Quote:
Originally Posted by
dndata /forum/post/13943058
"... If you want to give Panasonic one more chance I would suggest returning your last EZ-47..."
DONE.
- Thank-you, Costco.
Okay... step 1: Finalize those dvd-rw discs before this one 'implodes'...
(I'm joking: kind of...)
Whoooo Boy - I sure hope THIS unit 'hangs in there.'
(Needless to say, I've bookmarked this thread in case I need to clean the spindle at some point.)
Trust me, amigos...
- If this sucka fails on me w/in the 1st 6 months or so (make that YEAR or so) I assure you I'll colorfully get the word out
Now...
- Onto the "Official Panasonic DMR-EZ48VK thread"...
Hello, Gang
- It's Me' again - the guy whose house is haunted by the invisible I Love To Destroy Panasonic DVD Recorders' demon
1 MONTH & 3 DAYS!
- That's all the time it took for my EZ-48 to self-destruct.
Lucky me: I came home just in time to watch the fun
- I walked into the house at 9:59 pm Sat w/my brother to watch a movie. The EZ-48 was just finishing its scheduled recording from the SciFi channel (scheduled from 8-10pm); media was a re-used Panny DVD-RW. The machine was just powering down as we walked in. All of a sudden, that hideous stream of 0 0 0 0 0 0 started scrolling across the display: a minute or 2 later I got the infamous & dreaded U99 error message. (Needless to say: unit completely frozen' & couldn't eject disc)
- Powered off (holding Power button for extended period) - waited a minute & powered on - hit/held Eject as Hello blinked: No luck.
- Waited until Hello stopped blinking & hit/held Eject immediately after Hello stopped blinking: No luck.
- Powered up the machine again: 0 0 0 0 0 0 U99
- Powered down, waited a minute or 2, powered up, & after Hello stopped blinking & 0 0 0 0 0 0 started streaming, inserted paperclip into Reset eventual result: 0 0 0 0 0 0 ad infinitum (Lucky me: no more U99 - just Endless Zeroes streaming across my display forevermore)
I unplugged the unit for a day & plugged it back in: result - 0 0 0 0 0 0 ad infinitum
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This is the FOURTH unit to die on me in last 2-3 years:
1st lasted just over 6 mo.s (DMR EZ475V predecessor: DMR-ES45V I think)
The subsequent replacements (both DMR EZ475Vs) each worked OK for 3-4 months
- At least the others took their time croaking*: they'd start rejecting discs I'd recorded on them & stop reading Panny dvd-rams (Even BLANK ones) before freezing up).
* The last time I went through this, my queries initiated an educational series of spindle/hub cleaning discussion on the DMR-EZ47V thread (
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...5#post13888905 ).
This time the unit just self-destructed right in front of my eyes.
- Guess it all has to be something having to do w/the sophisticated' circuitry that runs the d*mn thing as opposed to the spindles, eh?
I dunno (understatement of the century!)
Am suspecting (in my ignorance) that perhaps
- Re-used dvd-rw discs just freak out the brains' of units I purchase (as opposed to units everyone else in the universe purchases): might a scratch on the disc or some such &^%*!! be responsible for making my Pannys commit suicide - Or
- Perhaps there's some kind of spurious unevenness' in the current of the AC outlets in my wall that fluctuates just enough to KILL my machines (my home entertainment electronics are plugged into a surge-protecting power strip: need I, perhaps, buy a bona fide UPS battery-back-up system like I have for my pc.s??)
I mention this, Gentlemen (most of the posts I read around here SEEM to be from guys [like me]) because I DON'T KNOW WHY THIS KEEPS HAPPENING TO ME (ALONE).
- I'm completely flummoxed!
I Just Do Basic DVD recording through a standard co-ax analog cable connected from Comcast.
My Panny dvd-recorders stand all by themselves on top of my home entertainment stand shelf all by themselves (w/no adjacent cabinet walls or other electronics to impede airflow).
Am connected to several-year-old Panasonic TH-50PX600U 50 inch Plasma (Costco's TH-50PX60U) via HDMI & component & a Kenwood HTIB.
-----
Frankly, I'm afraid of returning to Costco for (yet) another replacement: am imagining that Costco corporate will inform me that I'm abusing their return policy & they're therefore kicking me out of the club' (Sure maybe I'm paranoid - but for some reason beyond my current comprehension it seems I'm cursed: I buy the machines, use them somewhat sparingly [a few hours a week] for basic recording tasks & my machines blow up' on me.)
So
Since my machine isn't even 2 months old, & is DEAD (I just looked at it again: 0 0 0 0 0 0 ad infinitum may as well unplug), I'm thinking of having THIS one serviced instead of returning it (& sparing myself the daggers from the eyes' looks from those Costco Return Desk personnel).
- Just Maybe the Panasonic repair-techs can tell me WTH happened: why it 'fried.'
There's a Panny Service Center w/in a 30 min. drive from here.
Do you folks think I should trust them - or should I go through the additional hassle of shipping to one of the giant Official' service centers?
I see posts here mentioning conversations w/Panasonic engineers. How do you guys reach them?
(My experiences w/Panny tech supt. have been, am sorry to say, just terrible.)
What other makes should I consider for a dvd-recorder? (I recall that wajo really likes the Phillips unit w/the built-in hdd (& believe jjeff concurred [?]); I've read complaints elsewhere on AVS posts that the picture quality isn't up to par compared to the Pannys
- Is there anything to that?
I'll miss the FR' recording mode, & I guess I'll have wasted my $$ on the dvd-ram spindles sitting on my shelf if I eventually go that route, I suppose)
That's it for the moment, I guess.
If I come across as despairing or glum, apologies: I waited 2 daze' before posting so I could keep my language clean (feeble chuckle). Truth be told, I'm mighty blue. Am on really restricted budget* (hard times), & - for the veritable life of me' - I can't figure out what's goin' on. (Any of you heard of anybody ELSE who's had units like these inexplicably crap out 4 d*mn times w/in 2 years?).
* I've even considered upgrading to Comcast service w/dvr & hd programming (G'Bye beer budget ...but even seeing the hd channels I get via basic service here makes me shudder (pixilation gone mad on hd channels): &, not only is FIOS not quite yet available here, FIOS in these parts doesn't even have TCM on its roster, making the option untenable even if it were available
Groan
(Am posting this on EZ-48 thread & cross-posting at DMR EZ475V thread, since that's where I first sought-out help, & that's the thread where I outlined my difficulties from the beginning.)
Hope you folks are doin' better than I!