BJ_M
Patron
Joined: 30 Jul 2002
Location: Canada
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Panasonic DVD Players ; The History Behind the Problem
Contents
Introduction
Known Problems
Layer Pause
Chapter Skips
Pixelation
The 'NO DISC' Problem
The 'LOCKED' Problem
Sudare Noise/Venetian Blind Effect
Other Down Conversion Artifacts
Checking Your Firmware
Current Firmware Numbers
Getting Your DVD Player Repaired
Reported Repairs
Panasonic Customer Service and Consumer Affairs
Panasonic Service Centers
Panasonic Customer Care Plan (extended warranty)
Home Theater Forum Owners Survey
Contact Information
Introduction
Panasonic DVD player are some of the most popular DVD players that have been sold. Panasonic has several players on the market right now. The most popular models are the DVD-A120, DVD-A310, DVD-A110. Other models include the DVD-A100, DVD-A105, DVD-K510 and the Divx featured DVD-X410. All of the mentioned players may be affected, but this document will concentrate only on the first three players mentioned.
Some of these players have exhibited problems that have been associated with design flaws by Panasonic. Not all players exhibit these problems. Some exhibit problems less frequently than others. There is no way to know exactly which player is affected and it’s up to each individual owner to determine if there is a problem, and to contact Panasonic if repairs are deemed necessary.
One of the major issues with Panasonic DVD players is the failure of the optical pick up (laser) portion of the player. This is one of the most expensive part in the DVD player and the cost of replacing the part and the labor to do it, cost about as much as a new player. Most of the "hard failures" of Panasonic machines can be attributed to the failure of the optical unit. My data shows that there is no correlation between model number, manufacture date or firmware number and the failure of the optical pick up unit.
One of the concerns is that the optical pick up unit is sensitive to heat. It is important to provide more that adequate ventilation to the DVD player and assure that heat generating components (amplifiers, receivers, etc.) are kept a safe distance from the DVD player.
Other problems, chapter skips and some video artifacts can be attributed to variances in tolerances between the transport mechanism and optical pick up unit. These variances can cause some players to exhibit problems while other players do not. Some of the problems can be eliminated or reduced significantly by upgrading the firmware (ROM) in these players.
From my research, I have concluded that Panasonic is aware of these problems, however, I do not know if they have fixed the manufacturing problems. Reports indicate that in 1998, most repairs consisted of replacing the optical pickup. Near the later part of 1998 and later, the repair approach was to replace the optical pickup or update the firmware or both. The new revision of firmware did not appear in new machines until March 1999. If your machine was manufactured after that date, then you have the new firmware, but there is no guaranty that the optical pick up will not fail.
Panasonic is aware of these problems, but might not have the information readily available to their customer service representatives and service centers. If you want Panasonic to fix it, either for free or under warranty, it is best to be firm, but flexible. Unless its a hard failure, be prepared to foot the bill. Before you decide to pack up you DVD player and ship it off to a Panasonic Service Center, you must decide if your player really does have a problem and whether or not its worth it to get it fixed. Panasonic has a warranty of 90 days parts and labor, 1 year for parts (1 year parts for Canadian owners). If the warranty is expired you may have to pick up the cost yourself. There has been reports that Panasonic has picked up all charges, regardless of warranty, but that is the exception and not the rule.
Known problems:
The following are the most common problems regarding Panasonic DVD players. Again, let me stress that not all Panasonic DVD players exhibit these problems. Your DVD player my not need to be repaired or upgraded.
Layer Pause:
Panasonic players have been reported to pause at the layer change. On some discs it is quite obvious, and on other discs it has been quite seamless. It also seems to be a matter of personal preference and where the manufacturer’s decides where the layer switch occurs. A layer pause seems to be noticeable on all DVD machines, Panasonic included. Some players are better than others. Some times it depends on the disc and that will vary disc to disc, too.
There seems to be a consensus, among all DVD player owners, that a pause is inevitable and is the price we pay for this new technology. In regards to Panasonic, customers have reported that the firmware update seemed to improve the speed at which the layer change occurs, although may not eliminate it in all instances.
Chapter Skips:
Players effected: Mostly Panasonic DVD-A110, and DVD-A310.
Description: The problem occurs on some dual layer (RSDL) disc. At the layer change, the player will skip the next chapter (skips the first chapter on the second layer), and continues on the following chapter. Some people have reported that replacing the optical pickup unit solves this problem, however, most just need the ROM updated, in some cases both were replaced.
