Problems with the Goldmember DVD

bubba966 · « **on:** 2 Mar 2003, 05:47 am »

I know that DV-37 owners have said that it hangs on them. Mike G said one instance is about 0:1:17, and that it hangs in other spots as well.

Does anyone know of any other particular spots it freezes up on their DV-37?

Asking as I'd like to test out the DV-38A I picked up two weeks ago to see if I need to have the firmware updated or not. I know the 38A is a newer model than the 37. But the 38A I picked up looks like it's one of the earlier ones off the line as it was built in 02/01.

I would like to line the lid with Dynamat at some point soon. But doing so would void the warranty, which means no free firmware upgrades.

mgalusha · « **Reply #1 on:** 2 Mar 2003, 01:39 pm »

Bubba,

I could find some other spots it freezes at if you like. It shouldn't take long, last time I skipped to the next chapter and it only played for a few minutes. I'll do it a few times and make note of the points where it hangs.

Mike

bubba966 · « **Reply #2 on:** 2 Mar 2003, 08:12 pm »

Mike,

Thanks for the offer. But I ended up just going out & picking it up last night. Watched it all the way through in DTS ES and it played with no problem.

Watched the first 5 or so minutes in DD. Still, no problem.

It must just be something with the Firmware of the DV-37. As far as I'm aware the DV-37 is a unique machine. It's not really an upgrade of a standard Pioneer. Nor is it really a newer model of a specific player. It's much different than the DV-05 that it replaced. And it's replacement, the DV-45A is totally different as well.

I think you really ought to take Pioneer up on their 3 year Firmware warranty and see if that fixes your DV-37 problem.

mgalusha · « **Reply #3 on:** 3 Mar 2003, 12:19 am »

Bubba,

I didn't even know that Pioneer had a three year firmware warranty. I have lined the thing with DynaMat, so I doubt it's covered by the warranty any more.

It was past it's normal warranty when I did the DynaMat treatment, so I wasn't worried about it.

Thanks for the info though.

Mike

bubba966 · « **Reply #4 on:** 3 Mar 2003, 01:07 am »

Mike,

You might want to give it a try anyways. I've had good luck on the 2 occasions I've dealt with Pioneer Service.

The first time was for an Elite Receiver that I'd sold to my step-bro after I upgraded. A solder joint had poped loose and it wouldn't power up. Of course it did this 3 weeks after the 2 year factory warranty was up. But they still took care of it anyway.

The second time was for the LD player I bought last year. The tracking motor was bad. It was a Japanese model, so Pioneer US didn't want to pick up the tab. But they were nice enough to special order the replacement pickup from Pioneer Japan. True, I coulda sent it back to Tokyo to have it taken care of under the factory warranty. But it was cheaper to fix it here & pay for it rather than send a 50 pound LD player to Tokyo & back.

Take it in. They might just take care of it for you...

bubba966 · « **Reply #5 on:** 5 Mar 2003, 04:59 am »

Well, even though Goldmember didn't give my 38A any problems I took it in today to get the Firmware updated anyways. It was built 2 years ago. And judging by the serial number it was definitely was built early in the DV-38A's timeframe.

I also told them I'd like the spindle bearing replaced. And had them clean, re-lube, and check alignments while they've got it.

I figured why not have them get it all cleaned and aligned for me. Sure I only bought it two weeks ago. But it was a store demo for almost 2 years. They broke it in all nice for me. And now I'll have it all clean and up-to-date.