JVC DRM30S Lock-up and Picture Freeze

[DVWannaB]

I have had this recorder for about 3 months now and have had nothing but great things to say about it. But lately, I have been getting a large number of instances when during recording particularly in long sessions, the machine freezes. This happens when recording directly to disk in VRO and Movie mode. Also when recording to the hard drive. The only way to unlock it, is to unplug.

Anyone else experiencing anything similar? It is starting to get annoying now. After the first couple, I just kinda scratched my head. Now I am starting to get that "drop-kick it to the moon" feeling.

Is this an issue with JVC models or is it just mine?

[samijubal]

I had the DRM-10 lock up on me 3 times before I got rid of it. Twice I had to unplug it, once I was able to reset it by holding the power button for about 10 seconds. It was when pressing buttons on the remote all 3 times, not just right in the middle of recording.

[lordsmurf]

Never heard of that issue on the HDD models. Is the unit cooled properly? Not stuffed in a cabinet, on the carpet, etc.

[Leoslocks]

Is this an issue with JVC models or is it just mine?

Does your issue resemble the Loading bug?

[DVWannaB]

I had the DRM-10 lock up on me 3 times before I got rid of it.

The thought has crossed my mind

Never heard of that issue on the HDD models. Is the unit cooled properly? Not stuffed in a cabinet, on the carpet, etc.

No. Sits on a desk next to the DSS sattelite box, which does get pretty hot. Will try and move them away from each other and see if that solves problem. Thanks.

Does your issue resemble the Loading bug?

No, I dont get that. Just picture freeze. The record light stays on (red), but the recording has in fact stopped. Thanks.

[DVWannaB]

Well tested the heat theory last night. Machine in a room with temp around 65 degrees. Sits by itself, with nothing blocking it. Again failed after about 4.5 hours of recording/on time.

Recorded first program from 6pm to 7:55 pm on DVD-R. Finalized.

Recorded second program from 8 pm to 9:40 pm. Finalized.

Recorded third program from 9:45 and freeze occurred around 10:35 pm after recording around 50 minutes.

Next stop, call to JVC for a WTF !!!???!!!

[DVWannaB]

UPDATE:

Spoke with customer service yesterday. Said that it should be sent to Service Center for fix. We shall see, what happens.

That Pioneer is looking better every day

[spiderman2k1]

This might just be a bad one you got. I say get another one or have it repaired if you can. If it still has problems and you need one with a hard drive I would get a Panasonic DVD Recorder. My E-80 is about a year and a half now not one problem so far.

[DVWannaB]

Yeah, I am going to send to JVC service center for possible fix. I am secretly hoping that they will call to sy they cant fix it and sends me a refund. The thing that I ignored when I bought this unit was the growing dissatisfaction with JVC products. I crossed my fingers and hoped that I luck-up and get a truoble free purchase. This was not smart, especially with the knowledge that JVC has made a conscious effort to make their products "cheaper", which invariably leads to early breakdowns. Great products, no doubt, but just not reliable in the long run. After 3 months, it never even had a chance to fully warm up before this glitch shows up. Thats a bad sign in my opinion and is in keeping with the recent JVC performance.

At the end of the day (or more like this period of torture), I will probably switch and go with the Pioneer 520. The Pannys while great, is lacking some of the features that are a must have for me.