Page 1 of Panasonic RV41 - stopped working - any ideas?

First signs it was going wrong were movies skipping now and again (and I could hear a clicking sound). Then today it won`t even read the disc.

I insert any DVD and it starts to read it (again with the clicking) but never makes it through this stage.

I`ve only had it for a year and 3 months (the warranty was only for 12 months) so any suggestions welcome.

This may sound daft. But ---

My player started playing up in just the way you described. I figured it was probably dust on the lens or something and tried blowing through the slot. It didn`t seem to make much difference. Yesterday it packed up completely.

I unplugged everything, picked it up and gave it a good shake in all directions turning it sideways and upside-down. I plugged it back in and it is now working fine!

Hello!

If you contact Panasonic Customer Care on 08705 357357 and tell them of your problems, they probably will tell you were your local dealer/service centre is. Depending what Panasonic say, they may help you with the cost of repair e.g. cost of parts required or even pay for the full cost of repair. Make sure that you`ve still got your reciept as they may ask for the date of purchase.

James Q

No luck with that I`m afraid. [Edit - I meant the shaking; I haven`t tried to call Panasonic yet]

But I did get an "H02" error message which when searched for on Google got me a few answers.

Looks like it`s a problem with a lot of Panasonic players. There`s a lawsuit - http://www.dvdsettlement.com/ - regarding the older models but the newer ones seem to be affected just the same. Here are some reviews of the RV31 -
http://www.audioreview.com/DVD,Players/Panasonic,DVD,RV31K,/PRD_127430_1587crx.aspx

I only had to search Google Groups for "Panasonic H02" - http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&safe=off&q=Panasonic+H02&sa=N&tab=wg - to find that I`m certainly not alone....

This item was edited on Saturday, 3rd May 2003, 21:04

The error `H02` commonly occurs when there is a problem with the laser assy. Panasonic DVD players have suffered from laser assy problems from the very first model. They are well aware of the problem. If you do contact Panasonic, they should be able to help you. Most customers I dealt with that had this problem had a new laser assy paid for by Panasonic. You may get labour paid for aswell. It all depends on the person you speak to.

I worked in a workshop at a independant retailer in the Thames Valley until I was made redundant 2 months ago. This is how I know about it. The service manager and myself talked to Panasonic technical about problems like this alot.

Panasonic DVD players are good. It`s just the laser assys that let them down.

James Q

yeah....every review says an error code happening just after 12months....hmmm

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Dan...The CyberHome Man

Well I got an rv 31 february 2002. It still is perfect. Never had a skip or stutter in its life. I just hope its not about to die.

I just had exactly the same problem happen to me last night (17/5/03) and the same HO2 error code came up. I was watching a dvd and the film started to skip a little, jumping a few seconds here and there and then the movie just stopped. At first I thought it might be dust on the disk or something...cleaned it up and put it back in. The player would not even read the disk then and the error code HO2 came up...

Looks to me like Panasonic have had us all over !!
My player is 18 months old !!

This makes it out of warranty...so I dont hold much hope of getting them to pay to repair it !

seems to happen with them all

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Dan...The CyberHome Man

did you leave room around it for it to breathe. overheating is a killer.