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Panasonic 2006 and newer DVD drive hub/spindle cleaning and reassembly complications - Page 2

post #31 of 79
8/23/10 at 6:06pm
Since all my problems with my DMR-EH55's are now resolved, http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1256870 I had an old DMR-E55 that I bought in the spring of '04 and it had quit reading discs years ago, I think in '06 when I bought my DMR-ES15. I dug it out of the closet this afternoon and decided to do the hub and lens cleaning procedure on it if it was still acting up. I hooked it up and while it did read a music cd and a Panny DVD-RAM, it would not read any blank DVD-R's I had laying around. I did the cleaning procedure on it using Q-Tips saturated in alcohol and it took four of them before I could detect no visual residue. I plugged it back in and it now reads any disc I insert in it.

I do smoke and i'm thinking for preventive maintenance I may just do the cleaning procedure every six months or so. Tomorrow I will do the ES15 although it works fine now and I will have four perfectly working recorders.

I wonder how many of these have been scrapped that could have been salvaged?
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post #32 of 79
8/23/10 at 6:42pm
I would guess lots, which is a shame. Personally I pay close attention to the noises the drive makes during initial read, after pushing STOP after a recording session, when changing thumbnails/adding a title or most importantly when finalizing a disc. When I hear the noises get louder or especially if I hear grinding, I clean the spindle asap. Personally I haven't setup a regular cleaning schedule but rather just listen closely to the drive. Using this method I haven't lost a recording in years
Note pre '06 DVD drives are much quieter and therefor harder to hear an increase in drive noise. The '06 and beyond Panasonics are normally noisy during the above tasks and really get noisy with a dirty spindle.

Every time I see a E-55 on Craigslist(which is more often than one might think) I get excited thinking it's a EH-55 going for real cheap, but of course the E-55 is much different than the EH-55, lack of the HDD is just one of the big differences.
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post #33 of 79
8/24/10 at 5:36am
Thank you for the post and feedback. The Drive does not make any noises. It moved very smoothly without any grinding. I will follow up with a service call to a local repair shop.
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post #34 of 79
9/18/10 at 11:22am
Thread Starter 
Panasonic recorder owners report very expensive and time-consuming learning experiences when using local repair shops.

In the US and Canada flat-rate repairs performed by Panasonic experts is found in Elgin Illinois:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...8#post14451738
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post #35 of 79
11/21/10 at 2:50pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by DigaDo View Post

Panasonic recorder owners report very expensive and time-consuming learning experiences when using local repair shops.

In the US and Canada flat-rate repairs performed by Panasonic experts is found in Elgin Illinois:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...8#post14451738

Quote:
Originally Posted by DigaDo View Post

It appears that there have been some recent policy changes with Panasonic service. More later...

Another poster has reported sending a DMR-EH55 to Elgin on 1 November 2010. The RAM Digital "module" (the DVD Drive and Digital PCB) was replaced. So, perhaps, that's one approach to obtaining service through Elgin.
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post #36 of 79
12/7/10 at 7:55pm
Thread Starter 
Some Panasonic products have a "Demo" mode that prevents the tray from opening. If the "Demo" mode gets activated the front panel might spell out "demo" or "lock." The Operating Instructions will provide advice for returning the product to normal operation.
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post #37 of 79
12/8/10 at 9:01am
Panasonic DMR-ES15 stopped reading discs a couple of months ago after owning it for four years and
recording app. eight months per year.

I tried the spit clean and the cleaning disc but it would not read.

I took it apart, cleaned it, reassembled, tried to play four discs including my CD/DVD cleaning disc and got a "No Read". While trying to load, the machine would make a noise (whoop-whoop-whoop) every two seconds.

I do not own a multimeter for a pot-tweak.

It was worth a try. Thanks for the suggestion!
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post #38 of 79
12/15/10 at 8:48am
Thread Starter 
Users of Panasonic recorders and Funai manufactured recorders have observed that Funai manufactured recorders seldom need to have the DVD Drive's rubber hub cleaned while Panasonic recorders need to have the DVD Drive's rubber hub cleaned at regular intervals, perhaps at six to eight month intervals with heavy use or at least annually with light use. Why is that?

