Panasonic Dvp642 problems

[kensanwaychen]

I just bought a Panasonic dvp642 about half a year ago. It's worked wonderfully since then, capable of reading DVDs from other regions, AVIs, and CDs. I've since used it as my CD player. Last week, when I put the CD in, it started acting funny and said that there wasn't a disc, even though there was. A few minutes later, the player refused to open and now when I press open, it's stuck, doesn't make any movement to open and makes a subtle whirring sound. Any advice?

[oldfart13]

Sounds like the loader is gone. Time to buy another but get the disc out by pulling the top off. If it's still under warranty though take it back and get another one. You should have got a 1 year warranty with it when you bought it. Just make sure you have the receipt for it...

[oldfart13]

PS It's a Philips 642, not Panasonic...

[kensanwaychen]

Thanks for your help!

I bought it off amazon. Does that complicate things? How do you take the top off?

>>PS It's a Philips 642, not Panasonic...

Whoops!

[Krispy Kritter]

If I remember correcty, there are like 2 screws on each side, then it lifts off.

[kensanwaychen]

Okay, I did manage to look at the warranty information and after the first 90 days, but before the first year is up, all you can do is get a reduced rate for a new model. Is this something I should do or is this model (which is great for playing all kinds of media) prone to breakdowns?

[ROF]

No need to remove the cover to open the tray door. See the picture in this thread.

For what it's worth alot of people have had issues with 642 dying after a few months to a years worth of usage. Others like myself have owned one for quite sometime and haven't had any problems. You may want to do a search of these or other forums to learn what people have to say about this device

[handyguy]

Unplug it from wall for a few minutes or over night, then plug it back in. This resets any appliance, from tvs to computers, to dvd players.

[oldfart13]

Unless the loader is broken. These units use pretty cheap components to keep prices down. Lots of plastic and white metal. If that happens, no reset is going to fix it...

[whitejremiah]

my dvp-642 is used on a rather regular basis, and i've had it for a little over a year, so im expecting it to die out any time now.........dvd players in general (for the most part anyhow) are what i call disposable electronics.....basically, they are made to work for a while, and then get replaced....unfortunately they generally arent made to last very long, basically long enough to serve it's purpose, and thats about it....i'd find a way to remove the disc, then just ditch the thing and replace it............

[jman98]

Many users have reported severe quality problems with this model. I've had one for about a year and a half now and it still works great. Others have had major problems like the original poster in 6 months or less.