Panasonic owners have also reported that their player "locks up" at the layer change.
Not all players and discs will exhibit chapter skipping. A good majority of older players with the original firmware have no problems what so ever. Some of the most common disc that have been reported to skip on Panasonic DVD players are listed below.
Pleasantville Armageddon
The Blues Brothers ; Collector;s Edition The Man In The Iron Mask Chapter 27
A Bug;s Life Mountains of the Moon
The Ten Commandments (2nd disc, chapter 33) The Mask Of Zorro
Godzilla Clear And Present Danger
The Rainmaker Vertigo
Silence of the Lambs The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Great Escape The Dirty Dozen
Animal House CE You;ve Got Mail
Pixelation/Drop Outs:
The loss of data is exhibited by small squares being displayed or lost frames or dropped or broken audio. There can be a wide variety of reasons that this occurs and is not isolated to Panasonic machines. A good majority of pixellation is caused by dirt, dust or scratches on the disc. In some cases the poor mastering or encoding of the disc can cause problems. These "problem discs" are well documented and do not necessarily mean that your player needs upgrading or repairs.
If your player exhibits excessive pixellation on several discs, especially ones that have played flawless before, the optical pickup may be failing. There have been several reports that this problem has not shown up until several weeks to several months after the purchase, and progressively has gotten worse until complete failure of the unit. Below is some of the discs that owners have reported pixellation that was not related to dirty, scratched or other reasonable explanations:
The Saint Hair
Mask of Zorro Armageddon - Criterion
Mountains of the Moon Pleasantville
The English Patient Tomorrow Never Dies - Special Edition
You’ve Got Mail Boogie Nights
Usual Suspects Antz
The ‘NO DISC’ problem
Description: A disc has been loaded into the tray and the machine can’t read it. On the display reads the error ‘NO DISC’. Opening the tray and then closing it sometimes work to clear this error. Alternatively, if all DVDs (and possibly CDs) cannot be recognized in the player, the optical pickup unit has probably failed. This is a hard failure and is covered by Panasonic warranty. If the warranty has expired, then good luck.
Found on a newsgroup on the ‘NO DISC’ problem:
"Remove the player’s cover and locate the disc transport unit. Find the small, rectangular, white connector with the (usually) gray wire coming off it that leads the main board in the unit. Make sure that it is connected tightly at the disc transport end. Take it off, push it back on, etc. This has fixed the problem for many who have experienced it."
The ‘LOCKED’ Problem
Player locks up, displayed ‘LOCKED’. Pressing STOP on the unit and POWER on the remote locks and unlocks the tray. Turning power off/on or unplugging the machine may unlock it.
Sudare Noise/Venetian Blind effect
Players affected: Panasonic DVD-A105, DVD-A110, and DVD-A310, some DVD-A120s manufactured before March 1999.
You probably have already seen it, but you probably didn't know that is what it's called. "Sudare noise" is what Panasonic engineers call the playback artifact that is known as the "levelor effect", "blind effect", etc., etc. The "problem discs" that have well known problem have been "The Saint" and "The Man In The Iron Mask. Other titles that exhibit artifacts are "Tomorrow Never Dies" from MGM, "Heart & Souls" from Universal, and "Krakatoa East of Jave" from Simitar, and the opening scene of "Boogie Nights".
Sudare noise is, in fact, a player defect, and not an artifact inherent in the player's MPEG decoder design. It can be fixed by updating the firmware in the player. Also, this firmware upgrade also addresses the "chapter skip at layer change" problem. According to my information, the fix is really rather easy. Panasonic isn't going to call you at home and offer to fix your player. They are not going to recall the players. If you want your player fixed you will have to call Panasonic's customer support number (1-800-211-PANA) or the nearest service center and tell them about the problem and insist they correct it without cost to you (expect to pay one-way shipping, however). There may be some cases where you will meet resistance. If you simply can't get them to agree, then pay for it yourself. It will be a lot cheaper than a new player and it will correct the only real flaw in the best DVD player in it's class.
Other Down Conversion Artifacts:
These artifacts include the ‘moiré’ effect, horizontal lines in picture, softness or sharpness in 16x9 down converted titles. This problems seems to be inherent in all Panasonic players and may be just a fact of life until the technology improves or Panasonic changes the design. I don’t think a firmware upgrade will improve this, however there has been some subjective reports that these problems are improved with the new firmware.
