they first came out. It is an RCA RC5200P. This DVD player has seen at least 2 movies a week and is still going strong. Layer changes are fast and it has never ever locked up. 2 years later I purchased a Panasonic A112. Like the RCA above this player has fast layer changes and has never froze up. Still going strong.

In my basement I decided to put together a budget system. I picked up a Sherwood RD-7106 receiver (great piece by the way) for $129. Also added a JBL NSP1 speaker package. I figured that after 6 years DVD players would be more affordable and work better then ever. I bought a Sampo 611 player for this set up. Other then slow layer changes it worked very good for the first 2 months. One day during a movie it froze up solid during the middle of it. When I removed the disk and put it back in all I would get is "DISK ERROR". The next day I watched the movie again and it did not freeze at all. Ever since then this happens 2 out of 3 times. It always freezes at random during different parts of the movie. I got sick of it so I put the SAMPO 611 up in the guest bedroom to collect dust.

I figured you get what you pay for so I purchased a Panasonic RV32. This DVD player still plays okay but the layer changes take forever compared to my 2 older models. It also does not feel as solid as my older players. I am sure it will break before the others.

Chris

 

[BobH]

Chris; I had a thread here asking about the build quality of DVD players "Any robust DVD players?". You can read all the opinions here but what I learned is that the small light weight players for less than $300 list have really compromised mechanical transport quality. I am now looking at $600 players that are much more solid.

My first test is just to feel the weight. The next test is to put a DVD in the player and jiggle it and even bounce it on the shelf. The dealer looks at you weird but it shows up "delicate" players. My final test is to play a DVD I have with a scratch that locks up some players but not others.

My results so far:

failed: Panny RP56, Sony 700, Pioneer 414

passed so far: Sony 900, Pioneer Elite DV37, DV38, Panny RP31

(note: the Panny RP31 froze very briefly only once with pounding)