My DVD player has died !!

[cousinlucky]

TechieMoe has advised me not to buy a Samsung DVD-V9700 DVD/VCR combo because his Fiancee has had to return the bad one she bought.

By doing a google search of panasonic DVD RA-60 I found out that the HO2 signal on the display screen probably means that the motor has died. The nearest repair shop is in Sunnyside New York ( wherever that is ).

I need a DVD player that has a jack for headphones.

If you have had a bad DVD player experience or a good one your input here would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!

[cousinlucky]

One of the google links I came across told a tale of a man who removed the cover of his DVD player and pushes its spindle to get it going. With nothing to lose I removed the seven screws and the same process worked for me.

It has been so long since I have dealt with small electric motors that I forgot that initial movement can get to be a problem. While I had the cover off I vacuumed the thing.

I left the screws out and put the cover back on. I'll just have to lift the cover and start the spindle when I want to watch a movie.

[bigtomrodney]

While I'm glad can still use it I think that's pretty bad you have to do it.

Here's my two cents on the issue of DVD players - buy cheap.

This isn't something I normally recommend in other areas but I have proved consistently that in this day and age with DVD manufacturing so cheap you will certainly win if you buy the cheap box.

Take for example DivX/Xvid playback. This has only recently appeared on big brands such as Sony and Philips because it has been forced into play. Sony are a media distributor so it's not in their best interest to support DivX. Also basic things like optic out for digitial audio or component are usually reserved for the higher priced players. And region encoding...well while it's not the big deal it used to be, Sony officially only had one region free model last year that I could find and it charged a premium for it - €499. Sure you can usually hack your player to do that but the no name players do it automatically!

So it breaks down like this - €85 for brand name low to medium feature DVD player or €30-€45 for a no-name that does everything.

I've bought a few Black Diamond players and they have served me well (they're made by Mitsubishi) but you can have even cheaper and more feature packed drives for less money.

[cousinlucky]

My DVD/CD player has a very good sound system built into it as well as having a front jack for headphones which is why I'm endeared to it.

Next month I'm going to go to the Panasonic authorized repair shop and order a replacement spindle so that when the one I'm using finally dies I have one ready to replace it.

I think that the DVD player makers want to phase out the cheap players and only make the high end high-definition players to reap in more profits.

[Oxygen]

We had a Pioneer DVD player... it was good because it was regionless. Also I just liked it a lot. We have a Sony one... well two but they're not as good.

[cousinlucky]

I have to assume that vacuuming my DVD/CD player with the cover off did it a world of good because it is operating just fine now!!

[jayd512]

Here's my two cents on the issue of DVD players - buy cheap.

Personally, I still have alot of my movies on VHS. For that reason, when my Panasonic DVD player bit the dust a while back, I went out and got an off-brand DVD/VCR combo for about $50. Thing is a workhorse! Better picture quality than any off the high dollar ones I've ever bought!

[cousinlucky]

If I may ask, Jayd512, what is the brand name and model number of your workhorse combo?

[jayd512]

Actually, turns out it wasn't exactly a total *no-name*... It's a Phillips, but I never liked them to much. As far as the model number, I no longer have the paperwork that came with it, and the thing is set up on a big entertainment center. It would take forever to pull it out far enough to check the bottom of it.

[cousinlucky]

Thanks, Jay!!