Checking your firmware number:
To check the firmware number, press and hold the "pause" and "open/close" on the front of the player, with the remote in your other hand, press the #7 on the remote. On the front panel display, there will be an eight or nine digit/lettered number.
Unless you have sent your DVD-A105, DVD-A110, DVD-A310 in to Panasonic for the firmware upgrade, you have the original firmware version. These players will be subject to the Sudare Noise artifact and the occasional chapter skipping at layer transitions. However, this does not mean that your player needs to be sent in. Many people have reported that their player hasn't had any objectionable problems. Sudare Noise will occur on all of these players, but the actual number of discs, that have the MPEG encoding error that triggers these artifacts, is relatively small. If you are happy with your player's performance, don't sweat it, enjoy the player.
There is a problem with some of the early model DVD-A120s (manufactured before March 1999) that where shipped with the old revision of firmware. Panasonic claims that only 4% of DVD-A120 players that were shipped, are affected. If one has a player that exhibits severe pixellation on some dual layer discs or skips chapters, this is likely one of the affected players. The "fix" is a simply upgrade of the firmware in the onboard ROM.
Current firmware numbers:
The following firmware numbers are known to be the most current revision. All DVD-A120s should have this number (or similar) if manufactured March 1999 or later. All other players will have these numbers (or similar) AFTER the upgrade.
DVD A120 - 0100404C4, 0100453C8
(However, several owners with an original firmware number of 0100367C2 have reported little or no problems)
DVD A310 - **** U733, after upgrade, the U733 is the important part.
DVD A110 - **** U733, after upgrade, the U733 is the important part.
Getting your DVD player repaired
If you determine that you want or need to have your Panasonic DVD player repaired. Your best bet is to contact the Panasonic Service Center nearest to you. The warranty is for 90 days parts and labor, 1 year parts. They are (or should be) aware of the problems. Many people have reported that calling the main Panasonic Customer Service is a waste of time. Some people who have dealt directly with the service centers report faster service, and on occasion, Panasonic has waived the labor charge. Your mileage may vary.
For those of you who insist that Panasonic should responsible for all repairs because they sold faulty machines, remember that this a random problem, it only affects some players and certain discs. DVD is new technology and we, as first adopters, also should bear some of the burden. I hope that Panasonic did not intentionally sell faulty machines. Looking at the cost of the labor and parts to repair the DVD player, it totals almost as much as a new machine. You should be happy for what ever you can get. Most of the hard failures will be paid under warranty and that will cost Panasonic. They will learn from this, believe me.
Reported repairs:
The most common repair has been the replacement of the "Optical Pick-Up Unit" and the usually the firmware, too (also called ‘flash memory’ or ROM). If the only problem is with MPEG artifacts and chapter skips, a firmware upgrade usually does the trick. There has also been several reports of a capacitor change.
Panasonic Part Number Description Price
VED0378 Optical Pickup Unit $152.35
TOTX178 Optical Signal Modifier $9.04
? Capacitor ?
Home Theater Forum Survey - Firmware numbers and owner reported problems:
np = no problem
px = pixellation
lu = lock up
ld = ‘LOCKED’
cs = chapter skip
nd = ‘NO DISC’
DVD-A120
Member
Firmware #
Manufacture Date
Problem/repair
Danny Bonnel
0100367C2
April 99
np
Craig MM
0100367C2
**
np
M. Armanini
0100367C2
Jan 1999
minor px, lu
Randy M
???? ????
February 1999
px, lu
Randy M (2)
0100404C4
March 1999
np
Kameljeet
?
Feb 1999
px, cs
Ruhrie
?
?
px
tony tran
0100404C4
March 1999
np
Robert Monzo
0100367C2
Feb 1999
np
David Ogburn
0100367C2
Feb 1999
np, minor px
Peter Yang
0100367C2
0100453C8
Feb 1999
px, lu,
repaired
andrew
?
?
np
Andrew Grall
?
?
np
Steve Dawson
0100367C2
?
np
Dick Smyrak
0100389C3
Feb 1999
Returned dead
Dick Smyrak (2)
0100404C4
Feb 1999
np
thermalcvd
0100389C3
Feb 1999
np
Brian Brenner
0100389C3
?
np
Jay H
0100367C2
Feb 99
Np, minor px
Alec Karys
nd
Mark Maruska
0100367C2
DVD-A310 (The U604 indicates first version of firmware.)