Funai DVD Drives in the "parked" position have the rubber hub/spindle assembly in the high position where the rubber hub is in contact with the white guide/clamping wheel. This arrangement somewhat protects the rubber hub from attracting airborn dust particles. Panasonic DVD Drives in the "parked" position have the rubber hub/spindle assembly in the low position where the rubber hub is exposed to airborn dust particles.
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post #39 of 79
1/6/11 at 3:57pm
My Panasonic DMR-EZ28K DVD recorder started acting up on Monday, refusing to read discs with my recordings, always asking to format these discs and then failing to format any discs. I them came upon this thread and followed the directions to clean the hub and lens with isoproply alcohol. I completed this procedure Wednesday night and my machine is as good as new, properly loading, reading and formatting discs. The cleaned machine even feels slightly faster than before the cleaning.

I wanted to send many thanks to DigaDo for his comprehensive directions and photos on how to diagnose and fix these DVD recorder problems. Thanks also to Saint Baz for his directions as well. I'm a happy camper. Happy New Year to everyone!
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post #40 of 79
1/9/11 at 11:33am
hello, an thank you for taking the time to read an hopefully help with my prop
I have a Panasonic DMR EH-50, bought new in 04, it has developed a couple/few probs and I m thinking it may be time to for a new one, but found the forum n thought to post in case we can fix it.
problems:
1.freezing during dubbing.
2.shuting down durning dubbing.
3.tray not going in all the way -slight tuck n push n in it goes - no biggy...
4.tray wont open if no disk is in the tray - no biggy...

the main prob is freezing, or just shuts off when I dub (burn) to disk, I use tdk -r or memorex-r, an lately kodak -r, I have used +r as well... ALL without issue, but now it wont dub, or complete, it will start the dub process n freez anywhere form 30 to 80%.

sometimes it would work, but when I put two recordings on a disk it freezes on the 2nd one. upon the freeze, the sys will go into the self checking process 2 times, shuting down an restarting n repeat. btw: it will finalize once they are completed. but I have ruined lots of new disks trying.
is my burner - toast? n if so can i replace it n if so where can I buy one to do so, or is there a simple fix ie remove n clean.

thank you for you help.
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post #41 of 79
1/9/11 at 2:05pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rgb360 View Post

hello, an thank you for taking the time to read an hopefully help with my prop
I have a Panasonic DMR EH-50, bought new in 04, it has developed a couple/few probs and I m thinking it may be time to for a new one, but found the forum n thought to post in case we can fix it.
problems:
1.freezing during dubbing.
2.shuting down durning dubbing.
3.tray not going in all the way -slight tuck n push n in it goes - no biggy...
4.tray wont open if no disk is in the tray - no biggy...

the main prob is freezing, or just shuts off when I dub (burn) to disk, I use tdk -r or memorex-r, an lately kodak -r, I have used +r as well... ALL without issue, but now it wont dub, or complete, it will start the dub process n freez anywhere form 30 to 80%.

sometimes it would work, but when I put two recordings on a disk it freezes on the 2nd one. upon the freeze, the sys will go into the self checking process 2 times, shuting down an restarting n repeat. btw: it will finalize once they are completed. but I have ruined lots of new disks trying.
is my burner - toast? n if so can i replace it n if so where can I buy one to do so, or is there a simple fix ie remove n clean.

thank you for you help.

Some of these problems might be related to the use of inferior blank DVD media--TDK and Memorex--both manufactured by CMC Magnetics (and Kodak DVDs are from an undertermined manufacturer). Another problem is the use of 16x media since the DMR-EH50 is designed for use with 8x media. Panasonic 2005 and older models do not officially support recording to DVD+R or DVD+RW media. There are a number of horror stories found in older posts when "+" media is used to record in older Panasonic recorders. I would suggest the use of Taiyo Yuden 8x Premium Line DVD-R media available through SuperMediaStore:

http://www.supermediastore.com/produ...media-100-pack

Tayio Yuden 8x Premium Line DVD-R discs are the most commonly used media I use in my many stand-alone Panasonic and Funai manufactured recorders from the 2005-2011 model years.

As to some of the problems with your DMR-EH50 I suggest the routine cleaning of the DVD Drive laser lens and rubber hub atop the spindle (turntable). I discourage removal of the DVD Drive from Panasonic recorders due to the possibility of damaging the ribbon cables. The first several posts in the present thread describe the various cleaning procedures for 2004 and newer Panasonic DVD Drives. Some of those posts include photos showing a black plastic DVD Drive similar to the one found in your DMR-EH50. The following posts describe and illustrate the cleaning procedures and obstacles as well as providing additional advice and cautions to be observed when servicing the DVD Drive in a DMR-EH50:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...6#post19017416

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...0#post19017880

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...3#post19018493

ADDENDUM: On 10 January 2011 I purchased a second DMR-EH50. I devised an alternate method when cleaning the DVD Drive in an EH50, summarized and illustrated in this post:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...2#post19805572

I would also speculate that there might have been some disturbance to a ribbon cable or ribbon cable contact strip, perhaps the DVD Drive's on board controller board or the separate Digital PCB has become problematic, or there is some problem with the DVD Drive internal mechanism(s) or possibly a worn or slipping rubber belt in the disc tray opening/closing mechanism (most likely if the disc tray is closed by pushing on the tray instead of using the front panel button).

