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HX-910 - display and recording problems |
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#1 |
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Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 5,187
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HX-910 - display and recording problems
I have an HX-910 (the version without the builtin Freeview tuner) which is about 6 years old. It has developed two very irritating problems.
The front-panel display is now so dim that it can hardly be read even in a dark room. More annoyingly, it is becoming increasingly difficult to record on a DVD. I've given up trying DVD-Rs, it fails so often that it's getting too expensive to keep trying. DRD-RW works perhaps one in 5 times, but often fails during dubbing. DVD+RW seems a little better. The usual symptoms are a refusing to load a blank disk, or a simple "cannot record to this disk". The HDD side of things works as well as ever, and playing standard DVDs seems OK as well. I've tried dismantling it, cleaning the laser etc. to no avail. There's no obvious PSU problem. If anyone has any suggestions about causes/fixes, I'd appreciate it. AFAIK spares aren't available, but if any other sort of DVD drive can fit I'd be willing to try a swap. Thanks |
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#2 |
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Herts
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Ordinarily I'd say the laser is failing but with the display being so dim it would be worth putting a a multi-meter across the PSU outputs to check the voltage levels. I doubt that an off the shelf DVD drive would fit.
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#3 |
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Join Date: Jun 2006
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Quote:
Ordinarily I'd say the laser is failing but with the display being so dim it would be worth putting a a multi-meter across the PSU outputs to check the voltage levels. I doubt that an off the shelf DVD drive would fit.
A while ago I asked a maintenance guy at my work what I should do if the DVD drive ever failed, he reckoned replacing it with a generic computer drive would probably do the trick. My drive seems to be OK for the moment so I have just filed this information away for now. I realise this contradicts what Soulboy77 says but these Sony units are pretty big (well, deep) so a computer drive should fit. You will have to carefully remove the Sony drawer cover and stick it to the drawer front of the new drive though. Before you attempt this however, open up your Sony and check the connections at the back of the existing drive. It is quite a while since I last opened my one up but I seem to recall that the DVD drive connects with standard IDE connectors (but I might be wrong about this so don't take my word for it without checking first). Good luck, please post back here with any news you have as I am genuinely interested. |
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#4 |
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Join Date: Jan 2002
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It'll be a week or two before I'll get the time to dismantle it, but I'll keep you posted. It would seem logical that it's a standard PC drive, but this is Sony...
![]() Tkanks |
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#5 |
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Join Date: Jun 2006
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It would seem logical that it's a standard PC drive, but this is Sony...
![]() It is a shame that Panasonic cannot seemingly afford to fit their own brand capacitors to their kit, it would last a whole lot longer and be way more reliable if they did. |
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#6 |
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Join Date: Jan 2002
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Well, yesterday I pulled out the HD-910 and took it apart. All the PSU voltages were as they should be, according to the service manual. That included the values on the display board. Looks like the dim display may be either the display itself failing, or perhaps the driver chip. Either way it doesn't seem repairable.
As to the DVD drive, it's a Sony special, type DRW-V35P. The case is physically different to that of a standard computer unit, the front is stepped to align with the DVDR case. Although the circuit looks like an ordinary IDE interface, the cabling is non-standard. Instead of the chunky two-row connector found on a PC drive, this one has a thin ribbon cable. It might be possible to bodge an adaptor, and one for the power connector, but the drive may well also have custom firmware so I doubt it's worth the effort .A quick Google shows that prices for a new DVD drive are in the £100 - £120 range, plus VAT, which doesn't seem worthwhile to repair a 6-year-old box. Looks like it may be time to buy a new one, unless anyone finds a source for spare drives at closer to the £60 price point... |
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#7 |
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Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Southwick Brighton West Sussex
Posts: 1,246
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Quote:
I have an HX-910 (the version without the builtin Freeview tuner) which is about 6 years old. It has developed two very irritating problems.
The front-panel display is now so dim that it can hardly be read even in a dark room. Thanks I have tried to find my post i think it was on DS but wherever it was no answers were offered EDIT: just found it http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1152146 |
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#8 |
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Join Date: Jun 2006
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Quote:
Well, yesterday I pulled out the HD-910 and took it apart. All the PSU voltages were as they should be, according to the service manual. That included the values on the display board. Looks like the dim display may be either the display itself failing, or perhaps the driver chip. Either way it doesn't seem repairable.