Member
Firmware #
Manufacture Date
Problem/repair
Sam T.
0107 U604
LARUE
0107 U604
ArjE
0107 U604
March 1998
Tom S
0108 U693
October 1998
cs
John Morris
?
June 1998
cs
Mike Tyson
?
?
nd
S. Yarbrough
0107 U659
pre October 1998
px, lu, repaired
Aaron Sharpe
?
pre Dec 1998
px, lu, nd
Thomas D
0108 U693
pre Nov 1998
nd, repaired
Randy Brist
?
?
px, lu, returned
James Dubinsky
?
?
optic, firmware
George Fievet
?
pre July 1998
np
Rob Behm
?
pre Dec 1998
np
Jack
?
pre Dec 1998
np
Vern Sharp
?
pre Dec 1998
px, cs, repaired
B. Williamson
?
April 1998
px
Paul Kunze
?
?
cs
Pete Fitzgerald
?
pre Jan 1999
np, minor px
Dano Garcia
?
March 1998
cs, repaired
Chris Berban
?
March 1998
px, lu, repaired twice
Wade
0107 U604
March 1998
cs
Annie Ruisi
?
Oct. 1998
dead, in repair
Fabian Fata
?
?
np
Wolf Jenkins
0107 U604
March 1998
cs, minor px
Chance
0107 U604
March 1998
cs
C. Sonntag
?
?
np
sam t
?
?
nd
Mark Lee
?
pre 1998
optic failure
MaxY
?
?
np other than sudare
Alex Yang
?
?
np
B Lennon-Jones
0108 U733
Nov 1998
optic, firmware upgrade
DVD-A110
Member
Firmware #
Manufacture Date
Problem/repair
M Armanin
0107U733
Pre April 1998
nd, px, repaired, firmware
Bill (netcom)
?
?
px, lu, repaired
Keith (cv.hp)
?
?
px, lu
Martin Belair
0108 U659
June 1998
cs
Kwasi Chan
0107 U733
April 1998
px, lu, repaired, update firmware
Rfallstich
0107 U604
March 1998
np
Erwin
?
October 1998
np
Jan Strnad
?
June 1998
np
Brain Leslie
0108 U733
July 98
cs, updated firmware, optics
Jeff Sy
?
?
nd, px, updated firmware, optics
John Petitjean
?
?
nd, lu
AaronJB
?
?
np
Chris Beveridge
?
pre June 1998
np
Dave Frattaroli
?
pre May 1998
px, nd, optic
Phil L
?
?
px, cs
David R
0107 U604
March 1998
np
G Robertson
?
October 1998
nd, px, dead
mrowly
0107 U604
March 1998
np
Phil Reed
0108 U667
July 1998
np, minor px
Chris Maynard
?
dead in 6 months
M. Fennessy
?
pre Dec 98
np
Paul Simoneau
?
?
np, minor px
D Pagoulatous
?
Oct. 98
np, minor cs, minor px
John Williams
?
?
cs
Robert Monzo
?
June 1998
cs, minor px, updated firmware
Bobby Sackman
?
pre April 1998
np
Jerry Gracia
0108 U693
Aug 1998
cs, nd, px
D Shenoy
?
pre April 1998
np
Abem
0108 U667
July 1998
cs
Martin B
?
June 1998
minor px
Dave Phipps
?
August 1998
cs
Steve Anderson
?
June 1998
lu
Rob Burnard
0107 U659
June 1998
np
M Quist
?
Oct 1998
np
David J
0108 U693
Sept 1998
np
EdC
0108 U693
Aug 1998
np
Derrick
?
pre June 1998
np
josecruz
0108 U604
April 1998
cs, lu
Paul E. Fox, II
0108 U733
pre Sept. 1998
cs, updated firmware
Leo Kerr
0108 U604
April 1998
np
Tim Winders
0107 U733
May 1998
cs, px, updated firmware
Brian Price
?
March 1998
np
Matt Kasprzak
0108 U693
Nov 1998
np
Johnson
?
?
np other than sudare noise
Scott A. Pope
?
?
np
T. Alexander
?
pre Dec 98
np
Randy Talbot
?
?
np
Hal Masonberg
?
