Grumping about my audiovisual setup

[carbonel]

1. I just took my DVD player/recorder back to the repair place for the third time. The first time was because the hard drive died. Okay, it shouldn't have, since it wasn't that old, but these things happen. Just over $200 later, it was fixed. Except that it kept resetting itself (turning itself off, zeroing the clock) every 12 hours or so. So I took it back again, and they did a firmware update, and pronounced it fixed. Except that the next morning, I was greeted by the same blinky screen. This time, I asked them to keep it plugged in for 24 hours after they think it's fixed, to make sure.
   
   
2. Okay, so I couldn't watch DVDs on the usual DVD player. I've got a backup, my Apex 600A that I bought several years ago when it was the first hackable region-free machine around. It stuttered a bit when I tried to watch Topsy-Turvy the last time the other machine was in the shop, but maybe that was just the disk. It was fine then with the disk I watched instead. Except that this time it wasn't. It made soft grinding noises, and refused to play any disk for more than a couple of seconds.
   
   
3. Okay, I guess I can't watch DVDs. But I still had my VCR, and a complete set of Farscape episodes except for the six or so I'd already watched. But the VCR, being a secondary machine, was wired through the DVD recorder, which means that it won't work without some rewiring. I tried several things that should have worked, and none did. I have a TiVo, a DVD recorder (in the shop), a DVD player (nonfunctional), a cassette player, a turntable, and a CD player. With the help of a video switcher box and Greg Cotton's magic touch, all of these worked. But after the DVD recorder was removed from the equation, I had a tangle of spaghetti wire behind the shelves, and had to figure this out for myself. Eventually I gave up on an optimal solution, and wired the VCR directly into the switcher box. This will no doubt cause problems when I get the DVD recorder back, but in the meantime I can at least watch videotapes.

I guess I need to buy a new DVD player, though. I wonder if I can find minnehahaK's post from a couple of weeks ago about DVD players -- there were a bunch of useful recommendations there.

Comments

[ckd]

this one?

We bought a Philips similar to the one laurel mentioned for my sister-in-law.

[carbonel]

Yes, that's the one, thanks. I just posted a query to laurel there, but the one she recommends looks like the one to go with.

[kalmn.livejournal.com]

hm. you want one of those fancy region-free ones, yes?

(know anyone who wants a nice sony stuck firmly in the us one?)

[(Anonymous)]

I appreciate the offer, but it should go to someone who needs it. Right now I'm playerless, but I've ordered a new region-free one and it should arrive next week. And my DVD recorder should be fixed sometime soon, and I be back to being a two-DVD-player household.

[carbonel]

Uh, that was me. Didn't realize I'd been logged out.