skrol
02-16-2009, 12:23 PM
My Denon DVD-2910 was being very picky about what disks it would play and which it wouldn't. This was mainly a problem for Redbook CD. Then the other day I tried to use it as a DVD player as my regular one was on the fritz and it would not read the DVD. Needless to say I was PO'd.
I search the internet and found that this seems to be a common problem for many Denon units. Some seem to be fixed with firmware updates. Apparently there are no updates for mine (according to the Denon support). The only other fix that I saw was to send it to Denon service and have them replace the transport mechanism. Without a warranty this is likely not cost effective. I figured that I'd sell the thing or fix it myself. bla...bla...bla...
I tried cleaning the unit with one of those DVD player cleaning disks. No joy! Opened the cover and used some compressed air to dust things off. Again, no joy.
DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME KIDS, I AM A SELF PROCLAIMED PROFESSIONAL!
As a last ditch effort I thought I'd inspect the optic and mechanically clean if necessary. The transport mechanism has a metal cover with DENON stamped on top and is attached with 2 screws and a piece of vibration deadening tape. I removed the transport cover to expose the optic. There was a little dust and cat hair (damn cats!) under the cover but the optic looked ok. I then used a silk lens cleaning cloth for camera lenses, loosely balled part of it and lightly scrubbed the optic, prayed that I didn't damage it, put it all back together and hooked it up to my receiver, prayed some more.
Deep breath.........Power On , insert known problem disk, .... Praise the Lord! it now plays anything that I throw at it.
I reluctantly share my experience but if you try this, it is at your own risk as it is easy to damage the optic and pickup unit. There are certain common sense safety steps omitted (ie. unplug the unit from wall power), not to mention ESD risk. From my NASA parts analysis experience, laser diodes are very ESD sensitive.
Stan
I search the internet and found that this seems to be a common problem for many Denon units. Some seem to be fixed with firmware updates. Apparently there are no updates for mine (according to the Denon support). The only other fix that I saw was to send it to Denon service and have them replace the transport mechanism. Without a warranty this is likely not cost effective. I figured that I'd sell the thing or fix it myself. bla...bla...bla...
I tried cleaning the unit with one of those DVD player cleaning disks. No joy! Opened the cover and used some compressed air to dust things off. Again, no joy.
DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME KIDS, I AM A SELF PROCLAIMED PROFESSIONAL!
As a last ditch effort I thought I'd inspect the optic and mechanically clean if necessary. The transport mechanism has a metal cover with DENON stamped on top and is attached with 2 screws and a piece of vibration deadening tape. I removed the transport cover to expose the optic. There was a little dust and cat hair (damn cats!) under the cover but the optic looked ok. I then used a silk lens cleaning cloth for camera lenses, loosely balled part of it and lightly scrubbed the optic, prayed that I didn't damage it, put it all back together and hooked it up to my receiver, prayed some more.
Deep breath.........Power On , insert known problem disk, .... Praise the Lord! it now plays anything that I throw at it.
I reluctantly share my experience but if you try this, it is at your own risk as it is easy to damage the optic and pickup unit. There are certain common sense safety steps omitted (ie. unplug the unit from wall power), not to mention ESD risk. From my NASA parts analysis experience, laser diodes are very ESD sensitive.
Stan