drawer won't shut on Medion DVD player??

[wundahoss]

Hoping someone can help me fix this & it's not the end of the (yet another short lived) machine... Have a Medion DVD/HDD Recorder model MD 84100 (or P70002). It started being temperamental with the DVDs, wouldn't play some, spat some out. Thought it was the DVDs to begin with, but as of today it won't stay closed at all, no matter what DVD's in it, even if it's empty. Even when I shut it & turn it off at the wall, as soon as I flick the switch, it comes open again, even while it's on standby.

[jman98]

Your system probably needs to be repaired, but perhaps others know of something you could try on your own.

Consumers don't like to hear this, but the reality is that the drive for lower prices in consumer hardware comes with a hidden cost. The industry is quite happy to sell you cheap players and DVD recorders because they lower prices by using less reliable components that break sooner. Also, the push for smaller and thinner has been enthusiastically embraced as this also leads to lower lifespan due to heat damage. Most consumers don't know that today's DVD players and recorders need a lot of open air space to cool adequately or they will wear out quickly. The industry is fine with all of this because the sooner your player breaks, the sooner you'll buy a new to replace it. Repairs usually outweigh the cost of buying a new model. Yes, they could make players that last longer like they used to if we would pay more for them, but consumers have spoken that a low price is the number one priority and the manufactures have happily given us what most of us want.

I don't know what brands are sold in Oz, but you might consider doing some research and see if some other brand is more reliable and buy that if you have to buy a new one. Here in the USA just about everybody has abandoned our marketplace as American consumers have no interest in archiving TV shows and only want DVRs to record shows for later watching (and then they are deleted), not DVD recorders. But when DVD recorders were sold here, in general Pioneer made some good ones and Philips did too.

[CobraPilot]

If you're willing to take the device apart, you might get lucky and find that dust bunnies or other debris needs to be blown out of the interior to allow sensors/switches/whatever to work properly.

I was able to recover a standalone DVD player by doing that. It wouldn't read the discs, opened randomly, etc. Not quite the same as your problem, but if the machine's otherwise kaput, a little gentle compressed/forced-air cleanout couldn't hurt.

Also, by opening the unit very carefully so as not to disturb anything, you might also get lucky and see a loose wire that needs to be resoldered/reconnected, a blown capacitor that could be replaced, etc.

[Sartori]

It happened on my old cd player and it was the drive belt - if that helps .

As Jman says the cheaper "brands" use the parts the others throw away . They buy/use components that are made to lower tolerances / come with a higher faults per million than a big named brand - they`ll still make plenty of them that will be fine but statistically you have a higher chance of buying a lemon/ a unit that keels over sooner rather than later .

[Moontrash]

this works wonders

[wundahoss]

Consumers don't like to hear this, but the reality is that the drive for lower prices in consumer hardware comes with a hidden cost. .... But when DVD recorders were sold here, in general Pioneer made some good ones and Philips did too.

Thanks Guys.

Will try pulling it apart for a clean. Think I like the last suggestion best Moontrash! My husband got home yesterday, saw the drawer open, pressed the button & it finally did as it was told!! Maybe it just doesn't like women! Regarding the above, yes, I appreciate it's a cheapie, but this is actually the 4th unit I've gone thru in about 3 years - the first 3 were expensive ones.... & I found Phillips to be no more reliable & terrible service(with one of these & other equipment I've bought of theirs). So I've decided it's not worth outlaying for a supposedly better one.

[fzabkar]

It may be as simple as replacing a stretched rubber belt.

There is a motor that drives the tray in and out. Take the cover off, and look and listen. If the motor is spinning but the tray isn't moving, then you have a slipping belt. When the tray retracts, it should drop down onto the spin motor spindle, allowing the clamp to be applied to the disc. That's where it often gets stuck. Sometimes a gentle push can complete the process. Also, there will probably be a very small limit switch that needs to be actuated by the tray at its end-of-travel in order for the player's CPU to sense that a disc is loaded.