?
minor px
Brain Knolhoff
?
?
cs
Bill Fog
?
?
three failures (optic?)
RustyR
?
?
cs
John_F
?
?
nd
James Rogers
?
?
cs
Jeff Brown
?
?
cap, optic
DrewC
0108 U733
Pre Dec 1998
Px, firmware
Dwight Amato
?
?
np
Eric Howell
0108_u693
Px, lu
Ross Bartrick
0107 U604
March 1998
minor px
Steve Black
?
?
?
Panasonic Customer Service
For Product information, operating assistance, literature requests, dealer location and all customer service inquiries please contact:
1-800-211-PANA (7262)
Monday-Friday 9 am – 9 pm
Saturday ; Sunday, 9 am – 7 pm
Eastern Standard Time.
Panasonic Consumer Affairs
One Panasonic Way, 2F-3
Secaucus, NJ 07094
Panasonic Customer Care Plan
Buy that extended warranty through Panasonic and make them pay for it. Reports have said that it is expensive, around $125. Whether or not it's worth it, is debatable. In general, extended warranties are not worth it, but you may feel differently.
The customer repair plan offers all of these benefits:
Labor to complete repairs
Replacement parts
Electronic or mechanical adjustments
Specified internal cleaning
Requested preventative adjustments
No hidden charges or deductibles. Complete coverage for one low, up front price.
Coverage is transferable
CALL 1-800-637-2007
Certain restrictions apply Offer only valid in the United States with the exception of Florida. Applications for coverage are subject to the final acceptance by our company
OFFERED AND ADMINISTERED BY:
Customer Care Plan Administration
PANASONIC SERVICES COMPANY
544 Tolgate Road, Suite C
Elgin, IL 60123-9964
Panasonic Service Centers:
CALIFORNIA
6550 Katella Avenue
Cypress, CA 90630
(714) 373-7430
800 Dubuque Avenue
So. San Fransisco, CA 94080
(650) 871-1397
20201 Sherman Way, Suite 102
Canoga Park, CA 91306
(816) 709-5345
3878 Ruffin Road, Suite A
San Diego, CA 92123
(619) 560-9205
COLORADO
1640 South Abilene St., Suite D
Aurora, CO 80012
(303) 745-8613 FLORIDA
3700 North 29th Avenue, Suite 102
Hollywood, FL 33020
(954) 920-2329 GEORGIA
8655 Roswell Road, Suite 100
Atlanta, GA 30350
(770) 650-8540
ILLINOIS
9060 Golf Road
Niles, IL 60714
(847) 299-1914 1703 North Randall Road
Elgin, IL 60123
(Pick-up/Drop-off only)
(847) 299-1914
MARYLAND 62 Mountain Road
Glen Burnie, MD 21060
(410) 760-3545 MASSACHUSETS
60 Glacier Drive, Suite G
Westwood, MA 02090
(781) 329-4281 MICHIGAN
37048 Van Dyke Avenue
Sterling Heights, MI 48312
(810) 939-2883
MINNESOTA
7850-12th Avenue South
Airport Business Center
Bloomington, MN 55425
(612) 854-7007 OHIO
2236 Waycross Road
Civic Center Plaza
Forest Park, OH 45240
(513) 851-4700
PENNSYLVANIA
2221 Cabot Blvd. West, Suite B
Langhorne, PA 19047
(215) 741-0904 Chartiers Valley Shopping Center
1025 Washington Pike
Bridgeville, PA 15017
(412) 220-8065 TENNESSEE
3800 Ezell Road, Suite 806
Nashville, TN 37211
(615) 832-5950
TEXAS
7482 Harwin Drive
Houston, TX 77036
(713) 781-2509
13615 Welch Road, Suite 101
Farmers Branch, TX 75244
(972) 385-1976 WASHINGTON
20425 84th Avenue South
Kent, WA 98032
(253) 395-1778
HAWAII
99-859 Iwaiwa Street
Aiea, Hawaii 96701
Phone (808) 488-1996
Fax (808) 486-4369
PUERTO RICO
Matsushita Electric of Puerto Rico, Inc.
Panasonic Sales Company/Factory Service Center:
Ave. 65 de Infanteria, Km. 9.5
San Gabriel Industrial Park
Carolina, Puerto Rico 00985
Phone (787) 750-4300
Fax (787) 768-2910
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