Official Panasonic DMP-BD60/80 Owners Thread - Page 274

Sounds like the mechanical drive is going out. The mechanical drives in computers are the same and we see those going out all the time, even Blu-Ray, even new ones.

 

I don't have that Point Blank disc. I suppose for $6 I could order one and test it for you on my BD-60, but I'm not sure that would prove anything 100% anyway. Looks like I can also rent from BlockBuster. If an older disc like that doesn't play, it's not likely a "new protection" problem that a firmware update would fix.

 

See my post above about cleaning. Luckily, BD players are under $150 these days so they have pretty much turned into "expendable crew-members". It seems everything these days is built to barely work ... not to last a long time. They know tech advances and machines will get obsolete that way eventually anyway. So, build cheap, sell more that way, sell another in 3-5 years with newer features. I don't agree, but that is the "disposable economy" world we live in.

Thank you for the reply, Tesla1856 (great user name BTW)

The film is not “old.”

Point Blank

À bout portant
Magnolia Pictures | 2010
release date 12-6-2011
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1545759/?ref_=sr_1

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Point-Blank-Blu-ray/29900/

If my mechanical drive is going out, why can I play every other BD? I have played several since this issue arose.

My 1st thought was a factory defect in the disc. I still haven’t ruled that out entirely. Just as some players can deal with scratches better than other players, some may be able to play despite an error in the disc, I will receive my replacement copy soon & will post the results. SInce it is not a popular BD & I ordered the replacement from BBY w/in a week of the last copy, if there was a defective batch, I may have the same problem vs. getting a copy from another store.

I searched for spindle cleaning & found this:

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1055071/panasonic-2006-and-newer-dvd-drive-hub-spindle-cleaning-and-reassembly-complications

I believe I did hear a grinding noise when the player was attempting to load/read the disc. But, why do all my other discs play just fine?

By old he meant movie came out before the last firmware update. Updates needed come out before a release that will have problems or very soon after the movie is released. An update since Dec 2011 would handle that movie if needed. /Dan

OK, I understand, ideally If the manufacturer is on top of everything than the timing between a new copy protection on a new release is quickly followed by a FW fix. When Iron Man 3 comes out on BD if there are issues with copy protection or anything affecting playability, customers will scream from street date in large numbers & all player manufacturers will issue FW updates.

Point Blank was not a big box office film & certainly not a big seller on BD, I’m sure Panasonic never heard of it till my email which they have so far ignored. A few months between release of the BD & the last FW update is not that long if they did not know of an issue.

I still have not heard of a reasonable explanation for why all other BDs play just fine & only this one will not load? Dirty spindle, bad laser, bad mechanical drive explanations don’t seem correct as that should cause problems with ANY disc.

I hope to have the replacement BD today or Monday & will report whether it plays or not.

If it also doesn’t play I may buy an Oppo BDP 103. $$$$ but, rave reviews especially for customer service & 2 yrs vs 1 yr warranty. Plus an extra year when I use VISA to purchase. I realize that would not have helped if I have problems at 4 years as I may have now, but it shows manufacturer confidence in the Oppo build quality.

If my BD-60 ever stops working, I'm going to get a Sony BDP-590 ... (or whatever Sony mid-range unit has replaced it by then).

 

Cheap, Supports Netflix and Amazon, Supports AC3/DTS from Steaming, Sony has ties to Hollywood Studios (protections and updates). 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-BDP-S590-Blu-ray-Player-Wi-Fi/dp/B006U1YUZE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367701212&sr=8-1&keywords=sony+bdp+590

 

Edit: Looks like Sony BDP-S5100 is this years model with even more features for less money.

 

But to be clear ... I bought my BD-60 for less the $100 3 years ago. It still plays Blu-Ray disks perfectly for me. I concider it a good buy.

Edited by Tesla1856 - 5/4/13 at 2:19pm

Tesla1856,

I bet your BD60 will fail to play “Point Blank” (an excellent film, BTW)

I rec’d replacement from BBY. Same UPC. Still will not play!
BD player display says reading & disc icon flashes & then stop & TV screen error message: “Cannot read please ck disc”


Re Sony BD players, I will continue to try to avoid Sony. Sony used to be my 1st choice brand, had 3 or more expensive products. Then I had customer service incompetence, lies on 2 different products. DVD player where they denied there was an issue (“We never heard of that”) & I later discovered many people posting online about a design flaw causing my exact problem. Very expensive camcorder (2002) with editing software that failed to load & a zoom problem where I sent it in & they “repaired” only to have the problem remain unfixed! I found a software fix online --(it WAS a Sony issue) & I just left the zoom issue unfixed.

My lower price range product I would replace the Panasonic is Samsung which I also have on TV #2. Odd, but I have the Panasonic on a Samsung TV and the newer Samsung on an older Sharp TV. Had to do with the order bought and that the Samsung is wireless and in the same toom as router while cables go to my main TV position. /Dan