Other possible problems arise when one or more capacitors in the power supply are failing or have failed. This problem is discussed in this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1055111

Sometimes general malfunctions occur after some trauma to the case causing misalignment between the front panel contacts that must perfectly align with the corresponding contacts on the chassis motherboard(s). If some or all front panel buttons no longer function this might be the reason. With a straightedge check the case top edges and bottom edges to determine if there are irregularities. With the front panel removed adjust the case before fitting the front panel back to the case.

If the above suggestions do not resolve the problems with your DMR-EH50 the Panasonic National Parts Center in Kent Washington sells a replacement VXY1872 DVD DRIVE for $225.35, not including shipping. Visit the Panasonic Support website:

http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electronics/support

Panasonic Customer Service (1-800-211-7262) may offer a $260 flat-rate repair through a McAllen Texas facility. Some Panasonic owners have reported severe difficulties when dealing with this facility so I suggest this as the last resort.
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post #42 of 79
1/9/11 at 4:21pm
thank you for your propmt reply to my issues...

i will go thru the cleaning process as suggested, as well, try different disks...
note, i never had issuse with the "+" type, but dont buy them regardless.
tdk was my prefered, but swithed to kodak based on availibility, spose Ill go back to buying smaller packages n test again...

it is odd tho, as i just burned 3 kodak -r with 2 movies on each w/out issue, then it started freezing again... one thing to note, I erased a couple movies then succesfully dubbed 3 movies it previously would not - this has worked for me in the passed' ie. too delete the movie an rerecord it, then dub sucsessfully... btw: I have never formated the drive, an have some 50 + titiles, an average 10 to 20 hours of free space down to zero oftin, so im thinking that cleaning/formating an starting over may help.... perhaps i have a glitch on the maxtor hard drive... but forsure I will try different brands then go thru you cleaning totorial an see.

thank you again for your suggestions
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post #43 of 79
1/9/11 at 5:08pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rgb360 View Post

thank you for your propmt reply to my issues...

i will go thru the cleaning process as suggested, as well, try different disks...
note, i never had issuse with the "+" type, but dont buy them regardless.
tdk was my prefered, but swithed to kodak based on availibility, spose Ill go back to buying smaller packages n test again...

it is odd tho, as i just burned 3 kodak -r with 2 movies on each w/out issue, then it started freezing again... one thing to note, I erased a couple movies then succesfully dubbed 3 movies it previously would not - this has worked for me in the passed' ie. too delete the movie an rerecord it, then dub sucsessfully... btw: I have never formated the drive, an have some 50 + titiles, an average 10 to 20 hours of free space down to zero oftin, so im thinking that cleaning/formating an starting over may help.... perhaps i have a glitch on the maxtor hard drive... but forsure I will try different brands then go thru you cleaning totorial an see.

thank you again for your suggestions

It's always best to leave at least 15% free space (headroom) on the hard drive, especially if the titles have been heavily edited.

Anytime there are intermittant read, write or finalizing errors with Panasonic recorders the first remedial measure is the routine rubber hub cleaning. With my Panasonic daily use recorders I usually perform the rubber hub cleaning at around six to eight month intervals.

Don't waste your money shopping retail store 16x DVDs, especially the landfill grade brands manufactured by CMC--Memorex, Imation, TDK, Magnavox, Philips, HP, Verbatim Life Series and several other retail, store and no name brands. Use only the best quality 8x DVD-R discs in a DMR-EH50, Taiyo Yuden Premium Line or Verbatim DataLifePlus, both available through SuperMediaStore (usually with free shipping).
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post #44 of 79
1/13/11 at 1:10pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rgb360 View Post

...is there a simple fix ie remove n clean.

