So, Toshiba MD9DP1 9" tv/dvd. I know, I know, but let's move on...
All TV functions OK, only a few hours on the set total time.
On cold start, the DVD will read the disc properly, and can select any
title or chapter and start playing normally. After 15-20 min of normal
play, the picture starts showing digital artifacts. A couple minutes
into this, the picture starts freezing. Momentarily at first,
progressing to long 10 min+ freezes with a few seconds of normal play
interspersed.
If I eject the disc at this point, and reload, the title screen
displays, and can select between titles (highlight). On select, the
system freezes. Period. If I set it to play first title on load, the
first title will start, but again begins with the artifacts and freezes.
Unplug set for a while, and back to the beginning. Does this with any
multi title disc. I have played these discs in my other DVD players, and
they function normally.
Opinions?
I have a parts unit I can cannibalize the DVD module from, but would
like some feedback first.
I should note; I got this unit off Ebay for $10. Brand new in box. The
CRT was gassed and arcing badly, sending mucho HV down the neck harness.
I got the 'Parts' unit cheap (case was all beat up) , and swapped the
CRT from it. I was amazed the unit fired up and worked at all with all
that HV zapping around, But it did.
JR

--
--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth

JR North wrote:
So, Toshiba MD9DP1 9" tv/dvd. I know, I know, but let's move on...
All TV functions OK, only a few hours on the set total time.
On cold start, the DVD will read the disc properly, and can select any
title or chapter and start playing normally. After 15-20 min of normal
play, the picture starts showing digital artifacts. A couple minutes
into this, the picture starts freezing. Momentarily at first,
progressing to long 10 min+ freezes with a few seconds of normal play
interspersed.
If I eject the disc at this point, and reload, the title screen
displays, and can select between titles (highlight). On select, the
system freezes. Period. If I set it to play first title on load, the
first title will start, but again begins with the artifacts and freezes.
Unplug set for a while, and back to the beginning. Does this with any
multi title disc. I have played these discs in my other DVD players, and
they function normally.
Opinions?
I have a parts unit I can cannibalize the DVD module from, but would
like some feedback first.
I should note; I got this unit off Ebay for $10. Brand new in box. The
CRT was gassed and arcing badly, sending mucho HV down the neck harness.
I got the 'Parts' unit cheap (case was all beat up) , and swapped the
CRT from it. I was amazed the unit fired up and worked at all with all
that HV zapping around, But it did.
JR

This may be related to the problem many cheap DVD recorders have:
excessive heat buildup due to...well, just plain sloppy engineering.
Try powering up the system with a hair dryer (on the 'no heat' setting)
blowing across the most obvious heat producing parts. If no problems
occur, then switch to a low heat setting.

If the problems occur and are identical, then the solution is obvious.
Engineer a cooling solution with a small heatsink fan, and/or heatsink
the components (identified with cooling spray or just calibrated
fingertip) which get the hottest.

jak

"jakdedert" wrote in message
.. .
JR North wrote:
So, Toshiba MD9DP1 9" tv/dvd. I know, I know, but let's move on...
All TV functions OK, only a few hours on the set total time.
On cold start, the DVD will read the disc properly, and can select any
title or chapter and start playing normally. After 15-20 min of normal
play, the picture starts showing digital artifacts. A couple minutes into
this, the picture starts freezing. Momentarily at first, progressing to
long 10 min+ freezes with a few seconds of normal play interspersed.
If I eject the disc at this point, and reload, the title screen displays,
and can select between titles (highlight). On select, the system freezes.
Period. If I set it to play first title on load, the first title will
start, but again begins with the artifacts and freezes.
Unplug set for a while, and back to the beginning. Does this with any
multi title disc. I have played these discs in my other DVD players, and
they function normally.
Opinions?
I have a parts unit I can cannibalize the DVD module from, but would like
some feedback first.
I should note; I got this unit off Ebay for $10. Brand new in box. The
CRT was gassed and arcing badly, sending mucho HV down the neck harness.
I got the 'Parts' unit cheap (case was all beat up) , and swapped the CRT
from it. I was amazed the unit fired up and worked at all with all that
HV zapping around, But it did.
JR

This may be related to the problem many cheap DVD recorders have:
excessive heat buildup due to...well, just plain sloppy engineering. Try
powering up the system with a hair dryer (on the 'no heat' setting)
blowing across the most obvious heat producing parts. If no problems
occur, then switch to a low heat setting.

If the problems occur and are identical, then the solution is obvious.
Engineer a cooling solution with a small heatsink fan, and/or heatsink the
components (identified with cooling spray or just calibrated fingertip)
which get the hottest.

jak


First question is always 'does it play CDs normally ?'

