question on a dvd player

[Tylerrought]

I was looking around at some dvd players and Im looking for something to play movies on burnt DVD-rs in DIVX and XVid format..
I stumbled across a Panasonic DVD-F87K and it looked like a good dvd player and it doesnt say that it plays divx or xvid formats tho.

so ill talk any recamendations for a good dvd player that i described above..

thanks ALL!

[lynx]

I can't tell you what good mpeg4(DivX/XviD) capable dvd players are available in the US atm, it's a couple of years since I've looked, so you should probably have a look at VideoHelp (http://www.videohelp.com/), particularly with DivX-HD becoming available.

One thing I can almost guarantee, if any player doesn't say it plays mpeg4, then it doesn't play mpeg4. The Panasonic doesn't.

In any case, do you really want to spend extra money on a multi-disc changer? How often would you need that?

[harrycary]

In the US try the Philips DVP642. I've had one for about a year now. I purchased it at Walmart for $69.95. (It's probably cheaper now)

It will play a lot Xvid and Divx encoded files as well as mpegs, jpegs and Mp3s.

As a bonus, it's also a progressive scan player.

I found out about it at www.videohelp.com.

The site lists user-submitted posts about different players and file compatibilities.

regards

[Tylerrought]

thanks guys! ill check out that site and I actually used to own a philips DVP642 but it died after a year and I wasn't sure if I wanted to buy another 1.

[muchspl3]

get a phillips, and you can fix your old one for like a buck, its was a bad part inside them, cost less that a buck to replace

[suprafreak6]

ive had great expieriences with cheap brand dvd players...all of them have worked for more than 2 years and are only like 30$
plays all my burnt movies and everything i play on there..its great!

[Virtualbody1234]

get a phillips, and you can fix your old one for like a buck, its was a bad part inside them, cost less that a buck to replace
Specificly which part?

[muchspl3]

Common DVP 642 problem (only problem with a great player): They die, and you have a blinking red power
button.
This is actually surprisingly easy to fix. It's really easier than I make it look, but I'm just being really clear in
case anyone reading this has never seen a soldering iron before. Here are the steps I did (and note that, if
you're still under warranty, this will void your warranty). The decision to try this is up to your own discretion
and may be a last ditch effort before throwing the player away.
Short version: Check the board to see if capacitor C316 is bulging. If so, get a 1000u capacitor >=16V and
replace it.
Long version:
1. Unplug everything
2. Unscrew the side and rear screws to remove the top cover.
3. On the board where the power cable goes in, look for a capacitor (looks like a little drum with a '+' on the
top) that is bulging upward either a little or a lot. It may be leaking some brown fluid as well.
4. I'm betting that the writing on the board at this location says 'C316'. If you google 'dvp642' and 'c316',
you'll get hundreds of hits...
5. If that's the case, you'll need to find a capacitor and a soldering iron. Visit radio shack or similar electronics
place and buy an elecrolytic capacitor that says 1000u (the 'u' is actually a lower case greek 'mu') with a
voltage greater than or equal to 16v (this is not calculated: it's simply what others have reported success with.
I couldn't find one and used a 35V one instead). You should be able to find one that looks somewhat similar to
the damaged one (it might be a little bigger or smaller, but you'll want the same basic shape). This should cost
less than $2.
6. Borrow or buy a cheap soldering iron and some solder. I borrowed one from a friend at work...this is NOT
my area of expertise, so don't worry about the difficulty!
7. Now the tricky part: back on your DVD player, you need to get that board out. Unplug the two cables
connecting to the board we're working on, unscrew the screws holding it down, and, using some pliers, hold
down the wings of the little plastic piece that is still holding the board down and slide the board up. I flipped
this around to get at the bottom while leaving the power cord in place.
8. Heat up the soldering iron. Locate the spot on the bottom of the board where the C316 capacitor is attached.
Remove your new capacitor from the package. There should be one shorter leg which is the negative side. It
will likely be marked this way as well.
9. One side of the capacitor should have a ' -' on it. Note which side this is. You may not be able to see it until it
is removed, so be aware of needing to know this as you remove it.
10. After it is warm enough to melt solder, lay the soldering iron across the joints you identified as belonging to
C316. Tug gently on C316 as you do this and it should soon come free. This is a little tricky to hold the iron,
the board, and the capacitor all at once, so please don't burn yourself! Again, note which side is negative and
which hole it came from. This is the negative hole, and the other is positive. There will likely be some solder
left over around each hole. Just try not to let it run between the two holes or you will short out the connection.
11. Grab your new capacitor and line up the longer leg with the positive hole. Lay the soldering iron against
that hole on the other side and push the leg through. Line up the negative leg/hole and repeat. Lay the iron
across both to heat up enough to push the capacitor legs through and the capacitor down to the board.
12. Check the connections for each leg. There should be a small mound of solder joining each leg to the metal
of the board, but not running to any other point of the board. If it's run to some other points, you'll need to do
some searching to see how to clean up it up a little bit as I'm not an expert at this. If you need a little more
solder, lay the iron across the joint for a few seconds, then feed your solder into the hot spot until a small
amount flows over the joint. Remove the iron, wait a moment, then remove the solder. Look at the other
solder joints on the board for a rough idea of how it should look.
13. Use some wire cutters to trim the legs down to the solder.
14. Pop the board back over the plastic piece and reconnect the cables.
15. At this point, you're on your own. Personally, I made sure I wasn't touching any metal and plugged it in.
Since I didn't blow any fuses and the player seemed to work, I unplugged it, reassembled it, and went to watch
a movie.