On 10 January 2011 I purchased a second DMR-EH50. I devised an alternate method when cleaning the DVD Drive in an EH50, summarized and illustrated in this post:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...2#post19805572
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post #45 of 79
2/9/11 at 4:04am
I have the Panasonic DMR-EZ47V and experienced the problem on similar websites with a 'read error' with the unit making a whining noise when accessing the DVD drive.

I'm having problems after reassembly of the DVD drive. I've been following the excellent advice from DigaDo on post 6.

Once put back together then when the unit is switched on the drive immediately comes out and then the front LCD screen goes totally blank. I then power up using the standby button, it says "hello" and then the drive keeps going in and out on its own accord. It then shows a number '1' on the LCD screen and then says 'setup'.

Does the piece highlighted in the picture affect the unit knowing when the unit is open and shut? It just seems to be very loose this piece and I'm not exactly sure what its purpose is.

Please can someone help??
LL
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post #46 of 79
2/9/11 at 9:37am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sculder View Post
I have the Panasonic DMR-EZ47V and experienced the problem on similar websites with a 'read error' with the unit making a whining noise when accessing the DVD drive.

I'm having problems after reassembly of the DVD drive. I've been following the excellent advice from DigaDo on post 6.

Once put back together then when the unit is switched on the drive immediately comes out and then the front LCD screen goes totally blank. I then power up using the standby button, it says "hello" and then the drive keeps going in and out on its own accord. It then shows a number '1' on the LCD screen and then says 'setup'.

Does the piece highlighted in the picture affect the unit knowing when the unit is open and shut? It just seems to be very loose this piece and I'm not exactly sure what its purpose is.

Please can someone help??
In the second post in this thread (and in other threads) I've identified this part as the roller/slider. When this part is correctly positioned to the far left at the rear of the disc tray, see the DVD Drives in the photo, the roller/slider aligns with the guide rail on the underside of the DVD Drive lid, as seen at the upper left.

As the DVD Drive mechanism and related assemblies will not function properly unless the roller/slider is positioned to the left before refitting the DVD Drive lid to the case, I suggest removing the DVD Drive lid and positioning the roller/slider to the left, refit the DVD Drive lid and check for proper functioning.

With incorrect reassembly there is a possibility that DVD Drive mechanisms have become misaligned. In that event additional remedial measures will be found in this post and the post following it:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...6#post15745506
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post #47 of 79
2/21/11 at 3:27am
Thanks DigaDo for your advice. I have followed all your procedures but am still having problems.

The drive bay appears to be aligned properly and I have set the roller/slider to the left. The unit when powered up ejects the disc tray and then powers down on its own accord. You can then power up again using the power button but the drive then opens and closes on its own accord.

Is it possible to purchase a replacement drive unit for this machine?
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post #48 of 79
2/21/11 at 9:49am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sculder View Post

Thanks DigaDo for your advice. I have followed all your procedures but am still having problems.

The drive bay appears to be aligned properly and I have set the roller/slider to the left. The unit when powered up ejects the disc tray and then powers down on its own accord. You can then power up again using the power button but the drive then opens and closes on its own accord.

Is it possible to purchase a replacement drive unit for this machine?

If the DVD Drive is correctly assembled the problem might be with a ribbon cable or ribbon cable contact, a problematic DVD Drive controller (mounted on the underside of the DVD Drive) or a problematic Digital PCB.

The DMR-EZ47 is a 2007 model that is plauged with bugs and design flaws. As such it would not be cost-effective to experiment by purchasing expensive replacement parts through Panasonic Parts. One might call Panasonic Customer Service for a quote to exchange a DMR-EZ47 for another EZ47 or other EZ series model (also plagued with bugs and design flaws); or the flat-rate repair most recently quoted at $260.

Around eight months ago I purchased (through Craig's List) a little-used DMR-EZ47. See my reports describing that $25 purchase, beginning here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...1#post18836371

The photos attached to those three posts illustrate the DVD Drive and other parts mentioned above.

Your money is better spent for the outstanding Magnavox 513 or 515 HDD/DVD recorders offered by walmart.com at bargain prices of $199 or $248, respectively:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Magnavox-M...order/14291489

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Magnavox-M...Tuner/15080509

The first post in Wajo's sticky thread is the gateway to a wealth of information concerning those outstanding products:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...6#post12244086

