I have the Panasonic DMR EH55 DVDR which I will send to the repair center in Illinois. How does that $130 flat rate (including shipping) work. When you call them do they send you a prepaid shipping lablel or something?

I have the Panasonic DMR EH55 DVDR which I will send to the repair center in Illinois. How does that $130 flat rate (including shipping) work. When you call them do they send you a prepaid shipping lablel or something?

I am in Oregon. When I called Panasonic with a warranty claim for a DMR-ES30V in 2006 I was sent an email with RMA authorization and a link to print out a UPS shipping label. The same day I visited my UPS location and the Panasonic was on its way to Illinois. My Panasonic was back in service in less than two weeks.

I would assume that the out-of-warranty flat-rate repair process is probably somewhat the same. Perhaps they take your credit card information on the phone and charge the $130 flat-rate up front before sending you the shipping label for use at your local UPS Store.

I have the Panasonic DMR EH55 DVDR which I will send to the repair center in Illinois. How does that $130 flat rate (including shipping) work. When you call them do they send you a prepaid shipping lablel or something?What went wrong on your EH55?

It's a little over 2 years old. It's hit and miss when it comes to dubbing from HDD to DVD. It stalls at 91% then a message comes up saying "copying failed". Prior to this it had problems finalizing discs. The old saliva on the inner part of the disc worked for about a week now it just doesn't finalize at all.

UPDATE: I just tried dubbing from HDD to DVD in SP mode and this worked out fine. I'm expecting this to stop working also. However this method is too time consuming.

EDIT: I just checked the purchase date of my DMR EH55 and it was purchased on 9/28/06 so it's outside the warranty period.

Regarding dubbing in SP mode (a question I had on new thread), can you do it in 'high speed' or does it only record in real time?
Also, have you tried updating the firmware? They released an update (UP-317) about a year ago, if not, call them and they'll send a disc out for you.

The old saliva on the inner part of the disc worked for about a week now it just doesn't finalize at all.

Since the saliva test worked briefly this indicates that all you may need is the simple hub/spindle cleaning, see the SaintBaz advice here:

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=210507

Following these detailed instructions clean the lens, rubber and plastic spindle parts and hub area, and the circular guide in the DVD drive lid.

Panasonic 2006 and newer DVD drives are easy to service. Remove the case top cover to get access to the DVD drive. Remove the four small Phillips screws and lift the DVD drive top lid. When viewing the DVD drive from the front (where the tray rolls out) notice the roller assembly at the rear of the DVD tray. This mechanism must be positioned to the left corner before reassembly so these parts will be correctly aligned to the guide rail on the underside of the drive lid. With the 2006 and newer models opening of the Panasonic case, removing the DVD drive lid, cleaning the drive, closing the drive lid, and closing the case takes around fifteen minutes.

With 2005 or older models the case cover and the front panel assembly may need to be removed in order to give clearance for the DVD drive lid to be lifted somewhat at the front, slid forward, allowing the rear to disengage, following which the lid may be lifted off. Allow around 35 minutes for opening the case, removal of the front panel after loosening the snap clips at the top, sides and bottom; removing the DVD drive lid; cleaning and reassembly.

Note: On a combo recorder be sure to hold the VHS door open as the front panel is fitted back into place. This will correctly align the VHS door opening mechanism.

Regarding dubbing in SP mode (a question I had on new thread), can you do it in 'high speed' or does it only record in real time?
Also, have you tried updating the firmware? They released an update (UP-317) about a year ago, if not, call them and they'll send a disc out for you.

I can't dub in high speed mode. Dubbing in high speed mode it stops at 91% and gives the "copying failed" message.

I can't dub in high speed mode. Dubbing in high speed mode it stops at 91% and gives the "copying failed" message.Gotcha.

I have the Panasonic DMR EH55 DVDR which I will send to the repair center in Illinois. How does that $130 flat rate (including shipping) work. When you call them do they send you a prepaid shipping lablel or something?

As I remember it, when you call, they'll give you an authorization number and a website to locate your nearest UPS STORE, not the same as a UPS office. The $130 includes shipping both ways, but the correct fee is actually $130 plus tax. I think I had mine (an E100) back in a week.

As I remember it, when you call, they'll give you an authorization number and a website to locate your nearest UPS STORE, not the same as a UPS office. The $130 includes shipping both ways, but the correct fee is actually $130 plus tax. I think I had mine (an E100) back in a week.

