Panasonic DVD-RV31 dead - repair or replace? (1 Viewer)

[Brett_H]

All,

After a little over a year of faithful service, my Panasonic RV31 has died on me. I managed to open it up and retrieve my DVD, luckily, but I'm not quite sure what to do from here. It's out of warranty, of course. Here's the problem: it began making a nasty noise tonight, then I tried to eject the disc but it wouldn't open. Now, it won't do anything other than make this noise:
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(I apologize for the bad quality, it was done with my laptop's built-in mic)

I can see the little white gear spinning under the tray, and the whole tray mechanism is vibrating pretty badly. I found the parts list for this by going to
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and entering "DVDRV31" in the "search by model" field. Anyone care to guess what's wrong and if it could be replaced pretty easily?

If not, should I bother taking it in, knowing that it cost me around $130 new? Maybe I should just buy a cheapie for now until I eventually buy a progressive scan one (after making the move to HDTV in a couple years)?

Thoughts, help, advice appreciated.

Thanks,
-Brett.

 

[KeithH]

Brett, I would simply go out and buy a new player. You can get a new model that is as good or better than the 'RV31 for under $200. I feel it is hardly worth spending money to fix your player. For $200, you could get something like the Pioneer DV-656A, which plays DVD-Audio discs. You could get the Panasonic DVD-CP72 DVD-Audio changer for similar money.