DVD Player Problem

Makaveli

Ok, I have a Philips DVD-751 and up until last week it was working perfectly.
It's not even used all that often because I watch most of my dvds on my pc which is why I'm even more annoyed.

Anyway, the problem is, it wont play dvds properly anymore. It pixelates the picture, mangles the little sound that will come out and erratically skips and stalls.
So it might start and the freeze on the first frame of the film then jump to the 16th minute and freeze, then onto the 20th. It doesnt seem to be following scence sequences.

I thought the problem might initially be due to the discs overheating, as they come out pretty warm. But I left it for 5 days and then tried again and still the same.

The problem happened when I put a dvd in (Battle Royale) everything was fine and it went to the dvd menu, but I went back to watching tele, leaving the dvd player on. When I went back to it (maybe an hour later) it had frozen. I had to unplug it to switch it off. Ever since then it wont work.

Any suggestions? I hate using the PS2 to watch dvds and it's not chipped either so I can only watch the R2 dvds.

byte

Have you tried cleaning the laser? It may be that though probably more sinister than that!

Makaveli

No, havent tried anything at all yet. Thought it would be best to check on here first.
It's still under warranty iirc, so I may just get it sorted that way.

Makaveli

Well it's working again.
I tried one of those lense cleaning cds but it seemed to do fuck all. When I switched on the player afterwards the splash screen was now pixelated, which hadnt happened before.
So, with gritted teeth, I decided I was going to try a R1, R2, R3, R4 and R0 and one of them was going to work or I was going to put my fist through it.
I stuck in Jin Roh (R3) and it was still borked. But I decided I would leave it play the menu screen for a while because it had video clips in it and wasnt a static image. Low and behold the picture starts coming back, left it for a while and now it is back working perfectly.
I'd love to know what happened to it though.

byte

Odd indeed. Those Lens Cleaning CDs are usually crap depending on the assembly inside your player. Occasionally the brushes are too short to wipe the laser.

Could be a memory problem. It could happen again though for your sake (or should that be the player's sake ) I hope it doesn't recur!

Makaveli

I'm thinking that maybe if I give it more regular use it may help. But I still want to get it checked out.

DaithiSurfer

when you clean it the lens was most probably still wet.
then after a while it would have dried out.

Makaveli

Well the same problem has occured again.
What should I use when cleaning the lense?

And if it is a memory problem can I do anything to sort it out?
I wonder can you do firmware upgrades...

robbie1876

If it's still under warranty like you said I would definitely bring it back asap. Let them worry about the lens being clean etc. Otherwise what'll happen is the player will work fine until just after your warranty expires and then kaboom, it will pack in for good.

If they fix the problem, you are automatically covered under warranty for a further 3 months for that same problem, so if it becomes recurring you are protected indefinitely, in a way.

Good luck with the problem.

Robbie

Makaveli

Turns out that it's out of warranty.

Makaveli

Old post, but gonna resurrect it anyway, because I still have this problem.

Anyway, warranty is long gone. It's not a lense problem afai can tell. I have tried playing a dvd with the cover off to see it anything was out of place or jammed, but it all appears to work smoothly.

Does anybody have any idea what the hell is wrong with this player? It was a decent enough player when it was working, and if I can DIY fix it, I'd prefer that than buying a new player.

John R

Unless you are an electronics expert opening it up will not help any and could be dangerous.

Seing as it is broken and out of warranty you may as well try upgrading the firmware, they should have it on philips.com, nothing to lose now.

Makaveli

It wont let me upgrade the firmware.
It goes a certain distance then reports an error and finishes.
Maybe the laser is borked.

red-not-blue

Are there any other symptoms to the fault? Does the dispaly brightness vary while playback is on ? You said you had it open, were there any sign of scorching in or around the PSU circuitry? Try aiming a Hair Dryer on cold at the PSU area and see if the picture improves. Are there any markings on the board about voltages ? Do any of the Large capacitors look like they are bulging ? I doubt if the laser could effect the startup screen so I think because of the suddenness of the fault in its intermittency it may be a component failure in the Power Supply section !

R-N-B

elivsvonchiaing

This is my third posting on this - without joy.

There are apparently such things as wet DVD lens cleaners which seem to do the job (far better than the brush cleaners!) They seem hard to get in the US (mail order only by the looks of it). Practically impossible to get here (ebay only) - I didn't bother with Amazon 'coz it was a 3rd party vendor - who give a choice of 50 states (or Canada) if I lived in The American Virgin Islands or Samoa I was probably still ****ed!

Does anyone know a buyer here for anyone who could sell this?

I'd gladly pay €20 for one. (inc VAT). Some sites on the web seem to sell them for just $7. There is money to be made if peats, maplin, komplette. etc. get up of their arses!

That said there is strictly the danger that they make a 200% markup out of me and are stuck with 9,999 units :-)

Anyone agree they'd like to see this product on the market? - The bonus would be if you actually know some one who can do it?

byte

It's probably easier to buy a can of laser cleaner and use that.

It still sounds to me like a memory problem. Perhaps the main memory is corrupted.