I still have the original Panasonic Box my EH55 came in. Would just this box be ok for shipping or will UPS pack it as part of the "shipping fee"?

I still have the original Panasonic Box my EH55 came in. Would just this box be ok for shipping or will UPS pack it as part of the "shipping fee"?

I had my original DMR-ES30V box and the styrofoam packing material. I included a detailed description of the unit's problems and the RMA authorization in the box. The RMA number was entered on the shipping label as well as on the box. The UPS folks sealed up the box and it was on its way.

Did you try servicing your DVD drive? That may save you $130. Many report that their machines perform like new after this 15 minute job.

I still have the original Panasonic Box my EH55 came in. Would just this box be ok for shipping or will UPS pack it as part of the "shipping fee"?Hey Ace, what's the result of your recorder, is it repaired? Everything going smooth?

It worked for a short while using the old siliva on the discs trick. Today, 7/6/08, I recorded a comedian on Comedy Central onto a Panasonic DVD RAM disc. When it was finished, the machine crashed with the U88 error message. The machine was "supposedly" recovered but it lost the recording I had just done. Now I can't even format the disc because it won't recognize it. As it now stands I can't even use that DVD RAM disc for now.

As I remember it, when you call, they'll give you an authorization number and a website to locate your nearest UPS STORE, not the same as a UPS office.
That's important to note. I didn't know there was a separate UPS Store in my city.

I still have the original Panasonic Box my EH55 came in. Would just this box be ok for shipping or will UPS pack it as part of the "shipping fee"?
The UPS Store sells boxes of various sizes for shipping. It might be better/more secure to have it placed inside another box, with the bubble plastic or packing peanuts inside to reduce shake-age.

It worked for a short while using the old siliva on the discs trick. Today, 7/6/08, I recorded a comedian on Comedy Central onto a Panasonic DVD RAM disc. When it was finished, the machine crashed with the U88 error message. The machine was "supposedly" recovered but it lost the recording I had just done. Now I can't even format the disc because it won't recognize it. As it now stands I can't even use that DVD RAM disc for now.

Per this earlier post it's time to clean the spindle/hub:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13997000#post13997000

If this doesn't resolve the problem then use the $130 flat-rate repair through the corporate Panasonic Service Center. The flat-rate repair includes parts and labor and return shipping from Elk Grove Village IL. For more information see this post:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14198066#post14198066

I had the same problem with my eh55, finalizing in high speed copy and it would get to the same point, 91%, then stop and say it failed. Clearing everything off the HDD and reformatting the hard drive cleared up the problem. Good luck.

Per this earlier post it's time to clean the spindle/hub:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13997000#post13997000

If this doesn't resolve the problem then it's time to call the corporate Panasonic Service Center for the $130 flat-rate repair that includes parts and labor and shipping to and from Elk Grove Village IL:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14198066#post14198066

Does not include shipping "to" only "from". I know, I used it last month.

Does not include shipping "to" only "from". I know, I used it last month.

vferrari, your many helpful and authorative posts causes me to hesitate before responding to your statement above.

My experiecnce was that the repair authorization from the repair center included, or the store has, a blanket shipping authorization TO the center.

Is it possible you shipped from a UPS office instead of the independent UPS STORE?

Richard

They would not give me a repair authorization, they just said ship it in with a note and a check for the flat rate repair. They repaired it and shipped it back to me. It seems they've changed their policy. In fact, they seem to be giving out different information to people even now, just two months after my last repair. It seems a little disorganized/inconsistent now wrt to their process for out of warranty flat rate repair. I have another EH75V on the way to them for flat rate repair and we'll see how it goes, but again, they would not give me an RMA for the repair. As far as getting the machine to them, I was on my own (twice).

Ace,
I've had similar failures during high speed copy on my Panasonic. When the disc gets very fragmented, after many edits, some recordings can get corrupted.
When I played back the recording I was trying to dub, I found a spot that had a split second of audio and/or video corruption. Once it was even a second of another show that was recorded days after the first one!.

When I edited the bad part out, the high speed copy worked fine.
I don't know how many coasters I made before I figured this one out!.
The trick is that you have to watch the percentage number fly by. When it fails, the percentage number is not shown on the error message and can make it hard to find the bad spot.
Sometimes I could tell by the sounds it was making. good dubs were relatively quiet, but at a bad spot there was a definite "stop-retry-retry" type sound.