Arfa

JR North wrote:
So, Toshiba MD9DP1 9" tv/dvd. I know, I know, but let's move on...
All TV functions OK, only a few hours on the set total time.
On cold start, the DVD will read the disc properly, and can select any
title or chapter and start playing normally. After 15-20 min of normal
play, the picture starts showing digital artifacts. A couple minutes
into this, the picture starts freezing. Momentarily at first,
progressing to long 10 min+ freezes with a few seconds of normal play
interspersed.
If I eject the disc at this point, and reload, the title screen
displays, and can select between titles (highlight). On select, the
system freezes. Period. If I set it to play first title on load, the
first title will start, but again begins with the artifacts and
freezes. Unplug set for a while, and back to the beginning. Does this
with any multi title disc. I have played these discs in my other DVD
players, and they function normally.
Opinions?
I have a parts unit I can cannibalize the DVD module from, but would
like some feedback first.
I should note; I got this unit off Ebay for $10. Brand new in box. The
CRT was gassed and arcing badly, sending mucho HV down the neck
harness. I got the 'Parts' unit cheap (case was all beat up) , and
swapped the CRT from it. I was amazed the unit fired up and worked at
all with all that HV zapping around, But it did.
JR

Typical of a bad laser pickup.

Mark Z.

Thanks for the input. I played a 1 hr CD (Rock Classics '66 if it
matters) and it played fine. The Toshiba splash screen was displayed the
whole time, so I assume the power dissipation of the unit was similar to
playing a DVD. The track/time dialog worked fine. I then loaded the
multi title disc, and played the first title (Clash of the Titans); a 2
hr long flick. Played fine, no anomalies. I let it shift to the second
title (The Golden Voyage of Sinbad) and it froze 1 minute into the play.
I reloaded the disc and selected the second title; it started OK, then
went into it's thing.
I think this rules out heat as the primary culprit, and also the laser
pickup. It seems the encoding in the second title is somehow just not
exactly right for this DVD unit, although the disc plays fine in other
units. These multi-discs are ones I burned in a Toshiba DVD/R BTW. They
are DVD-R 4X discs.

JR


--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth

"JR North" wrote in message
...
Thanks for the input. I played a 1 hr CD (Rock Classics '66 if it matters)
and it played fine. The Toshiba splash screen was displayed the whole
time, so I assume the power dissipation of the unit was similar to playing
a DVD. The track/time dialog worked fine. I then loaded the multi title
disc, and played the first title (Clash of the Titans); a 2 hr long flick.
Played fine, no anomalies. I let it shift to the second title (The Golden
Voyage of Sinbad) and it froze 1 minute into the play. I reloaded the disc
and selected the second title; it started OK, then went into it's thing.
I think this rules out heat as the primary culprit, and also the laser
pickup. It seems the encoding in the second title is somehow just not
exactly right for this DVD unit, although the disc plays fine in other
units. These multi-discs are ones I burned in a Toshiba DVD/R BTW. They
are DVD-R 4X discs.

JR

OK. The fact that it plays a CD ok, in general rules out mechanical problems
such as sticking sled mech, dirty laser, and generally spindle motor, as any
probs here usually show up even worse on a slower rotating CD. On the other
hand, playing a CD ok, but not a DVD, is usually a sure pointer to the laser
itself. Bear in mind that there are usually two different wavelength lasers
in the same optical block. It is a near infra red for CD, and a shorter
wavelength visible red for DVD. A further pointer is if it struggles with
home burn discs over factory pressed ones, as the reflectivity of home burns
is lower, so any lack of laser performance is further exacerbated by this
type of disc. A final test that you might try, if it seems to read factory
pressed commercial titles ok, is playing a film beyond an hour or so. After
this time, the laser will have reached the edge of the disc, and be working
its way back on layer 2. This layer is harder for the laser to read, as it
is reading through the first layer, which is semi transparent. If you start
getting skips or freezes after this time, or you see the layer change take a
couple of seconds to happen, this is also a good pointer to a worn laser. If
the player can read all disc formats, you might try +R or +RW, or even just
a different brand. The ones that I use come from a local supermarket and are
real cheap 'own brands', but work in just about every player / recorder that
I get in for repair. Just in case, I take it that you have cleaned the
laser's lens anyway ? If the player had not had a lot of use, it's just
possible that the lens may be a little filmy, particularly if it lives with
smokers. I have known such a film to affect the performance on CD and DVD
play differently.

Arfa

--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth

Arfa Daily wrote:
snip
OK. The fact that it plays a CD ok, in general rules out mechanical problems
such as sticking sled mech, dirty laser, and generally spindle motor, as any
probs here usually show up even worse on a slower rotating CD. On the other
hand, playing a CD ok, but not a DVD, is usually a sure pointer to the laser
itself. Bear in mind that there are usually two different wavelength lasers
in the same optical block. It is a near infra red for CD, and a shorter
wavelength visible red for DVD. A further pointer is if it struggles with
home burn discs over factory pressed ones, as the reflectivity of home burns
is lower, so any lack of laser performance is further exacerbated by this
type of disc. A final test that you might try, if it seems to read factory
pressed commercial titles ok, is playing a film beyond an hour or so. After
this time, the laser will have reached the edge of the disc, and be working
its way back on layer 2. This layer is harder for the laser to read, as it
is reading through the first layer, which is semi transparent. If you start
getting skips or freezes after this time, or you see the layer change take a
couple of seconds to happen, this is also a good pointer to a worn laser. If
the player can read all disc formats, you might try +R or +RW, or even just
a different brand. The ones that I use come from a local supermarket and are
real cheap 'own brands', but work in just about every player / recorder that
I get in for repair. Just in case, I take it that you have cleaned the
laser's lens anyway ? If the player had not had a lot of use, it's just
possible that the lens may be a little filmy, particularly if it lives with
smokers. I have known such a film to affect the performance on CD and DVD
play differently.

