seeking firmware upgrade for (no longer supported) Denon DVD-1000

[kbooms]

I have a Denon DVD-1000 that I purchased 12 years ago. It has been fine (with the exception of the worst remote I've ever used, but that's another story). Just recently I've started to have problems playing newer Netflix discs. These discs aren't Blu-ray format - they're just newer, and apparently have encryption that my old Denon player can't handle.

An exhaustive search on Denon's website can't even find a mention of this product ever existing, so I'm betting it's no longer supported. Their customer service telephone hours are horrible for me and there's no listed email for contacting any customer service or tech support folks (only marketing, for pity's sake).


I don't actually watch many DVDs - I only order those movies/shows I can't stream through Netflix or other means. Although I know Blu-ray players are cheap now, I'd rather not be forced to buy another box.


Does anyone know of a source for firmware upgrades for older Denon products? Many thanks for any assistance.

[jman98]

Your presumption that newer DVDs from Netflix have encryption that your player can't handle is incorrect. DVD encryption hasn't changed since you bought your player. A minority of DVDs do use some anti-copy measures that weren't around 12 years ago, but it is extremely unlikely that your player has problems with this and even if true, probably not very likely that Denon released a firmware recent enough to deal with this for such an old player.

I get that 12 years ago you spent a fortune for the player just like we all did for our various players at the time, and it just kills your soul to have to buy a new player because by God they should last 100 or more years if YOU spent even a dollar to buy it, but the reality you don't want to face is that by having your player last 10+ years you are part of the 5% or perhaps even as few as 1% of consumers who got 10+ years out of their DVD players. Your player is likely just showing its age. If you want go down the cheap bastard route, you can buy one of those DVD player cleaning discs like this one
http://goo.gl/xQyHgC
and perhaps your player will get better once you run this through it. But you're fighting a battle you cannot win against time and even if this works, in another year or two the player will likely give up the ghost and you will have to buy a new player.


If you are good with technology stuff, players as old as your sometimes used off the shelf DVD drives that actually could be replaced by consumers if they got the right part. I do not want to give you false hope as the majority of players did not use off the shelf parts, but some did. You'll have to do the research, but if you find that your player used standard parts, you may possibly be able to find a replacement drive that will postpone the inevitable a while longer, but your player is closer to the end of its life than the beginning regardless. Most players used weird, non-standard DVD drives with non-standard connections. If you even can identify the brand and model of DVD drive your player used, buying a used one on Ebay is no guarantee that you'll end up any better off than you are now. And eventually that drive will fail too.


For what it's worth, for $50 or less you could buy a good serviceable DVD player that can run rings around your old one and maybe if you buy the right one get one of the few that can still be made region free. I wish you good luck, but my gut feeling is that you will never get the firmware you seek.

[usually_quiet]

I have a Denon DVD-1000 that I purchased 12 years ago. It has been fine (with the exception of the worst remote I've ever used, but that's another story). Just recently I've started to have problems playing newer Netflix discs. These discs aren't Blu-ray format - they're just newer, and apparently have encryption that my old Denon player can't handle.

An exhaustive search on Denon's website can't even find a mention of this product ever existing, so I'm betting it's no longer supported. Their customer service telephone hours are horrible for me and there's no listed email for contacting any customer service or tech support folks (only marketing, for pity's sake).


I don't actually watch many DVDs - I only order those movies/shows I can't stream through Netflix or other means. Although I know Blu-ray players are cheap now, I'd rather not be forced to buy another box.


Does anyone know of a source for firmware upgrades for older Denon products? Many thanks for any assistance.

I have to agree with jman98. A firmware update won't help. The problem is that people are not careful with rented discs so they are rarely in pristine condition when received, which makes them harder to read. I have heard that Denons are supposed to be better than average at reading scratched discs, but eventually all DVD drives wear out and are unable to read discs as well as they used to. Time to start shopping for a replacement player.

[aedipuss]

you can get replacement laser sleds for as little as $20 or working used complete dvd-1000 players for ~50 with shipping. not that i would recommend either as even if you got a new laser to replace your dying one there is a strong possibility that the power supply capacitors are weakening.

[kbooms]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. A few details that were left out of my post: 1) all of my CDs, and previous DVDs, work(ed) fine on this player. I don't think there's anything *wrong* with the player itself. 2) The DVD I'm currently having trouble with plays just fine in my laptop, so it's not a problem with it being an overused rental disc. 3) I called Netflix about the problem I've been having and they were the ones who told me it was an encryption problem and suggested a firmware upgrade.

I don't really care for the accusation of being a cheap consumer. I do have a very tight budget, and many demands on it. I also don't watch DVDs very often - I stream almost everything I watch (the player has never had very heavy use). So it doesn't make much sense to me to buy a new player if it can be avoided. I am, however, well aware that it may be unavoidable - just thought I'd put out the question to those more knowledgeable than myself.

[orsetto]

The NetFlix rep misspoke, firmware updates required for compatibility with new disc encryptions applies to BluRay only (one less-obvious reason BluRay players tend to have built-in web connections). No mfr has issued such an update for a DVD player since AOL was still bulk-mailing CDs.

Twelve years is an exceptional run of durability (and compatibility) for any consumer optical player. Players designed before late 2001 do occasionally choke on newer DVDs, for a variety of reasons. Kudos to your Denon lasting this long, but you are going to need to supplement it with a modern player if you want to keep using NetFlix rentals. The default choice for most buyers now is whatever Philips DVD player you can find below $50. Of course it probably makes more sense to pick up a BluRay player, but these have their own issues of being s-l-o-w to operate (esp with DVDs) and lacking some features that were common on DVD players. Most current players are very slim, less than 2" thick, and would probably fit on your shelf right on top of the Denon. You could keep using the Denon for its superior CD sound and whatever DVDs it can still play.

A big advantage you would gain with a new player is HDMI connection for newer TVs. HDMI usually provides the best possible picture quality from DVD, edging out component analog and way better than composite/s-video.

[usually_quiet]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. A few details that were left out of my post: 1) all of my CDs, and previous DVDs, work(ed) fine on this player. I don't think there's anything *wrong* with the player itself. 2) The DVD I'm currently having trouble with plays just fine in my laptop, so it's not a problem with it being an overused rental disc. 3) I called Netflix about the problem I've been having and they were the ones who told me it was an encryption problem and suggested a firmware upgrade.

Sometimes customer service representatives know what they are talking about, but not in this case. As you have already been told, DVD encryption has not changed since your player was built. Newer forms of DVD copy protection aren't encryption based. They use various methods like bad sectors that confuse DVD ripping computer programs trying to read through the entire disc, but not DVD players which will only read the parts of the disc they are told to read by the instructions on the disc. The commands used to write instructions DVD players use for playing DVDs have also remained unchanged since your player was made.

Unless your laptop is also 12 years old, its DVD drive is likely in much better shape than the DVD player's drive.

[jagabo]

I called Netflix about the problem I've been having and they were the ones who told me it was an encryption problem and suggested a firmware upgrade.

The Netflix rep's job is to get you off the phone as quickly as possible. Not to spend time accurately diagnosing your problem and giving you a fix. DVD encryption has not changed from day one. Any $25 upscaling DVD player will outperform your old Denon. Just bite the bullet.