KYRocker

I have the Philips DV910VHS DVD/VCR Combo. I bought it a little over a year ago and it worked great. Until a couple months ago. When it quit playing dvds. At first the dvd would play, But there was no sound. So I contacted philips about it. And they said to clean the dvd laser with a laser disc cleaner. So I did. Now the picture only plays for a few seconds then it frezzes like it's on pause. But the display counter keeps counting like it's playing. And there is still no sound. But it will play an audio cd fine.

So I contacted Philips and told them what had happened. They said the problem I am having is not normal and it appears thats the problem is internal. And they said since my warranty had ran out. There was nothing they could do. But they did give me the website address to a site were I could buy refurbished philips products. Since there new ones don't seem to work very well. I believe I'll pass on a refurbished one.

But before I go buy a new one I thought I would post my problem here and see if anyone has any idea what the problem could be. I took it apart and checked all the wires just to make sure nothing had came loose. I didn't see anything wrong. But then again I'm don't no much about dvd players. Anyway now the dvd player will play some of my disc without freezing but it still has no sound.
I tried reseting the dvd player setting to default. But that din't help. But one thing I did notice when I did this it showed info about the dvd player. Which was.

Player Version: FMODEL-Build P3.16ER2
Driver Version: 2.0,Build 341-configurable
Drive Type: Unknown-Type 5
Memory Config: SMI-8192 MB SDRAM,EMI-0 MB
Region Code: 01

Does anyone no if it is normal for the Drive Type: to show Unkown-Type 5? I would think it would show something besides Unknown-Type5. Or maybe that's what it should show. I don't no enough about them to really say.

I would appreciate any help anyone could give me.

Brian Shannon

I hate to be the bearer of this news but this appears to be a typical poorly and cheaply made unit.

A web search turned this up http://www.bizrate.com/marketplace/p...--6598365.html

Suprisingly with audio/video equipment you often get exactly what you pay for.

As far as the problem there are seperate pickups for a cd and a dvd. It sounds like the dvd one has/is failing.

KYRocker

Thanks. I have done a few customer review searches on this unit and have only found very bad reviews about the product and the way philips handles the issues. Unfortunately I did not have a pc or the internet when I bought this unit. Or I would have not bought it. The only reason I bought it was because I have a philips 3 disc changer cd player and a philips dual deck cd recorder that I have had for a few years now. That I have not had any problems with.
Maybe it's luck that I have not had any problems with them yet. Or maybe philips just can't make a working dvd player. Either way I will not buy another Philips DVD player.

Anyway I plan on buying a new one. I found 2 different ones at Wal-Mart I'm thinking about buying. One for $70.00. It's the RCA DRC212N DVD Player. And the other is the RCA RTD130 surround sound home theater system. For $199.99. I have did a search on the DRC212N and there were only a couple bad reviews I could find. But way more good reviews. I could not find any reviews on the RTD130. Has anyone heard anything bad about this one?
I would rather have the rtd130 home theater system. But if I can't find any info about from people that have actually bought it. I will probally just go with the drc212n.

Thanks again. I just wanted to be sure it was crap. Before I bought a new one. Money is a little tight right now.

succubiss

just wondering, if you are using the RCA outs and they are dead, perhaps try using the digital/optical outs or vice versa...

KYRocker

No. I have been using the rf coxial cable. But I have also tried the RCA outs. But get the same result.

cajun_junky

When you decide on a couple of different models you should check out the following LINK

I was in your same situation last week and needed a new DVD player. I went with the Pioneer 563A at Circuit City due to some great reviews at Home Theater Spot. It was $130ish but I had a gift card which brought it down alot so it was closer to my price range.

In general what I found from numerous reviews was that Panasonic and Toshiba typically got decent reviews. I also believe it is alot of "luck of the draw" with DVD players. For example, I bought the kids an Apex dvd player from Walmart last year and it has worked flawlessly. A coworker of mine bought the same Apex and has had trouble with his.

Good luck!

Frank S

Geez you are a glutten for punishment aren't you! You have a bad experience with a crappy model (the manufacturer is good though) and you decide to change and go with a manufacturer who put out entire lines of crappy products! If you don't want a repeat of your disappointment you would do well to steer clear of any RCA equipment!

Heck for $70 you can get a very nice Philips 727 DVD player that is very well respected and gets loads of positive reviews. It also can convert PAL DVD's to NTSC and is one of the few players that can convert Anamorphic PAL DVD's to NTSC without screwing up the apect ratio.

KYRocker

I agree that Philips puts out some great products. I have a cd recorder and 3 disc changer. Which I have had for a few years that work perfect. I'm just saying that after buying the Philips dv910vhs dvd player, having it quit working properly and basically having Philips say tough luck, Your warranty has ran out, it's your problem now not ours, Searching on the internet and finding out that almost everyone else that bought this same model had similar problems with it and Philips not wanting to do anything about it. I thought maybe it was time to try another brand.

The reason I had thought about buying the RCA model was because I have had other RCA products that have worked great for me. When it comes down to it some good name brand products work great, some don't and some generic brands work great and some are crap. It just depends on how well it was made in the first place. But I believe Philips products are better than RCA. It's was just having my dvd player quit working and Philips not showing and sign of wanting to help. It made me want to try other brands I could afford.

But after searching the internet more I have now decided to buy another Philips DVD player. Instead of the RCA model. I plan to buy the Philips MX3660D DVD Home Theater from www.Overstock.com. For $149.90. It's been refurbished and offers a 2 year extended protection repair/replacement plan. For an additional $25.99. Which I plan to get. So if something quits working right I can have it repaired or replaced.

If Philips had offered a better warranty like the one above than the 90 days warranty my model had. I would have not had second thoughts about buying another Philips DVD player.

Frank S

These days most manufacturers are offering a 90 day labor/1 year parts warranty on their DVD players so you would be in the same boat with most players you would have bought. You can't really fault the manufacturer for not covering a device that is out of warranty. The warranty is clearly stated up front when the consumer buys the equipment so it is at that time the consumer should buy something else if they don't like the warranty terms.

KYRocker

I understand what you're saying about the warranty. A lot of it also has to do with other reiviews I have read about the model. Such as one guy said that his warranty is still good, and when it quit working he called and they said they didn't do repairs on that model but they would replace it and they did, But it also quit working after a few weeks. So he had to call again. Now he's on his 3rd model.

It just seems to me that if you no there is a serious problem with a product you would try to fix it. Rather than sell them and hope most don't have any problems until the warranty has ran out. But I guess when you're in it just to make money. Why would you care what people think about you or your products. I also no philips is not the only company that does this.

It's really just comes down to it happened to me and I can't do anything about it. So why not complain about it for a couple days and get it off my chest. It's not the first time something like this has happened and it want be the last. I like philips products, but I will definitely do a search for reviews on any product I buy from now on. I also no just because a few people have had problems with a product doesn't mean everyone will. With many products it's really just a game of chance and luck that it will work good. Until you can get a newer one.
I only wish I had a pc and the internet to search for reviews about this model before I bought it.

Thanks for your help and listening to me complain.