One thing to add to your otherwise informative post (I learned a couple
of things there, myself), is that most early (otherwise excellent) DVD
players did not--and never made any claim to be able to--read burned
CDs. That capability only got common a few years after DVD players
became a little more common. Most would/will play burned DVDs, however.

jak

Arfa
--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth

"jakdedert" wrote in message
...
Arfa Daily wrote:
snip
OK. The fact that it plays a CD ok, in general rules out mechanical
problems such as sticking sled mech, dirty laser, and generally spindle
motor, as any probs here usually show up even worse on a slower rotating
CD. On the other hand, playing a CD ok, but not a DVD, is usually a sure
pointer to the laser itself. Bear in mind that there are usually two
different wavelength lasers in the same optical block. It is a near infra
red for CD, and a shorter wavelength visible red for DVD. A further
pointer is if it struggles with home burn discs over factory pressed
ones, as the reflectivity of home burns is lower, so any lack of laser
performance is further exacerbated by this type of disc. A final test
that you might try, if it seems to read factory pressed commercial titles
ok, is playing a film beyond an hour or so. After this time, the laser
will have reached the edge of the disc, and be working its way back on
layer 2. This layer is harder for the laser to read, as it is reading
through the first layer, which is semi transparent. If you start getting
skips or freezes after this time, or you see the layer change take a
couple of seconds to happen, this is also a good pointer to a worn laser.
If the player can read all disc formats, you might try +R or +RW, or even
just a different brand. The ones that I use come from a local supermarket
and are real cheap 'own brands', but work in just about every player /
recorder that I get in for repair. Just in case, I take it that you have
cleaned the laser's lens anyway ? If the player had not had a lot of use,
it's just possible that the lens may be a little filmy, particularly if
it lives with smokers. I have known such a film to affect the performance
on CD and DVD play differently.

One thing to add to your otherwise informative post (I learned a couple of
things there, myself), is that most early (otherwise excellent) DVD
players did not--and never made any claim to be able to--read burned CDs.
That capability only got common a few years after DVD players became a
little more common. Most would/will play burned DVDs, however.

jak


Valid point Jak, and one well worth adding

Arfa

Arfa Daily wrote:
"jakdedert" wrote in message
...
Arfa Daily wrote:
snip
OK. The fact that it plays a CD ok, in general rules out mechanical
problems such as sticking sled mech, dirty laser, and generally
spindle motor, as any probs here usually show up even worse on a
slower rotating CD. On the other hand, playing a CD ok, but not a
DVD, is usually a sure pointer to the laser itself. Bear in mind
that there are usually two different wavelength lasers in the same
optical block. It is a near infra red for CD, and a shorter
wavelength visible red for DVD. A further pointer is if it
struggles with home burn discs over factory pressed ones, as the
reflectivity of home burns is lower, so any lack of laser
performance is further exacerbated by this type of disc. A final
test that you might try, if it seems to read factory pressed
commercial titles ok, is playing a film beyond an hour or so. After
this time, the laser will have reached the edge of the disc, and be
working its way back on layer 2. This layer is harder for the laser
to read, as it is reading through the first layer, which is semi
transparent. If you start getting skips or freezes after this time,
or you see the layer change take a couple of seconds to happen,
this is also a good pointer to a worn laser. If the player can read
all disc formats, you might try +R or +RW, or even just a different
brand. The ones that I use come from a local supermarket and are
real cheap 'own brands', but work in just about every player /
recorder that I get in for repair. Just in case, I take it that you
have cleaned the laser's lens anyway ? If the player had not had a
lot of use, it's just possible that the lens may be a little filmy,
particularly if it lives with smokers. I have known such a film to
affect the performance on CD and DVD play differently.
One thing to add to your otherwise informative post (I learned a
couple of things there, myself), is that most early (otherwise
excellent) DVD players did not--and never made any claim to be able
to--read burned CDs. That capability only got common a few years
after DVD players became a little more common. Most would/will play
burned DVDs, however. jak


Valid point Jak, and one well worth adding

Arfa

Another point is that most all DVD players made the past several years
actually have two laser diodes, one for CD and another for DVD. A red-laser
only type cannot read ordinary CD-R's, since the dyes used are essentially
invisible to that particular IR wavelength. This is why early Sony DVD
players (360, 560, etc)will play actually CD-RW but not CD-R.
It is entirely possible, even likely that it is still the laser pickup bad
on this Toshiba. They are notorious for this in fact - crappy laser pickups
and bad spindle motors.

Mark Z.