Quote:
As to the DVD drive, it's a Sony special, type DRW-V35P. The case is physically different to that of a standard computer unit, the front is stepped to align with the DVDR case. Although the circuit looks like an ordinary IDE interface, the cabling is non-standard. Instead of the chunky two-row connector found on a PC drive, this one has a thin ribbon cable. It might be possible to bodge an adaptor, and one for the power connector, but the drive may well also have custom firmware so I doubt it's worth the effort
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A quick Google shows that prices for a new DVD drive are in the £100 - £120 range, plus VAT, which doesn't seem worthwhile to repair a 6-year-old box. Looks like it may be time to buy a new one, unless anyone finds a source for spare drives at closer to the £60 price point...
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I posted some time ago about my HXD-910 having the same problem unless the room is in total darkness its now unreadable even then i need to get very near to read it but it works ok
I have tried to find my post i think it was on DS but wherever it was no answers were offered EDIT: just found it http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1152146 |
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#9 |
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Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Southwick Brighton West Sussex
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Bummer!
How disappointing (and stupid) that its a propriety Sony drive. Ouch, that is a crazy price for a DVD drive. If you get one for a decent price I have the service manual for this unit on a CD at home here. PM me if you would like a copy. I assume you have aready tried the "DISPLAY" button inside the flap on the remote. This will give limited information onscreen.
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#10 |
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Join Date: Jun 2006
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As to the DVD drive, it's a Sony special, type DRW-V35P.
I am wondering whether it is possible just to replace the laser lens assembly. |
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#11 |
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Join Date: Jan 2002
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Steve, from memory did you notice if it is easy to open up the outer case of the DRW-V35P?
I am wondering whether it is possible just to replace the laser lens assembly. That's an interesting link, thanks, any idea if it's a standard laser assembly? I did look for setup info, to see if I could check alignment, but couldn't find info online. I wonder if a replacement lens assembly would require any alignment? I did find a supplier with DRW-V35P in stock, for 90 euros + tax& shipping, and with a money-back no-quibble return guarantee. I had looked for an alternative to the HX910, but the only standalone DVD recorder I could find was an LG one that gets poor reviews. Everything else is a full freeview+HDD+DVDR at upwards of £250, and I don't need any of that since my setup is based on satellite PVRs, so I cracked, and ordered a new DRW-V35P. It's supposed to be delivered this week. As for the display, a bit of googling suggests that this sort of fluorescent display suffers the same problems as old CRTs, eventually it will go low-emission. Boosting the filament voltage by 25-50% is supposed to help. The filament supply is taken from an inverter on the display board, and it doesn't look easy to up the filament voltage (it's AC with a supermposed DC bias) without disturbing the rest, but I may see if I can do something. |
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#12 |
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Join Date: Jun 2006
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Quote:
That's an interesting link, thanks, any idea if it's a standard laser assembly? I did look for setup info, to see if I could check alignment, but couldn't find info online. I wonder if a replacement lens assembly would require any alignment?
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As for the display, a bit of googling suggests that this sort of fluorescent display suffers the same problems as old CRTs, eventually it will go low-emission. Boosting the filament voltage by 25-50% is supposed to help. The filament supply is taken from an inverter on the display board, and it doesn't look easy to up the filament voltage (it's AC with a supermposed DC bias) without disturbing the rest, but I may see if I can do something.
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#13 |
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Seeing as you have bought a completely new DVD drive, do you fancy taking your old one apart and seeing if you can get any details (part number?) from the old laser assembly? There is just a chance that replacing only the assembly will be the way to go. As far as alignment goes, some units need aligning and others just have a drop in replacement method. It depends on the type of assembly. If we know which one to get we will be able to see which camp the DRW-V35P assembly falls into,
The new drive seems to be working fine, I can now record without errors. The box loads DVDs more quickly (less hunting around) and will play CDs again, which it had stopped doing. As far as the display goes, I've seen a suggestion that such displays can be 'brightened' by altering the filament bias slightly by changing a zener diode. The circuit shows the filament as being biased to -16v by a 6.2v zener off the -22V rail. It's certainly worth a try, but taking the box out (or rather putting it back & recabling) is a pain, so I'm going to live with it for now. |
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#14 |
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Join Date: Jun 2006
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The only ID on the laser unit is a barcoded label with the number A2311088975A. That looks like a Sony part number, but Google doesn't turn up any hits for me.
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The new drive seems to be working fine, I can now record without errors. The box loads DVDs more quickly (less hunting around) and will play CDs again, which it had stopped doing.
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As far as the display goes, I've seen a suggestion that such displays can be 'brightened' by altering the filament bias slightly by changing a zener diode. The circuit shows the filament as being biased to -16v by a 6.2v zener off the -22V rail. It's certainly worth a try, but taking the box out (or rather putting it back & recabling) is a pain, so I'm going to live with it for now.
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