How long do Samsung Blue Ray DVD's last?

[joodyanne]

I have had my Samsung Blue Ray DVD for no longer than 6 years. It has only had about 6 discs put in the HD in that time. Everything else is recorded direct to HD.

Today at the end of a recorded movie, it just stopped. I can watch TV OK but if I try to load a movie - it just doesn't happen.

How long do Samsung Blue Ray DVD's last for?

It is pretty full. Sometimes shows will not record - so I delete some of my stuff. Now it won't load at all - I would delete stuff if it would let me.

[Krispy Kritter]

It typically varies by brand/model. And this doesn't sound like a DVD/Blu-Ray player, it sounds like some sort of DVR as you mention recording and "HD" (which I assume is supposed to be HDD = Hard Disk Drive. HD = High Definition).

In any case, 6 years for a DVR HDD is likely about average as they are typically always on and they are typically always warm to hot as they generate a lot of heat and aren't ventilated well. I'm on my 4th DVR from Charter in the last 10 or so years.

The actual model number would be helpful.

[joodyanne]

I knew you'd ask the model
What I've noticed since then, was that the HD appeared to be full up of recordings, so I've been deleting/watching shows and it seems to be ok, but I must clear a lot more recordings out for next year.

The only problem I have now, and I don't think its related to the DVD, is that the screen needs adjusting (in size) as some of the writing in a particular show I watch (a quiz show) is not showing the complete question. The screen needs to be lowered from top and let out at the side., (well lowered from the top).

I'll see if I can find the model and get back to you.

[netmask56]

Maybe just remove the existing hdd and replace - probably Linux operating system ext3 or 4

[joodyanne]

That would be beyond me lol I think I'd rather get a new DVD if that's the case.

[joodyanne]

The Manual says it is a BD HDD ie either BD D8200A or D8500A (I don't do manuals very well)

[Krispy Kritter]

It's officially listed as: Samsung BD-D8200 Blu-ray 3D Player with Freeview HD and PVR

So a 3D Blu-Ray player. Freeview HD is the Freeview tuner which is capable of SD and HD content. And the PVR is the "VCR" like recording abilities.

In any case, as you noted, most of these units do not like the HDD to be full. I've seen units lock up and need to be formatted (ie: erase the entire HDD) before they would function again. If you are trying to store content (to keep), you likely need to invest in a newer model with a larger HDD possibly the ability to use external HDD's.

[joodyanne]

Could you recommend a particular brand, easy to understand, with a bigger HDD please? It's a wonder the machine doesn't give you a warning you are almost exceeding the storage place. Meanwhile I am trying to watch something every day and delete same.

Thanks for your help.

[Krispy Kritter]

All that I can offer is a trip to your local store or browse Amazon and check reviews. I have no experience with any of these models (these type units aren't available in the US). I would expect any newer models (assuming they are still available in the UK as well) will have models with larger drives.

[joodyanne]

Ok - understood - thanks for your help. Just one more question - what do you suggest size HDD then? (I don't even know what size my current DVD is)

[davejavu]

The D8200 is listed as having a 250GB hard drive and the D8500 a 500GB one. Unfortunately you are going to have to do a bit more investigating to see which one of those 2 you actually have so you can decide on a larger drive if you do opt to buy a new recorder. Hard drive sizes for these devices are normally given in either GB's (Gigabytes) or TB's (Terrabytes) where 1TB is 1000GB.

[joodyanne]

Thanks dave - appreciate your comment. Will check out. Will wait for a while and see if the DVD jams up again.

[orsetto]

You are running up against a shift in consumer buying trends. For the past five or six years, the combo units with BluRay player and Freeview HDD recorder in a single chassis were the most popular AV device in UK. But recently, interest in discs began dying off worldwide, in favor of dedicated hard-drive-only recorders with larger capacity (1TB has become more common). So the selection of recorders with built-in BluRay has diminished, and their HDD capacity has stalled at 320-500GB. The only brands offering 1TB capacity are Samsung and Panasonic: the current Samsungs get poor reviews for reliability, the Panasonics are ridiculously overpriced and have dodgy tuners.

Consider buying separate, dedicated units: a Freeview PVR, and a BluRay player. The Freeview PVRs with the most friendly interface are probably sold by Humax. Their 1Tb models are very popular, at almost half the price of a similar Panasonic with built-in BluRay. For the price of a Samsung BD-H8900M, you could buy a Humax HDR-1100s plus a cheap disposable BluRay player. The disc players tend to fail before the HDD recorder, so having them separate means you can replace the BD player cheaply and easily without losing access to the HDD recorder.

Price might be somewhat higher if you need a PVR model with satellite tuner in addition to terrestrial Freeview.

[joodyanne]

Thanks, I will take that into consideration and make some enquiries.