DVD player - Toshiba SD-1800 problems

[penkosey]

Hi,

My DVD player is a Toshiba SD-1800. Lately it has been making grinding noises and often refuses to read discs. When it does play movies, there is a very noticeable mechanical sound coming from inside it.

I know the answer is probably "you need a new DVD player" and "it's not worth fixing; it'd be the same price to just buy a new one"....

I guess what I'm confused about is that I hardly ever use it. Yes, it's not a new player, but it's only been lightly used since it was purchased brand new. I hardly ever have time to watch TV/movies. It's not like I've used the hell out of it or anything.

I'm not all that mechanically inclined, but if this is a common thing and there's something I can tweak inside it, I would be willing to try that. Or just tell me if I should probably just chunk it in the trash.

Not looking forward to buying a new player, and just wondered if there were any "common" solutions to this difficulty my player has recently developed.

Thanks!

:thmbsp:

[riverrat]

Some other threads here go into detail about the Toshiba SD-3950, 3980, 3990 and 4000 DVD/CD players. All are super cheaply made, basically disposable models but with amazingly good CD playback. I recall seeing a post that some of the 3990s had "sudden infant death syndrome" and recommended leaving new ones on continuously for awhile so if it had that problem, it would crop up while the unit was still under warranty.

I also recall discussion that there wasn't even a service manual for these units because warranty issues were dealt with by simply replacing the entire player- they are apparently so cheaply made that they aren't even worth repairing.

Not sure where your player falls in their line or model evolution, but yes I would suggest that you just replace it unless it is still under warranty or high in their model line. The disposable nature of these kind of goes against my personal philosophy, but I broke down and bought a SD-3990 for $42 shipped that I use in my office system for CD playback. It beats an older Denon in sound quality even though the Denon is built about 50 times better. So far, it is still working.

Not sure what your budget or needs are vis a vis CD and DVD playback, but there are currently a lot of pretty high end DVD players being sold off by people upgrading to some new higher DVD standard. Some of these players also have excellent audio circuits.

[penkosey]

That's funny; I had also heard that this particular model, for some reason, has excellent CD playback.

Too bad it appears to be so cheaply made/disposable.

[Cosmic]

Got a 4900 here. It was about $80 when I bought it, but it has been a champ in playback. The one sign of age is that the tray mechanism needs a nudge both ways now, but it still goes otherwise. I'd say just get rid of it, unless you know someone willing to do you a favor by going into it.
I don't like the idea of throwing it either, but the money is working against any other solution.


C.

[dgwojo]

Toshiba uses crappy single bushing spindle motors, there's no known replacements for them, you have to buy the whole transport assembly for over $140, not worth it, I find donor units on that auction site and harvest the critical organs (motor, power supply). Playing the unit while it's stressing will trash the push-pull power supply and really make it not worth fixing. Some claim the motors can be cleaned and lubed but that remains to be proven, good luck, Dave.

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k98/dgwojo/Toshiba_SD-5700_Motor01-1.jpg

[jdrum1]

I'm on my third 4000 (all replaced under warranty). Current one will freeze from time to time.

Sounds decent, but wow, the build quality is poor.

Guess thats what I get for the $$.

[Excumbrian]

Hi,

My DVD player is a Toshiba SD-1800. Lately it has been making grinding noises and often refuses to read discs. When it does play movies, there is a very noticeable mechanical sound coming from inside it.

I know the answer is probably "you need a new DVD player" and "it's not worth fixing; it'd be the same price to just buy a new one"....

I guess what I'm confused about is that I hardly ever use it. Yes, it's not a new player, but it's only been lightly used since it was purchased brand new. I hardly ever have time to watch TV/movies. It's not like I've used the hell out of it or anything.

I'm not all that mechanically inclined, but if this is a common thing and there's something I can tweak inside it, I would be willing to try that. Or just tell me if I should probably just chunk it in the trash.

Not looking forward to buying a new player, and just wondered if there were any "common" solutions to this difficulty my player has recently developed.

Thanks!

:thmbsp:

My 5 disc Toshiba 3000 series DVD player went down with the same problem recently. I gave it away, and spent a whopping $25 on a SD-2800 with a 45 day warranty from a reputable local used hi-fi store. Once again, the audio playback quality is excellent and I really think this is the way to go. :music: