Philips DVDR-1000 problems

[Andy Cuffe]

I'm working on two Philips DVDR-1000 DVD recorders that have problems.
One will play and record on a DVD+RW, but will not play pressed DVDs,
or DVD-R. The other won't recognize any DVDs. Both play CDs and
CD-RWs fine. I've already tried cleaning. I would think a weak laser
would cause playback of DVD+RWs and recording to stop before pressed
DVDs.
Andy Cuffe
[email protected]

 

[Andy Cuffe]

Are there any service bulletins, or known common problem with this
model? I've been searching the web for information and it seems that
a lot of them had problems reading discs early on, but were fixed
under warranty. Is there a service adjustment, or diagnostics mode?
These recorders don't look like they were used much, so I'm hoping the
optical pickups are still good.
Andy Cuffe
[email protected]

 

[Mark D. Zacharias]

M (very limited) experience with dvd recorders is that the entire mech and
it's circuit board would be replaced if under warranty, otherwise it just
doesn't get fixed, as individual parts aren't sold, only the complete ass'y.
Over 400.00 typically just for the part. Although I'm not a Philips
servicer, this is very consistent with Philips' approach to cd / dvd
service.

Mark Z.

 

[Andy Cuffe]

M (very limited) experience with dvd recorders is that the entire mech and
it's circuit board would be replaced if under warranty, otherwise it just
doesn't get fixed, as individual parts aren't sold, only the complete ass'y.
Over 400.00 typically just for the part. Although I'm not a Philips
servicer, this is very consistent with Philips' approach to cd / dvd
service.

Mark Z.

Replacing the entire optical deck is what I'm trying to avoid. It
would certainly not be worth it on such an old recorder when new ones
cost under $400. The symptoms are strange. I have 4 recorders which
I'm trying to combine into as many good ones as possible. Two will
record on a +RW, but are unable to read the discs most of the time.
Sometimes they will read a +RW, but never a +R, or pressed disc. One
won't read, or write on any DVD and one seems to work fine. By
swapping parts among the 3 with problems I've found that it seems to
be related to the optical pickups. I'm hoping there's some type of
alignment that can be done in the field. One sometimes displays "DB
7FC5F394" in the display after trying to read the disc. The recorders
have clearly not been used much and the optics are spotlessly clean.
I've updated the firmware in all of them.
Andy Cuffe
[email protected]

 

[Andy Cuffe]

After doing some more research, it seems that these symptoms are very
common on Philips DVD recorders, particularly this model. Lots of
people have reported failure of DVD+R playback and recording, followed
by pressed DVDs and finally recording and +RWs. They all said it was
fixed by Philips replacing the entire optical deck under warranty
(sometimes several times), or that Philips gave them a refund, or
replaced with a different model.

I would love to know what's really causing these failures. It can't
be the laser diode itself because it would be driven the hardest while
recording. A failure of the tracking / focusing electronics or optics
would affect CD playback. I suspect either a problem with the photo
diode array, or the plastic lens that sits directly in front of the
photo diode. The rest of the DVD optics is glass and securely glued
in place.

The build quality is excellent, but there's obviously a fatal flaw in
the design of the optical pickup, or one of its components. That's
typical Philips quality for you.
Andy Cuffe
[email protected]