Among my ten HDD/DVD recorders there are two Panasonic models, two Philips models and six Magnavox models, including one recently purchased 515.
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post #49 of 79
6/10/11 at 2:04pm
Panasonic DVD DMR ES16 (2007 on back of case), hard drive successfully put back in 20 min following instructions and diagrams I found after spending 3 days trying to put roller slider assembly back. Thank you DigaDo. I am ecstatic as I have never opened anything electrical before. My most complicated experience was attaching the cable to the tv to the vcr with an a/b splitter and hooking up the atari, nintendo and sega so everything worked. I received this last year with no instructions or manual and figured out use by myself. I now know I kept recorder improperly in glass closed cabinet. I had thought my 5 year old grandson had pushed some buttons and have tried desparately to fix it but I still get 'no read' message' and the display shows a disc in the system wether there is one in there or not. I don't think I'll be doing any other taking apart of this because parts are expensive and my knowledge is nil. Was it dangerous that I opened the hard drive immediately after unplugging the unit? Is there really radiation there and was it possible that I could have been electrocuted? I have some Atari systems that I wouldn't mind trying to fix but don't know how complicated it would be. I wouldn't want to hurt the little guy. Sure wish they had offered more choices than home economics when I was in school. Thank heavens for my faithful Sony VCR which I am still using. Again, thank you. I really spent 3 unbearable days beforeI found this avs forum.
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post #50 of 79
6/10/11 at 2:17pm
I'd wait a minute or two after unplugging before touching things but after that you should be good to go.
I assume you mean DVD drive and not HDD since the Canadian ES-16(basically a ES-15) is hdd less glad you got everything back together, Digado's photos really help.
BTW I'd never take the lid off a HDD, my guess it would never work again
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post #51 of 79
7/12/11 at 12:06pm
I didn't know where exactly to place this, but this thread seemed best.

I found a Panasonic service manual for the DVD drives of models DMR-E55, DMR-E65, DMR-E75v, DMR-E85H, and DMR-E95H. It covers DVD drives VXY1974, VXY1855, VXY1813, and VXY1814.

It contains disassembly instructions, cleaning, and laser replacement.

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post #52 of 79
7/12/11 at 12:24pm
Nice find! thanks tomwil
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post #53 of 79
7/13/11 at 4:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tomwil View Post

I didn't know where exactly to place this, but this thread seemed best.

I found a Panasonic service manual for the DVD drives of models DMR-E55, DMR-E65, DMR-E75v, DMR-E85H, and DMR-E95H. It covers DVD drives VXY1974, VXY1855, VXY1813, and VXY1814.

It contains disassembly instructions, cleaning, and laser replacement.

cool! I have an E55 that I didn't know what to do with -- it needs something... now, maybe, I'll figure out what! Thanks!
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post #54 of 79
8/26/11 at 11:59am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by tomwil View Post

I didn't know where exactly to place this, but this thread seemed best.

I found a Panasonic service manual for the DVD drives of models DMR-E55, DMR-E65, DMR-E75v, DMR-E85H, and DMR-E95H. It covers DVD drives VXY1974, VXY1855, VXY1813, and VXY1814.

It contains disassembly instructions, cleaning, and laser replacement.


That is certainly a useful 2004 model year DVD Drive reference. Do you have access to more recent DVD Drive Service Manuals?

Here are two photos of the VXY1814 DVD Drive in the DMR-E85H HDD/DVD Recorder:
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post #55 of 79
8/26/11 at 3:30pm
The link for that manual does not work for me. Is it still active and my firewall is blocking it, or is the link really broken?
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post #56 of 79
8/26/11 at 8:57pm
The link works fine for me.
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post #57 of 79
8/29/11 at 12:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnla View Post

The link works fine for me.

Thanks, it must be the firewall.
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post #58 of 79
12/6/11 at 10:00pm
Thanks DigaDo. Your post on cleaning the lens, spindle, and roller, without taking the machine apart, worked like a charm, and saved me a bunch of money.
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post #59 of 79
1/10/12 at 3:13pm
I have the clunk-can't read DVD problem with my DMR-EH75VS.

The DMR-EZ48VK, available from Panasonic (Amazon) for about $260, has VHS + DVD recorder but no HDD. Wonder if cannabalizing the DVD recorder from this new unit, and trying an install into an old DMR-EH75VS, might work. Anyone with Panasonic repair experience know whether the DVD Recorder swap in would fit / work?
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post #60 of 79
1/10/12 at 4:25pm
DVD drives are different for HDD vs nonHDD units as well mostly model year specific. Your best bet would be to PM AVS member MICKINCT and inquire about getting your EH-75v drive repaired.
About the only drive that would be compatible with your EH-75v would be a '06 EH-55(no VHS) which is about as rare as your EH-55.
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