hi

was wondering (from the sound I hear) - does anyone know if the DVD constantly spins when the units are powered on but not playing or recording anything?

I have an LG, Panny and Toshiba.

I know the Panny ES15 gets real quiet soon after no activity.


On the LG 787 and the Toshiba dr550-- I still hear (or feel) vibration of the DVD when not in use (powered on still). Perhaps a fan but 787 has none.

Just wondering cause wouldnt the constant spinning wear out the machine a lot faster?

thnx

On the LG 787 and the Toshiba dr550-- I still hear (or feel) vibration of the DVD when not in use (powered on still).There's no reason for a DVD to spin if it's not playing or recording and it's not in "pause" mode. The firmware might keep the drive spinning for a minute or so "just in case" you start using it again, but if it really is spinning beyond that then it's a dumb implementation.

Just wondering cause wouldnt the constant spinning wear out the machine a lot faster?I wouldn't worry as much about the spinning as I would if the laser were still on. The lasers have a definite lifespan and, apart from dust issues, seem to be the cause of most failures.

I remember years ago when the original Playstations came out. They had severe lens/laser issues. Had to sen mine back twice in 2 years to have it repaired. My brother also during that time had his repaired once. Heard and read of thousands of folks having the same Lens/laser problems. Thats when I first realized the lens/laser issues that could occur in any consumer product that uses them

Most recorders spin down the DVD after a set period of inactivity, but this varies widely and does not always make sense. Some machines stop the disc within a couple minutes (Pioneer, Panasonic) while others spin the the disc for 10, 15, 20 mins until they decide there is "no activity". Aside from the waste of a few microwatts of energy, its not a big thing to worry about. The spindle motor is simple and designed to spin, 20 mins here or there are not going to wear it out.

As Sean mentioned, the laser is more of a worry but again 20 mins here and there won't wear it down too much. As far as we know, all current recorders dating from 2007 on are designed to switch off the laser along with the disc rotation, or to switch off the laser when not actually reading even if the disc is spun up for ready access. About four years ago, Toshiba and a couple other recorder brands had "always-on" lasers that pretty much never turned off, causing premature burnout issues, but mfrs realized very quickly this was a terrible idea and stopped doing it by the next model generation. Enjoy your recorders and don't worry about it.

hello:-)


Heya, had one more question.

On the Toshibas, they have the chasing playback, simultaneous record and play, if the drive were to fail and I replaced it,
would those above mentioned features still be available?

Are those features part of the drive or located somewhere else on the unit?

thank you to all for the replies --
it has helped a lot and enjoy day!

boo

The Toshiba will retain all of its features after a repair, but only if you have Toshiba do the servicing. Toshiba recorders need a specific drive to use all the chase play and other features, you can't just put your own burner in there. Although honestly, a D-R550 is not really worth repairing: you can buy a whole new unit for the cost of the repair. If yours ever fails after the warranty expires, just buy another one.

At least with my replaced drive on my XS32, I hear it go off I think 5 minutes after I last used it. (I also have set the option to power down the hard drive.)