What is the life span of a DVD player (1 Viewer)

[Mike Hutman]

I have had my VCR for what seems to be forever. But I use my DVD player a lot more. I know it wont last forever but what is the average life span of an average DVD player. And what are some warning signs that its about to break,or stop working, or just die on you.

 

[Jeff Adams]

This might be better posted in the hardware section. But I have had the very first Toshiba dvd player released back in 97 and it still works. I have other ones as well but that one works just fine.

 

[Neil Joseph]

DVD players are pretty rock solid wth not much to break. If anything goes first, it could most likely be the optical unit (laser) and you may notice things like a DVD movie picture becoming very pixelized during a movie, particularly after the layer change where the laser has to refocus to the second layer, or not being able to recognize a disk.

 

[Eric Alderson]

You never really know. My friends Toshiba that he bought back in 2000 died a few weeks ago and my Toshiba that I got back in April 99' still works to this day.

 

[Kelly W]

Would it be fair to compare the "life expectancy" of a DVD player to that of CD players? If so, they may last quite a while. My father has a CD player bought in the early days of the format and it still is his primary player. (Granted, it is a high-end brand for which he paid a pretty penny.)
How long have your CD players lasted? I've only had one fail on me and it was a no-name portable that probably fell to the ground one too many times.
I'm sure some hardware techies will balk at this comparison, but it seems like the moving parts of these machines should be similar. (And in my experience, it usually is the moving parts that wear out first.)
But, yeah-- this thread seems destined for the "Hardware" section.
-Kelly

 

[Tom Rhea]

My first one (a Zenith) lasted one year.

I next bought three JVCs (all the same model); two of those died after one year and the third started refusing to play certain discs about the same time, but I keep it because it does play most things and it's not the main dvd player in the house anyway.

My current Panasonic has shown problem signs after about 8 months, and the other one we have (a Samsung) has been to the shop once after 8 months.

After the experience with my first four players, I bought an extended warranty for the other two and am damn glad I did.

Except for the Samsung, the problems all started in the same way: started to freeze up on certain discs, then wouldn't play certain discs at all, then wouldn't play any discs at all.

The Samsung had some really weird problems with color. For example, in Phantom Menace, it felt that R2D2 looked better in purple. But it's worked fine since coming back from the shop.

 

[Lee Petty]

ive had my philips player for about 2 years and no problems so far....
knock on wood

 

[TedT]

Well if you listen to the sales people when you buy one, they only last about 6 months.

So you BETTER buy that service contract! [/sarcasm]

 

[Dean Kousoulas]

I bought an RCA in June 1998 and it died about 2 years later. My new Panasonic is running fine.

My friend bought the very first DVD player out on the market back in 1997 (Toshiba) and it still runs (although some bugs, which is understandable)

Dean

 

[Brett_B]

My Sony (DVPS7000) still works like the day I got it (May 1998).

 

[Carl Johnson]

My first player, a Toshiba 2008 has been flawless for just over four years now.

 

[Jack Briggs]

This is a pet topic of mine.

From what I can tell so far is that with models that are not top-of-the-line units from the major OEMs, if one runs them within reason and keeps them as dust-free as possible, then the thing should last as long as the optical assembly functions.

However, I have seen a trend. If the players are run marathon-style, problems arise. If, say, you've watched more than three feature-length films in a single session, the player starts overheating and artifacts are more evident. The player also might die on you in fairly short order.

The more rugged components and construction in certain top-of-the-line models works to the players' longevity.

Bottom line, as I see it: Keep your player as clean as possible, run perhaps three films back to back, and give the player a rest for two or three hours before watching anything else.

Maintenence is key to player longevity, I think.

 

[Aaron Garman]

Hello all. I got my Pioneer DV-414 back in December 1998, and the thing works the same as the first day I had it. I can't see myself buying another brand ever again. Pioneer proved to me that their laserdisc players were great (I've had three different models over the years) and now their DVD players seem to be in the same leauge.

AJ Garman

 

[TheBat]

I have had my first dvd player since May of 98. Its an RCA 5500. It still works to this day. I also have a daewoo that I just got this summer.. no problems yet with the second player.

JACOB

 

[Dmitry]

I also have a hard time justifying replacing my Pioneer DV-414. Even when run marthon style (can you say Godfather Trilogy or Superman Boxset) it had not exhibited any problems. Granted, there are some discs that give the player a hard time but they are few and far between.

 

[Ray Turner]

My Toshiba 3109 dates to Dec, 1998 and never a problem except for flashing an update to keep up with changes in some DVD's.

 

[Richard Travale]

I've had my Toshiba since 1997 and it's still going strong. THe only reason I will upgrade is to get progressive scan.

 

[Steven_J_H]

I have had a Pioneer DVL 700 combi player since late '97. The only thing that happened to it is the servos that opens the drawer had to be replaced. I also have a DVL 919 that plays as good as the day I bought it.

 

[Bill Will]

My Proscan 8086Z is still running strong & I've never had any problems with it.

 

[Joe Tilley]

Mike,I made a previous post in a similar thread of John Miles. I have a Sony player that is approaching three years old & I have 22,167 hours for DVD use (well slightly more by now) & 29 hours for CD. Everybody was pretty shocked by this as it is quite a bit of time on it in under three years, but I use it constantly. I plan on giving it a break soon & getting a new player but I think that this one has more than proven itself.