[lynx]

It's amazing just how many built-in power supplies of that period failed because of poor quality caps of about that size. Probably all from the same manufacturer.

10. After it is warm enough to melt solder, lay the soldering iron across the joints you identified as belonging to C316. Tug gently on C316 as you do this and it should soon come free.
A little (de)soldering tip on that one. You may find it hard to melt the solder, simply because there isn't enough surface area on which to apply the soldering iron. To get round this problem, adding a little solder will increase the surface area and consequently melt the existing solder.

[Virtualbody1234]

It's amazing just how many built-in power supplies of that period failed because of poor quality caps of about that size. Probably all from the same manufacturer.

10. After it is warm enough to melt solder, lay the soldering iron across the joints you identified as belonging to C316. Tug gently on C316 as you do this and it should soon come free.
A little (de)soldering tip on that one. You may find it hard to melt the solder, simply because there isn't enough surface area on which to apply the soldering iron. To get round this problem, adding a little solder will increase the surface area and consequently melt the existing solder.
Using a desoldering wick or suction pump can be helpful too.

http://www.electronix.com/catalog/images/sd114.jpg

http://www.mpja.com/pictures/12581.jpg

[muchspl3]

It's amazing just how many built-in power supplies of that period failed because of poor quality caps of about that size. Probably all from the same manufacturer.

A little (de)soldering tip on that one. You may find it hard to melt the solder, simply because there isn't enough surface area on which to apply the soldering iron. To get round this problem, adding a little solder will increase the surface area and consequently melt the existing solder.
Using a desoldering wick or suction pump can be helpful too.

http://www.electronix.com/catalog/images/sd114.jpg

http://www.mpja.com/pictures/12581.jpg
yea I have a solder sucker
<- nerd

[harrycary]

muchspl3 very nice post.

I got to say I haven't been unfortunate enough to have that problem, but it's nice to know where to begin looking if I ever do. (*crosses fingers*)

On a similar note, I guess it doesn't surprise me that bad caps such as them exist. I've read stories about corporate espionage and theft of ideas amongst the
capacitor manufacturers. I understand some motherboards had similar problems due to nefarious component suppliers some time ago.

cheers,

[Tylerrought]

my problem wasnt with a blinking power light.. my problem was a dead drive after only 1 year

[accat13]

muchspl3 Thank you very much for the info on the DVP642 common fault...Hope I never have to use it.Another tip for the dvp642 and most divx players is "Lisa B.'s guide to standalone dvd player compatibility"
http://www.jarnot.com/twiki/bin/view/Public/DVP642LisaBsAVIGuide
Saved a few files that would not play for me and most fix very quickly...My dvp642 is in semi retirement since I bought the modded xbox (a real dream for xvids, ftp and away you go)
POST #642 very fitting LOL

[muchspl3]

np

glad to help